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This is a circular walk beginning in the quaint rural Ayrshire village of Straiton. Initially the route heads uphill to follow rough and sometimes overgrown, boggy tracks through an area of woodland. Enjoy fine views down into the village and the Galloway hills beyond. The return leg of the walk loops back into Straiton on a variety of terrain including farm tracks, grassy fields and surfaced roads. Option to shorten the walk to 4 miles described below.
Car park off Kirkmichael Road, Straiton (KA19 7NF). There is an information board in the car park and some leaflets about walks in the area. Local bus service stops on Main Street, 1 minute from the walk start point.
Route: Leave the car park from the main entrance, cross Kirkmichael Road and turn left (North West). Almost immediately take the road on your right (North East) signposted Fowler’s Croft. Walk along this residential street passing some pretty cottages on your left-hand side and a small burn on your right-hand side. At the end of the road follow a narrow track straight ahead into the trees (path not shown on map). You will emerge onto B741/Dalmellington Road.Turn left (East) and walk along the roadside for 240m before turning left again (North) to cross a stone bridge onto a minor road. The road heads uphill past Hazel Lodge, just beyond which there is a fork. Keep left (North) onto a farm track. Follow this track uphill and after 640m turn left (North West) onto a wide grassy footpath in the trees (very overgrown & boggy in places at the time of writing). This path winds it’s way through a tree-lined corridor. Keep right (North) at a fork 1km along (only shown on OS map). After another 1.5km you will emerge at a gate. Pass through the gate and turn left (South) to follow a surfaced road downhill and past Altizourie farm to the B7045/Kirkmichael Road. [For 4 mile option and to avoid the field crossing, turn left (South East) here and return to Straiton via the B7045]. Crossing the road, continue almost straight ahead (West) onto a gravel track. Soon after passing Bishopland Lodge, turn left (South) at a fork and after 340m you will reach a gate at the entrance to a field. Continue ahead to cross the field keeping close to the boundary fence on your right-hand side. The field takes the shape of a small hill and you will be walking around the base of it. Pass into a second field via a gate then head South East towards a circle of trees ahead. Keep right to go around the trees then continue East across the field to a gate which leads to B7045. Go through the gate and turn right (South) along B7045. After 300m take the second right (West) and walk along this road to reach The Old Bridge of Blairquhan over the Water of Girvan. Cross the bridge then turn left (South). You will reach a crossroads at the B741. Cross over and continue straight ahead (South). Take the first road on your left (East), signposted Bennan Stay on this road until you have passed through Bennan farm then turn left (East) and follow the track along until you reach Newton Stewart Road. Turn left (North) onto Newton Stewart Road and when you reach the war memorial turn left (North West) onto Main Street/B741. Walk through the village to reach the car park, 400m along on the left-hand side.
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A while back I picked up a leaflet containing several walks in the Straiton area, one of which was the Hill Wood Walk. I’d enjoyed my previous rambles in the area so knew this one would be no different.
The initial climb out of the village was perhaps steeper and longer than I had anticipated, so we were grateful for the lovely view at the top for a chance to catch our breath. After a little bit of confusion due to the Hill Wood path being quite overgrown and “not possibly where we need to go” we determined that it was indeed the way and set off into the jungle.
Somehow whilst inside the Hill Wood I managed to lose mum! It was the most impossible path ever to lose someone on, but we managed it. To set the scene, here is what the path was like……
…basically a (very overgrown!) tree-lined corridor continuing for 1.5 miles with nowhere to go either side. I needed to use the bathroom, found a suitable spot, told mum, she said ok and continued along the path, I did my business, came out from the trees two minutes later and picked up the pace to catch up. Where the hell is she? I thought as I followed the path around yet another bend . No sign of her! I stopped and checked behind me. Nothing. I listened for crunching or swishing of grass or any sort of noise to signify another person was near…. just an eerie silence. Muuuum?! I called out…. not a peep in reply. I knew I hadn’t passed her, and I knew there had been no alternative paths, so she must be ahead of me. Yet I knew that she wouldn’t usually go so far ahead without waiting…. Has she been dragged into the trees by some mad man? All sorts of things went through my head and I didn’t know whether to keep walking or start heading back. I was going to have to try and phone her! Just as I reached for my mobile it rang, ‘Mum’ flashing on the screen. Turned out she had decided to go to the loo as well just along from where I’d stopped! Could only happen to us….!
The route described in the leaflet was not a circular – it appeared to end when you emerged out of the Hill Wood at the main road. The return options seemed to be to retrace your steps back through Hill Wood or walk along the busy B road, neither of which appealed to me in the slightest. So I devised my own circular walk from here, and the result was better than I could have imagined! (I did boast to my mum that in my very biased opinion the return section was far more interesting and enjoyable than the published walk from the leaflet 😉 ) There was wildlife-a-plenty: dragonflies, bees, butterflies, heron, a bird of prey (need to swot up on my birds!) and some beautiful areas of wild flowers.
When we reached the field I became a little nervous as there wasn’t actually a path or track across it. Although on our particular visit there were what appeared to be fresh landrover tracks which had flattened the grass enough to leave a trail for us to follow. We soon found out why: the farmer was out. He turned out to be really nice and even paused, puffing away at his pipe, to hold a gate open for us.
After coming off the field we were back onto surfaced minor roads and gravel tracks. Highlights included crossing the Old Bridge of Blairquhan and fine views across the fields to Monument Hill (a walk for a different day!)
We both loved the very last section of the walk through Straiton. Despite parking next to the recreation ground several times in the past for walks or visits to the play park, this was my first time actually passing through the village itself. Rows of quaint cottages with tiny little gardens to the front. A real ‘olde worlde’ feel about it.
And no walk would be complete without a visit to the local public toilets (even though, as you have read, we definitely shouldn’t have needed to go yet!) It turns out that they are run by locals, having been closed by the council in 2008. Apparently it costs £3500 to run every year and they rely solely on donations. We loved this little poem inside which got the message across in a lighthearted way 🙂
Read about my other walks in the Straiton area:
Use this website often? I invite you to support my work through Patreon or by making a one-off donation.
Use this website often? I invite you to support the continued creation of high quality content through Patreon or by making a one-off donation.
