Walk 191 – Fairlie Glens and Waterfalls Circular – 4.3 miles

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On a clear day the views from this route are simply outstanding: the islands of Cumbrae & Arran and the pink sandy beaches at Fairlie and Hunterston. A variety of woodland paths, tracks and grassy hillsides lead you gently uphill past the remains of Fairlie Castle and along the base of Black Hill. The return section follows the Fairlie Moor Road and then the Ayrshire Coastal Path. There is the opportunity to visit some fantastic hidden waterfalls along the route if you don't mind some slightly rougher terrain for a few minutes!

Dog-friendly walk (note: livestock possible on the path along the base of Black Hill and on-road walking for the second half of the walk – you’ll know whether this suits your own dog or not)

Walk starts from Fairlie Train Station (KA29 0DX) where there is a small car park. Regular trains between Fairlie and Glasgow / the Three Towns. Bus stop on Main Road/A78, a couple of minutes walk from the start.


WALK REPORT: 24TH MAY 2019

This is a route which I planned with EnRich Outdoors for the Clyde Muirshiel Walking Festival. I had opted to lead one closer to home than the previous year’s Four Waters to Corlic Hill route, mainly to cut back on travel time. Fairlie wasn’t an area I knew that well, so I had some exploring to do before we could promote the walk on the festival programme! We recce’d the route on a glorious sunny day in May and were rewarded with the most magnificent views across to the Cumbraes and the Isle of Arran. I couldn’t believe the turquoise of the water or the pink sands of Fairlie and Hunterston beaches – it felt like we were on one of the western isles or abroad. Unfortunately when we led the walk for the walking festival the weather wasn’t quite so kind!

The waterfalls were actually a surprise to me! Although appearing hidden, it turned out that the first one was not really, as we later crossed over the top of it on a footbridge. Still, it is much nicer to see from below than from above! The second waterfall we only ‘found’ thanks to an old wooden way marker just off the path which simply said “waterfall”. Of course we were intrigued so followed the path. There were some fallen trees to negotiate and a little bit of scrambling – and all of a sudden out of nowhere there it was! There wasn’t a lot of water in it during our visit, granted, but enough to make an impression. Imagine it when the burn is in spate! The third and final waterfall was one the EnRich Outdoors team had visited before but was a first for me. Again, it wasn’t far off the main path (not signposted this time though!) and it was another “wow” moment as I approached. This one reminded me of the Yad Waterfall in Maspie Den, Fife because you could actually walk in behind it. I guess you probably can’t always do that, however the water levels were low enough when we were there that it was easily done.

We chose a really colourful time of year to do the walk: the hawthorn trees were in full bloom and bluebells carpeted the woodland floors. There was also coconut-scented gorse along the base of Black Hill, and Fairle Moor Road was lined with irises. We saw lots of hairy caterpillars, found the empty shell of a bird’s egg and an abandoned wasps nest! I can definitely recommend doing this walk in May, though I am sure it is a pleasure most times of the year and especially after heavy rainfall when the waterfalls will be all the more spectacular (and the path all the more boggy!)

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