A Year Long Pilgrimage

Accommodation, or lack of it, again raised its head.  For the next two stages there was no available accomodation.  Thus, instead I stayed in Girvan, commuting back and forth by bus. Girvan harbour  Leaving Girvan On the way to Lendalfoot. Lendalfoot, and Ailsa Craig - a 99 hectare island bird sanctuary, 16 kilometres from the mainland. I really enjoyed the stage from Girvan to the village of Colmonell.  There was one interesting moment when I was trying to walk through a farm yard.  The only problem was that there was a mob of sheep yarded where I was meant to go.  I bailed up the Royal Mail driver who assured me that I would get to the village by returning to the road and following it to the end.  I kept bumping into her along the way, and in Colmonell she saw me numerous times as I wandered around, insisting that I take her phone number in case I got stuck and the bus didn't arrive.  I didn't need to call on her, but people are so kind. The church in Colmonell - the village

I met Charlotte in 2014 in Orkney.  She walked with me for a couple of days then as I crossed from Glasgow to Edinburgh and for a few days later, heading to Ludlow in Shropshire.  Ten years later she has joined me again for a couple of days on the two stages from Ayr to Girvan.  It was lovely having her company again as we battled our way each day into the strong head winds. The path covered a variety of terrain, from coastal walking, including some pebbly beach walking, along with road and forest paths.  There were splendid views looking back to Ayr, though the haze meant it was difficult to see Aaran, the Mull of Kintyre, or Ailsa Craig clearly, though Charlotte could see them better than I, probably because she knew where to look. Looking back - Ayr in the distance Heading down some very slippery steps.  Charlotte forgot her beanie so she borrowed mine. A pebbled beach into Dunure Although we had breakfast before we left Ayr, we stopped in the fishing village of Dunure for a welcome

I am way behind on this blog.  I will try and catch up with a number of posts over the next few days.  Prepare for a blitz! Accomodation was non-existent or way to dear for the next few days and so I based myself in Paisley, commuting, by train, to and from my destination each day.  It was great not having my pack, but I also enjoyed the train travel. Though I wore my rain pants several days, in anticipation of expected rain, I was only caught in a shower for a few minutes once. The path has suddenly become very well signposted, and basically follows the cycle path, diverging every so often onto paths not quite so easy to cycle on.  The path makes use, in these stages, of an old railway line, and yes, it is very straight,  and any elevation is minimal, and barely noticeable.    Art works appeared occasionally along the way I had three stages with just a day pack - to Lochwinnoch, Kilwinning, and Troon.  On the 4th stage, into Ayr, a short 12 kms, I had my pack with me. Passing through