On a couple of occasions we dropped down low enough to walk across a couple of beaches, but a part of the day was spent on the hillside. There is a bit of clambering to be done, both over rocks and various fences, barb wire and electric. They really do love their fences in this part of the world. It is not unusual to find three and occasionally four fences, one after the other, within about twelve inches of each other. As we found out, there are also numerous herds of cattle (both heifers and older cows with calves at heel) to contend with. I believe that if you were to have a cow-free run at the route and the tide in yur favour, you could walk most of it on, or very close to, the line of the coast. Luck was not with us and in the middle of the walk we had to divert inland to walk on a minor road for a considerable distance, driven there by the irascible cows and heifers of Galloway.
Coming away from the Fishpond, with the water quite high on the shore, we followed a track up the hill before cutting off to the left to start to move along the top of the low cliffs. At this time we were still on the 'wrong side' of the fence, the grass and weeds on the seaward side too thick to contend with.
Just after you pass Slunk Cottage, on your left is a low rocky promontory on which are the remains of the Iron Age Doon Castle Broch. Built in the style of a traditional broch, it is one of the better preserved examples in Dumfries and Galloway. Approximately nine metres in diameter, the walls were some three-to-four metres thick, with entrances on the seaward and the landward sides. It has never been excavated, therefore it is difficult to give a more accurate age or date to its construction. We were so focussed on reaching Ardwell Bay that we had passed the location before I remembered about it. The link will take you to photographs of the remains.
At the far end of the bay, the open sand area stops and rocks and boulders intrude on the space. The geology of the area is very interesting with a preponderance of Silurian greywacke of the Garheugh Formation. There are good examples of anticline in the locality, particularly to the north of the bay, as well as other examples of rock folding. We found a nice wee nook in the rocks, the rocks providing a nice windbreak, where we stopped to brew up and have lunch in the midst of the black boulders.
On the approaches to Float Bay there are a number of gullies that run off and into each other. Finding a way round them was a nightmare, made more difficult by rows of electric fences and what were to be ubiquitous herds of cattle. We tried to cross the first gully to get over to the cliff top above Float Bay but were prevented from doing so by the thick, summer growth. Coming off the hill on a farm track, we tried a couple of times to cross the floor of the gully to try and keep to the coast but were beaten back either by the heavy growth of gorse and bramble or by the steepness of the low-lying cliff. Eventually, we walked out from the coast via West Ringuinea and road walked to Little Float farm where we got permission to walk the path back out on to Little Float Moor where we hoped to take up the coast again.
Unfortunately, at the end of the track from Little Float, our forward progress was stymied by herds of aggressive heifers, inpenetrable gorse and the ubiquitous electric fences. The heifers were particularly remorseless in their pursuit of us as we tried to slip past them at various points, after climbing over the various fences. Unfortunately, the field they were in ran right down to the cliff edge, which made it difficult to get past them. This was another section on where there were consecutive rows of barbed and electric wire fencing. With difficulty we would manage to get over the fences only to lift our heads and find the heifers charging down the field towards us forcing a hasty retreat.
Now, we have dealt with many herds during the course of our walks and generally were able to pacify them or give them enough to think about that they have stopped and watched from a distance rather than charge. These heifers would have none of that and were particularly aggressive. When we were not in their field they were just aggressive with each other, butting heads, pushing and shoving and generally just acting like bampots. Eventually, I found a section of gorse where I could fight my way through, manage to get over the fences and, landing in the middle of gorse on the other side, was hidden from the view of the herd. All the way up the hill we kept throwing backward glances, expeting to find them charging at us.
On the sections from Ardwell Bay we had both taken tumbles and were struggling with minor injuries to our legs and ankles. Looking at the cows, thinking about the heifers, imagining the potential outcomes of climbing / clambering over fence and gorse, we decided enough was enough and decided to leave the hillside and take to the road for the walk to Knockinaam Lodge. Fortunately, there is a farm track close to the top of Cairnmon Fell that leads out to the minor road that then leads round to Knockinaam. Little to be said about the roughly five-mile road walk. We put the heads down, moved in to walking meditation mode and made the miles.