Day 136 Newton Stewart to Kirkcudbright

 

Date: Monday 29^th July 2013   Distance: 36.42 Miles

 

It had rained heavily again during the night. The man of the house looked after us this morning and it was an alright breakfast. We learnt that they were from Zimbabwe. The house had many unusual artefacts like a lovely joiner’s workbench and lathes as well as those from more African origin. Although from the early 1800s the house was well built in the Georgian style for one of the local landowner’s  spinster daughters.

 

It was a cloudy start on cycle route 7 out of Newton Stewart at times on a disused railway line. There were families with small children on bikes here. Just before coming into Creetown the surface of the path was lethal and we slipped twice, then walked a bit.

 

Creetown is a little port used to export granite from nearby quarries in the 19th century. We stopped at the museum so we could use the loo and dry off a bit from the rain. It was £4 and the exhibits a little disappointing. The loo seat did fall off when I sat on it so I felt a bit guilty but the care-taker  dutifully put a do not use sign on it.

 

 On our way out of Creetown in the old school on Rusko Road we stopped at the gem museum. It was a far cry from the other museum being presented in a modern and attractive way, with gems,  collected from all round the world- a treasure trove. Education seemed to be at its heart too with questionnaires for children of all ages-like spot the rabbits made from gems. They had a wonderful cafe with lots of homemade food too. The owner seemed taken with the tandem and insisted on showing me around- not really Bob’s thing. His father had made the collection and there was a fantastic array of cut and uncut stones some massive and others tiny. He was particularly proud of the gem cave. The price for here was the same as the disappointing museum.

 

It was 6 miles up and 6 miles down until the Gatehouse of Fleet.  This seemed quite a large place with many 18th century buildings, several coffee shops and a Mill. Unfortunately we chose the Murray Arms for our lunch. The smartly dressed girls were very good and personable as waitresses but the cheese and ham toastie! The toaster must have broken as part was burnt and the other wasn’t cooked at all and the wet lettuce made my bread soggy. The French onion soup was lots of spaghetti like onion in a watery liquid of insipidity. Such a shame and we should have complained. This pub is next to the Gateway building.

 

Up past the gateway turning right it was an off road section of cycle route 7 through Cally Woods with wild strawberries. We passed a tower marked on the map as Temple, an 18th century folly.

People have seen red squirrels here. It was unclear which way to take at one point but we went over a bridge over marshy ground to a minor road and then back on the official route 7. After more up and down we decided to see what the Galloway Creamery was about as there seemed to be more cars and people about. It was humming with people. An adventure playground with fairground rides, tractor ride, guided tours of their organic farm and ice cream tastings also nature walks and other activities for children.

 

Back on the bike we passed farmland with cows and sheep with views of the sea in the distance

There was a lovely beach a few miles short of Kirkcudbright with people in the sea. In front of the beach was a car park on the swathe of grass. It was hot at this point. The river Dee meets the sea not far away and we were soon going over the bridge spanning the river into town. Turning left we soon found our B and B, Anchorlee.

 

We walked into town and had a lovely pork roast meal in the Kirkcudbright Arms Hotel.

Some girls on the jetty were fishing for crabs, small and green and apparently not very tasty. They were using raw bacon on the end of fishing rope. They gave Bob a try but he hadn’t got the knack. After catching a hundred they were trying to race them back to the sea but the crabs moved sideways the wrong way. Enlisting the help of other bystanders they eventually caught them all and they went back in the water hopefully not too traumatised!

 

The town was interesting to walk around even when the shops were closed. It is known as an artist’s town. MacLellans Castle a ruined 16th century mansion had a Rapunzel hanging out of a upper floor window and birds made from gloves hung in the tree in the grounds.