South West Scotland - 3

Jun 13 - 16 2019

 A New England

On the way to New England Bay, in the South Rhins of Galloway, we stopped in a lay-by with lovely views over the island of Ailsa Craig (beloved of bored cameramen during golf from Turnberry) and the Firth of Clyde and then at Portpatrick.

Ailsa Craig

This should have been a pretty little fishing harbour, where you could sit outside one of several cafes watching the world go by.  In reality, it was cold, gloomy, with very few people about and we had a quick walk around before hastening back to the 'van.  On a positive note, there is a lifeboat station there, and John purchased his normal quota of RNLI Christmas cards!

Gloomy Portpatrick

The CMC site at New England Bay stretches for quite some way along the coast and you can walk in either direction.  And you see plenty of birds from the comfort of the 'van.  The only way to get to the Mull of Galloway was to take the van and John bravely tackled the winding B-road with high hedges, followed by the single-track road with passing places, a total of 5 miles.  Just before the Mull, we literally had to nudge our way through a herd of cattle and calves. 

But we arrived unscathed and the scenery and views over Luce Bay and the Irish Sea were well worth the journey.  The Lake District Fells and the Isle of Man were clearly visible, with a dark smudge on the western horizon indicating Northern Ireland. Unfortunately, the lighthouse tours were not taking place due to a wedding later in the afternoon, but we did a circular walk around the Mull, ending at the RSBP visitor centre, where the volunteers were delighted to chat about the many birds in the vicinity.

Mull of Galloway

From New England Bay we cycled 2.5 miles on minor roads to get to Logan Botanic Gardens, which is part of the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens. Its specialism is plants from warm climates of the world.

Logan Botanic Garden

It was then time to head east, following the coast past Auchenmalg Bay and Port William, before cutting across to Withorn.  This is where "St Ninian, the first apostle of Christianity in Scotland, is believed to have built his church Candida Casa.  For centuries, commoners and kings have visited the shrine of the saint.  The settlement grew to become Scotland's first town".  The detailed exhibition was very interesting but we only scurried round the remains of the church, as it was raining again.