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IWith a train to catch I was away by 7am. The overnight temperature
had dipped below freezing but thankfully the roads were dry and no
signs of ice. The sky was clear but the light was low so for the
first few miles I kept my lights on. The road was uphill through the
trees then flattened out on the approach to Crosshill. By now it was
light and I could see white frost across the fields. I left the
B7023 to take the minor lane to Barmody Hill and over the railway
and followed the road in to Maybole. |
Ailsa Craig in the distance |
|
I was now in the Monday morning rush hour traffic as I cycled
through the town. I headed west along the B7023 then right on to the
A719. There was a long descent to Fordhouse Bridge then a steady
climb to give me a nice view of the sea. A large tractor and trailer
trundled past me as he headed for the fields. About a mile further
on I came to a right hand bend at Castlehill woods on the right. I
knew something was wrong as I approached and saw stopped cars with
hazard light on. |
Electric Brae |
|
A badly damaged car was up on the right verge and the tractor
was down in the field with its front badly damaged. Plenty of people
had stopped and nobody seemed to be hurt. I continued along the
coast to the stone monument for the ‘Electric Brae’ or Croy Brae as
it is known locally. I remember visiting here in 1966 while cycling
with friends on a Youth Hostel holiday. It is supposed to be an
optical illusion that shows the road rising when it is descending. I
didn’t see it in 1966 and I still didn’t see it today, 50 years on.
I rode on to the Dunure turn off and descended to the harbour
village. |
Dunure Castle |
Through the car park I freewheeled down to the ruined 13th century
Dunure Castle.
It was interesting walking round the ruins and
having the whole place to myself. In August 1563, Mary, Queen of
Scots, visited the castle for three days during her third progress
round the west of the country. I cycled to the harbour then on to
re-join the A719 |
Dunure Harbour |
The following is from Wikipedia:
Charles Rennie Mackintosh was
born at 70 Parson Street, Townhead, Glasgow, on 7 June 1868, the
fourth of 11 children and second son of William McIntosh, the
superintendent and chief clerk of the City of Glasgow Police, and
his wife, Margaret Rennie. Mackintosh grew up in the Townhead and
Dennistoun (Firpark Terrace) areas of Glasgow, and he attended
Reid's Public School and the Allan Glen's Institution. |
The architect
Charles Rennie Mackintosh
(1868-1928) was a frequent
visitor
to Dunure |
|
The traffic was getting busy and I was glad to see the cycle path
sign for the rough track at High Greenan. Across the fields I could
see the 16th century Greenan Castle teetering on the cliff edge. |
Greenan Castle |
|
I bounced down the track and reached a surfaced road at the Doonfoot
housing estate. I joined a cycle track and over a lovely footbridge
over the River Doon. It was great weather as I cycled along the
seafront and when I stopped to read an information board about the
definition of a Scottish Mile a cyclist stopped. |
River Doon |
Start of a
Scottish Mile |
Ready for invasion |
|
He was Colin McKenzie and after a long chat we went our separate
ways. I reached the
Cromwell’s fort remains then over the River Ayr and along the
north bank.a |
The old Citadel |
|
I crossed again at the footbridge then on to 22 Sandgate which is
the Tourist Information Office. It is also the birthplace of
John Loudon McAdam (1756-1836) the Scottish Engineer and
designer of the modern road construction. I went inside but they had
no information about him. The only information was a plaque on the
wall outside. I headed for the Railway Station but stopped at Fish
and Chips @ Ayr to buy a some chips. |
River Ayr |
Birthplace of
John Loudon McAdam |
Birthplace of John Loudon McAdam |
|
I reached the Railway Station at Station Street but realised
the Glasgow train would leave from a platform at the other side.
There was no way of crossing with my bike so cycled round to the
Smith Street entrance to catch my train. We hadn’t been going long
before we stopped due to a stationary train on the track ahead which
had stopped for a passenger who had been taken ill. When we got
going again our train missed out several stops on its way to
Glasgow. I had quite a wait a Glasgow for my train to Preston. |
Ayr Railway Station |
Ayr Railway Station |
Glasgow Railway Station |
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Whittle Wanderer