Terrain: This walk is graded easy. Mostly pavements and quiet country roads, with three short busier sections. No gates, stiles or steps on the 4.5 mile route. If you opt for the shorter 3 mile route there is a small patch of grass to cross at the back of the John Walker Drive play area, which can sometimes be muddy and leads to a gate which is permanently ajar, just enough to walk through. The shorter route doesn’t go all the way into Knockentiber, instead cutting up a steep embankment onto the cycle track.
Buggy friendly walk (4.5 mile version). There are even two play parks on the route, one at the start and one in Knockentiber!
Small car park just off John Walker Drive, Kilmarnock (KA3 1NE) near the entrance to the recycling centre. Local bus service stops on Western Rd or Hill Street, a short walk from the start point. Kilmarnock bus and train stations are approx 1 mile away.
View full route description
Start by walking north uphill on John Walker Drive.
If following the 4.5 mile buggy-friendly route, go all the way to the very end of John Walker Drive then turn left onto A735. You will quickly come to a country road on your left. Follow this road all the way into Knockentiber. Turn right onto Kilmaurs Road and walk through the village, looking out for a sign for a cycle route on your left as you walk along (NCR 73). Go down the ramp and turn right along the cycle track.
If following the 3 mile route, when you reach a play park on your left cut across it to find an old metal gate at the far side, leading onto a single track road – turn left to walk along the road. Immediately after passing beneath an old railway bridge, look for an earth track heading up the embankment on your right. At the top turn right along the cycle track.
This takes you all the way back to Kilmarnock, emerging onto Munro Avenue.
Turn left then left again to find the car park where the walk started.
WALK REPORT: 22 April 2016
Its Friday night at 6:30pm, and a sign of how life has changed is that instead of getting showered and dressed to go out clubbing, I am pulling on my hiking trousers and trainers and heading to meet my friend Lynsey J for a walk!
You live in a town all your life and tend to visit the same places all the time. One of the things I am enjoying about my 100 walk challenge is exploring new parts of Kilmarnock I never knew existed. Tonight was an example of that! As it is right behind where they live, Lynsey and her husband walk, run and cycle these roads regularly but it was a first for me. I did my usual trick of spotting roads going off in other directions, giving me ideas for future walks such as one out to Kilmaurs which Lynsey will hopefully join me on soon!
What I probably enjoyed most about this walk was the good old chat we had! We meet up regularly but both being mothers of 2 kids, our catch ups are normally spent chasing pre-schoolers around a play park or softplay rather than actually chatting so it was nice to have nothing else to do but walk and talk. Other mums (and dads) will perhaps sympathise with the scenario of meeting a friend with the kids, spending a couple of hours with them and coming home realising that you hardly finished any of the conversations you were having and therefore don’t actually know how they are or what they have been up to! Happens to me all the time. Tonight was different though and I really enjoyed it 🙂
