Apologies for the delay in the blog, the wifi in the lodge was very intermittent and sometimes very slow so it was not completely suitable to complete the blog. So it is now Saturday and we are back at Bathgate at Malc and Marina with their super wifi, so here it is:
There are forty walks on Arran according to a book on the subject, Monday we decided to do two of them. The forest and beach walk to The Kings Cave and the second to Machrie Moor Standing Stones.
The Kings Cave is a cave on the beach just near Machrie, the King in question was Robert the Bruce and cave was one of the places he was reputed to have hidden in from the English and where the legend says he sat and watched the spider. There is quite a trek through a forest then you come out on the cliff top and descend down to the beach through ferns and wild flowers. The forest is quite dense and in parts quite spooky and very Game of Thrones, the path was reasonable but the climb down to the beach is a bit steep and needs careful footsteps. There are several caves in the cliffs and they are are big and go quite a way into the rock. The actual Kings Cave is narrow and gets narrower the further you get in, it is an interesting place wether or not you believe the legend. To complete the walk circle walk along the beach and start the ascent back to the top of the cliff, the way back was easier and the view over the bay are really nice, all in all a nice walk.
Next, just up the road to see the Machrie Moor Standing Stones, these are the same age as Stonehenge somewhere in the region of four thousand years. There are at least six distinct sites and we saw several of them including the tallest section. We walked from the car park through the fields of sheep and droppings, watch where you walk and as it was muddy underfoot it took some time to negotiate the path. When we got to the main site there were three mothers and their annoying children so we sat on a rock and waited for them to move on but they seemed more interested in gossip and taking pictures of the kids climbing over the stones. After about ten minutes I had to go over to them and asked if there was a chance to take some pictures, they were apologetic and moved on to annoy others.
Our walking total for the day was 9.65 km and the feet felt every metre.
The walk to the Kings Cave
The dark forest, all very Game of Thrones
Walk in the Forest
Winter is Coming and with it the White Walkers.....!
Lucky heather lady?
i can see the beach from here
Path down to beach
Now for the Walk to Machrie Moor
Cave entrance
The Kings cave
Pine needles not snow
now that's style
part of the Machrie Moor Standing Stones
Blackwaterfoot
