Walk 19 – Kilmarnock South – 4 miles

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An urban walk guiding you to parts of Kilmarnock you may never have seen before! And with a visit to Howard Park, the little one will be happy too. Mostly on pavements, however there are two short sections which are earth tracks and can sometimes be muddy.

buggy friendly image  Buggy friendly – there are some steps down onto Queen’s Drive but they are very wide so fine for bumping down. Also, when you reach the houses at Victoria Crescent, stay on New Mill Road to avoid the steps up onto the bridge at Wellbeck Street.

  Parking available at Bellfield shops (KA1 3RB). Local bus service stops on Haining Avenue a couple of minutes walk away. Kilmarnock bus and train stations are 1.8 miles away. If arriving into the town via bus/train station you could pick up the route outside Aldi*, 0.8 miles away.

Kilmarnock South

WALK REVIEW: 9th March 2016 (updated 28th Jan 2017)

I have a bit of a problem… an obsession perhaps…. I can’t pass a track without wanting to know where it leads! I regularly drive down the slip road from the Bellfield Interchange onto the A77 heading North. One day recently I spotted a path heading off to the left and ever since I have been desperate to know where it leads. I could never get a good look because I was always driving and therefore concentrating on the merge, but it seemed to go underneath a bridge and off into the countryside. I was intrigued!

So today I took Thomas in his buggy and headed there to see where it would take us. Ok so it wasn’t the most beautiful walk I have ever been on, being a little more urban than I would prefer, but I very much enjoyed it nonetheless…..

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Train line seen from the top of Queen’s Drive. Ayrshire Athletics Arena racetrack to the left.
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It turns out that the path beside the slip road takes you along this pot-holed farm track, under the railway and past the grounds of the Ayrshire Athletics Arena. Thomas found it hilarious going through the puddles in the buggy!
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It was along this road that we found these baby apples – hundreds of them just lying on the side of the road! Of course a million questions ensued about why they were there, who put them there, could we eat them, why not, etc – toddlers are such curious creatures!
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Looking back along the River Irvine from Victoria Terrace towards Cluarankwai Judo Club. I took this photo on my more recent visit to this walk in Jan 2017, hence the wintry look! I always find it a shame that this isn’t tidied up a bit, because it is definitely a very scenic spot. Lots of rubbish and debris seems to lie around all the time but considering the flats on Victoria Terrace look down onto it and a nice footpath has been made along it, it would make sense to keep it looking good.
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The riverside footpath along behind the houses on Victoria Terrace.
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The lovely tarmac footpath behind the Victoria Terrace flats then becomes rather muddy on it’s journey towards the stairs to Wellbeck Street. This is the part to avoid with a buggy – alternative directions in route description.
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On the way to Howard Park we passed the building of the former St Andrew’s Glencairn Church, and for the first time in my life (despite having passed it thousands of times!) I noticed this plaque outside explaining that it contains the grave of Johnnie Walker! The surprises this town holds!
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A small section of the play park in Howard Park
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East Ayrshire Council offices on Greenholm Street. Sadly this lovely building was demolished in 2019!
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The beautiful Riccarton Church. I have always admired this building, sitting up high, so grand with it’s impressive steeple visible from all around the South side of Kilmarnock. If you do this walk in springtime you might time it right to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom! I have since learned that it is a “B” listed building and that the hill it is built on is called the Moot Hill, or “The Hill of Judgement” – the place where villagers used to gather to see justice being served….. There’s a thought to leave you with!

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