Walk 29 – River Ayr Way (Annbank to Failford) – 7.5 miles

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A beautiful walk along the banks of the River Ayr, taking in Peden's Cove in the Ayr Gorge Woodland as well as Highland Mary's Monument in Failford.

  Parking available in Annbank – I found a little parking area (fits 3 cars) at the top of Mill Road, otherwise there is plenty of on-street parking close to the start of the walk. Local bus service stops on B744 close to the start of the walk.

River Ayr Way - Annbank to Failford

WALK REPORT: 31st March 2016

Diversions, a beautiful red sandstone gorge, an impressive railway viaduct, quaint little villages, a lesson in Ayrshire history, and the muddiest field-crossing I’ve experienced to date! This is a beautiful walk along the banks of the River Ayr, taking in Peden’s Cove in the Ayr Gorge Woodland as well as Highland Mary’s Monument in Failford.

The highlight of this walk for me was definitely Ayr Gorge Woodland and I am so grateful to have taken on this walking challenge allowing me to discover places like this so close to home that I never knew existed. I look forward to taking my husband and kids there soon to do some more exploring! Special mention to a friend, Michelle Stokes, for recommending this walk to me 🙂

I was really lucky with the weather this day which made for some excellent photo opportunities!

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Approaching Enterkine Viaduct
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Enterkine Viaduct – the closer I got to this enormous structure the more in awe of it I was!
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Detour across farmland near Stair is host to the boggiest path I have experienced so far on the 29 walks I have completed! I finally established that the easiest route across was through the middle! Grateful for my gaiters….. It is however a tiny section of the 7 mile walk and in no way should put you off, just be prepared for it 😉
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Track which forms part of the diversion put in place to avoid the section of the river path currently closed due to landslide
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Red sandstone is a feature found inside Ayr Gorge woodland and this photo is an example of how visible it is beneath the river in some places.
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It is well worth the walk along to visit Peden’s Cove – such a beautiful spot! It is also possible to do a shorter walk starting in Failford which comes along to Peden’s Cove and back again.
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Another view from Peden’s Cove

To read my other River Ayr Way walk reports click HERE

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