Looking for a specific photo online led me to meet the Bald Hiker. Paul leads hikes that are mostly beyond my hiking abilities. And he reviews places and things that interest me. So when this retreat hike with shorter walks came available for Galloway during my stay in the UK, I sent him off an email. With his assurances that I could do this one I started my Scottish campaign.
Step One: Getting There:
Checking with Paul, he said it was easy to get close on the train and that he would be happy to pick me up at the station. I was a bit confused about how I was going to get to Ireland from Wales on a train. I always assumed that there was a big piece of water between them. It turns out that Galloway and Galway are different places, the first being in Ireland, the second in Scotland.
The train taking was great fun. Trains are the transportation equivalent of "hold my beer." I promise you a future blog on using the UK trains. It is not as straight forward as one might thing, but it is fun and definitely interesting.
Paul and I synchronized our phones to Signal app which works for me, most of the time. When I have internet, which is some of the time. Often I get my messages 3 or 4 hours later than expected. All of my plans that include phone connections have the tag line of "If all else fails, I will wait at (this place)"
Paul only had to wait a bit under an hour, he was late, and I had given him the wrong time. It all seems to work our. He was instantly recognizable fitting his description. And I am sure that my confused American persona was also instantly identifiable.
We drove thru increasingly beautiful country to get to Castle Creavie. This is 200 acre farm is in the far south west of Scotland.
Our Hosts Dan, Ciara, and their adorable 3 year old are the most marvelous hosts. Dogs, chickens, and a couple of pet lambs run free around the farm yard, often chased by the three year old. This is Paul toting the lamb.
I stayed in the Haybarn. It is beautifully outfitted, and the full kitchen became our meal center.
Evenings were spent looking over our glasses of wine and prosecco, watching the sun setting over the hills from the porch of the Steading (a cottage that sleeps 6.)
Paul was housed in the Mongolian Yurt.The rest of the group was due in on Friday, but I got there early, knowing that the chance of things going wrong on the train was significant. Paul was a consummate host, offering to take me in to Kirkcudbright. I had a lovely bimble around this seaside town. It has achieved being a tourist oriented town without becoming an ugly tourist town. I have a lot to say about Kirkcudbright, so I think I will do a whole separate post about it.
Breakfast, including eggs supplied by the hens was at the crack of 9, and we got an early start by 10:30. The day started down a farm road, but rapidly got interesting as we went cross country,
The farm abuts an area owned by the National Forest. The tree plantings were lower than the grass, thick verdant, knee deep grass dotted with thistle and nettle and hiding an occasional hole. Needless to say I was the slowest, with the luxury of having the holes identified by those in front of me.
It was all fabulous. And Paul was really great at encouraging, assisting, and not telling us fully how much further. "Just a bit further to the top of that hill, then we're almost there." Horses, pigs, views, one great thing after another.
There were three things that were extra special to me.
The geomarker. As a geographer, it always gives me an extra joy to see one. This one was well decorated by the local fauna.
The Dragonfly pond. The photo does not begin to show just how many there were, and at least 3 identifiable species
And most exciting: the Hill Fort. The word "fort" is a bit misleading. This was were a small clan would live. A roughly circular space, with wooden walls, some stone features, in this case what appears to be a doorway, and a place that was an altar or fire place, or cooking area. Or all three at the same time, or at different times the stone served one of these purposes. It was thrilling to be able to touch the dimples in the rocks that were carved in the Iron Age.
Sunday was check out, then we went off to hike. This was one of the more challenging of my hiking experiences, but glorious none the less. The Balcary Walk. There is an excellent description of this hike at the BalkHiker web site.
Rather than giving you too much description, I am mostly going to just post the photos.
Paul and the other four ladies were so encouraging. It was in places a steep climb, and my California coastal cliff avoidance upbringing made me work harder than I might have pushed myself without them.
I think that the best thing about this trip was the getting to know 4 other women that were so different from myself. And the way that we each had something in our experienced that someone else in the group needed. And they were all so willing to share.
to make this stack.
We stopped at this chilling museum. The Devils Porridge refers to cordite, an explosive. I first heard about the Gretna munitions plant in a Maise Dobbs novel. The museum's website has hidden in it several articles on this little discussed part of the Great War.
Another attraction is the Gretna Green weddings. This is the first place north of England where a young couple could get married without her parents permission. Think Reno in Victorian. It is totally, and wonderfully tourist.
I stayed in Carlisle. This is where it stops being Scotland and becomes England. Lots of red sandstone buildings. Restaurants are mostly loud pubs and chippie shops. And this Victorian rebuild of a castle that was built at one of the gates of Hadrian's wall. And the train station.
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