Well as forecast a bit of the damp stuff for us today. Fortunately it was mostly quite light until early evening by which time we didn’t mind! We popped a couple of miles south in the car to Maidens and strolled along the harbour wall (not that exciting) and then had a little play on the harbour beach for Poppydog (very exciting for her!) to let off steam.

We then followed the coastal path roadside for awhile until it turned back towards the coast at Turnberry Lighthouse.

Purchased and refurbished by non other than Mr D J Trump as a part of ‘Trump Turnberry”, a substantial hotel and golf complex, though still an active (automated) Lighthouse it provides luxury accommodation and a restaurant for golfers and walkers alike as a most famous ‘Halfway House’. We didn’t linger here but made our way down to the lovely sandy beach below.

We enjoyed a play on the beach before it started to rain again and we decided it was time to head back.

We took a quick look down at the long sandy Turnberry Bay before rejoining the coastal path as it cuts through one of the golf courses on our way back to Maidens. 5.5 miles.

Two thoughts of the day:

The weather looks like it might be a bit ropey for a few days, so we might just entertain ourselves in the country park until it brightens up again.

Even though we have had many more lovely days than grey or wet days it always feels like it has been miserable forever when you do get a wet one!

The sunshine was back today, still a chilly breeze blowing but hey we are on the west coast! A stroll through the woodland down to the beach with a glimpse down at the site on the way.

On the edge of the castle section of the bay it is still quite stony with swathes of smelly weed.

Soon however the bay opens up to a lovely stretch of sand,

The beach was empty so Poppydog enjoyed a good run around, chasing the odd seabird as we wandered along.

Beyond the rocky outcrops at Burnfoot, again the beach cleared into another sandy expanse of Crane Dyke Bay.

We continued our walk until the beach ran out, resting for awhile (me that is!) enjoying fantastic views of the Isle of Arran.

A beautiful day and 6.5 miles walk.

Two thoughts of the day:

I met someone who said that looking out to the sea without an island in sight wasn’t right! I can sort of see what she meant.

Another stunning sunset – though the photo by no means does it justice.

Fortunately the wind blew itself out overnight leaving us with a mostly grey day and chilly breeze. At least we can see the Isle of Arran today!

We wandered down through the country park which was all very busy around the main attractions (being a Bank Holiday) so we didn’t linger, just taking a few photos to be polite! Home Farm Visitor Centre…

Old Viaduct….

Castle….

Swan Pond – though I didn’t see any swans, the lilies are about to burst into flower so I’m sure we will catch them later in our stay…

Then we branched off from the main walkways taking a path through the woodland just above the coastline heading south.

After a couple of miles we got our first glimpse of Maidenhead Bay and the lovely sandy Barwhin Hill Beach end of the bay.

Here we joined the beach for a bit of a play, enjoying views to the south across Maidenhead Bay out to Ailsa Craig (the cone shaped island that we could see from the North Rhinns) and I think it is the Mull of Kintyre beyond.

And over to Arran to the north.

We wandered along the beach into Maidens, just a small seaside village with a few facilities, a long harbour wall, continued on with rocks, I guess to provide more shelter to the bay. The beach was a bit more seaweedy here (and smelly!) and in parts prone to quick sand, so the path takes you along a grassy open space just above the beach.

At this point we decided to about turn and return along a different series of paths through the Country Park back to site. In the park we walked by the Deer Park, though it doesn’t count as a sighting it was nice to see them relatively close up as unlike in the wild they didn’t seem overly concerned about Poppydog!

A very pleasant 8 mile round trip.

Two thoughts of the day:

I love this lanterns, positioned here and there amongst the flowers up near the main entrance – might even venture out one evening after dark to see them!

Part way through the park was a large picnic area, busy with families enjoying a day out and in many cases a football kick about – Poppydog was near frantic to get at the footballs I literally had to carry her across the field to get her away! Will she ever grow out of this?