Walk 138 – Knockentiber/Springside Loop

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Two great walks between the Ayrshire villages of Knockentiber and Springside. Both start along the dismantled Kilmarnock-Irvine railway track (NCN73 cycle track) before moving onto country roads. Lovely views down to Crosshouse and beyond from the highest points and the shorter loop is buggy-friendly too! 

TERRAIN: surfaced paths and cycle tracks, residential streets, country roads with no pavements.

Small parking area in Knockentiber next to the play park on Kilmaurs Rd, and on-street parking on the surrounding residential streets. Closest train station is in Kilmarnock, 2 miles outside of Knockentiber. Local bus services to Knockentiber stop on Kilmaurs Rd at the start of the walk. Knockentiber also sits on the NCN73 cycle route so can be reached easily by bike from Kilmarnock or Irvine, although there are no formal bike parking facilities in the village.

Shorter loop: 4.4 miles

buggy-friendly-image  Buggy-friendly walk (some uphill pushing required!)


Longer loop: 5.7 miles


WALK REPORT

I have walked this route several times since I was first made aware of it a few months ago by a friend who once lived in the area! That in itself speaks volumes since I do normally favour exploring new places over doing the same walk over and over.

I will always remember this as being the walk on which my mobile phone packed in for no apparent reason! It was my first time checking the route out, I was alone and I was using my phone as both navigation aid and camera.  Out of the blue despite having almost full battery it powered off…… I ended up being without it for a couple of weeks while it was off for repair. As a result I lost all of the photos I had taken that day meaning I was going to have to do the walk again before I could report on it. Good thing I had enjoyed it!

Since then I have returned with several different people including little Isla in her pram, who thoroughly enjoyed the hurl (short loop). Having tried the walks both in the evening and midweek mornings I have always found the road sections to be quiet with only the occasional passing vehicle.

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Really enjoyed the quiet country roads winding their way into Springside. I prefer this option to staying on the cycle path all the way, especially with weather like we had this evening.
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After passing it a few times on earlier walks I finally plucked up the courage to take a photo of this pretty converted church in Springside (usually I am wary of taking photos of people’s homes in case it bothers them!)
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A stunning sunset greeted us on the way back down into Knockentiber!
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Me and my shadow enjoying the views down towards Crosshouse 🙂

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