8.24 miles 4h 46min ascent 68m
Girvan Mains – Maidens
Much of the 8.24-mile journey from Girvan Mains to Maidens is actual beach walking and offers ample time to soak in the beauty of the Ayrshire coast, with its dramatic cliffs, secluded coves, and vast stretches of sandy beach. Keep an eye out for Ailsa Craig, a volcanic island that rises majestically from the sea, and Turnberry Lighthouse, a historic landmark that has guided ships for centuries. Pause to reflect at the Turnberry War Memorial, a poignant reminder of the sacrifices made during wartime. And don’t miss the ancient Standing Stone on Bain’s Hill, a mysterious relic that whispers tales of the past.
A nearby sign reminded us that Girvan Mains is a working farm and we got togged up under the watchful eye of a white cow. We also walked past a pile of potatoes and a line of cows in a barn.
The track beyond the farm took us past fields of barley and what we eventually realised were potatoes. They had had their foliage cut off, presumably as a prelude to harvesting.
The track turned to run a little above the beach giving us easier walking than the pebbles of the beach. This was probably the closest we would come to Ailsa Craig. You can just make out the lighthouse at Turnberry, as a white dot, in the picture below. I thought the waterworks didn’t warrant a photograph. I think we struck lucky with the tides and were able to walk on wet sand, by far the easiest type of beach for walking, for much of the day.
Where the track ended we had a choice of route. As the sign explained…
Ayrshire Coastal Path
Girvan Mains
Electric-fenced
Bull Pens for 500m.
When occupied
– December to June – Walkers must use bypass shore route.
Please inform Girvan Mains at once of any loose animals.
The beach looked quite unpleasant and since it was July we went for the field route. We could always ‘hop’ over the electric fence if an unseasonal bull was hanging about. The ground had been bovined, to coin a term, but was probably easier than the rocky beach.
We emerged from the (empty) bull pens at the cottages of the Curragh. This apparently means bog in gaelic but the ground seemed firm enough now. We chatted (well Audrey chatted) with a band of workmen had just installed the new kissing gate that gave us access to another potato field for 300m. Then we were onto the beach proper. The kissing gate here looked in need of replacement. The beach was pebbles but the tide was out and we soon found our way to some real sand where the walking was easy. There were some very interesting skies over Ailsa Craig – see photo at the top of this post.
At Dipple the official ACP leaves the beach and joins the A77 for half a mile. I presumed this was to use the road to cross the Lady Burn. But we looked at the burn and thought we would be able to get across and save ourselves the diversion. Once across we congratulated ourselves but oh how the mighty fall.
After 100m we came to a pipeline. No problem getting over that but beyond it was a morass of slimy seaweed. I did try walking across it but it became increasing mushy. My boots sank deeper with each step. So we withdrew our self-congratulations and re-crossed the burn. We made our way up to the main road.
The OS map has a “Motte” beside the road but there isn’t much to see. There wasn’t any pavement for much of the way so I was glad we didn’t have the dogs with us. But there was a bus stop where we could shelter from the wind, and rest on its misericord while we had a coffee break. Just after the “Ayrshire Tatties” sign we noticed an ACP sign showing the way to the beach. There were other signs suggesting the ACP ran beside the IFF factory fence rather than the road but that was so over grown we couldn’t have used it.
A step stile took us to some very overgrown beach growth. I couldn’t at first see where a way through and there was a stagnant pond hiding in there. I went down a wee slope in the bushes worrying that I would walk down into water, but there was a way through and we were soon back on the beach.
There were wide sands on the beach below Balkenna Hill and it was more easy walking, We crossed the Downhill burn very easily. It became wider and shallower as it went down the beach.
Balkenna Burn was more of a problem. One of us thought it was crossable, one didn’t. So we back-tracked and made our way up to the small footbridge at Balkenna Bend then back down to the wide sands of Turnberry Bay.
An ACP sign pointed up some steps onto the dunes. I went up to have a look and saw that this would be quite a diversion. The benefit would be that it had a footbridge across Milton Burn. But the burn looked crossable so we walked on along the beach. Once we actually reached the burn we found ourselves with a recognisable problem. Only one of us thought it could be crossed without wading. So we backtracked and climbed the steps over the dunes. A footpath wound through tall grass and willowherb crossed a bridge then brought us back to the sands.
The day’s beach walking ended just short of Turnberry Point. A small ACP sign indicated a way through the golf course. Several, larger, golf course signs reminded us we were on a golf course and that being struck by a golf ball would be entirely our own fault.
There is a Lighthouse and a War Memorial on the Turnberry Course. The Ayrshire Coastal Path doesn’t visit them but both can be seen from the path. It was strange to see that the runways Of the old RAF base are still there.
Unfortunately there weren’t any handy benches where the ACP crosses Turnberry Golf Course. The best we could do was sit on the kerb at the car park for our lunch.
The rest of the way should have been along the A719 to Maidens. There was a wide pavement so the traffic wasn’t such a problem and we were flanked by farmland and the other runways. A milestone told us we were 6 miles from Girvan 6 miles but we had walked a little more than that.
There is an ancient Standing Stone on Bain’s Hill, above Maidens, and I thought it would be nice to visit it. It would be a shortcut into the bargain. We did visit the stone. A path was mown in the grass from the car park of Malin Court. Unfortunately the ‘shortcut’ down into Maidens eluded us. The shortcut turned into extra walking.
Maidens takes its name from the rocks forming its harbour, The Maidens.
