Log No 156. Fri 11th Oct 2013 - Glenluce to Monreith, 16 miles (2435 miles walked)

The weather's maybe not quite as good as yesterday but It's still t-shirt & shorts.

The buses are not very frequent on this road so it was a late start, leaving Glenluce at 11.00.

I took the minor road to Stairhaven where I intended following the footpath shown on the map.

I never know what to expect when I try to use these footpaths, if it is not a recognised long distance path there is always a chance it is so overgrown that I can't find it.

Today I was very pleasantly surprised to find a good grass footpath for all of the 2 miles to Auchenmalg.

After an initial climb up from Stairhaven it was an easy walk along the top of the slopes.

A signpost at the start said "Strictly no dogs as there is livestock on the path" but I only saw some deer. I did come across some large holes/burrows on the path, as they were close together I presumed they were badger sets. Badgers are another animal I have never seen.

There were also some seals singing on the rocks below.

From Auchenmalg it was the main road, A747, for the rest of the day. Thankfully nowhere near as busy as the A75 was yesterday.

I stopped for my second break on the remains of Chapel Finian which is what it was apparently built for in the 10/11th Century.

St Finian was a 6C Irish saint and the chapel was built here because pilgrims from Ireland would land in the nearby bay on their way to visit the shrine of St Ninian in Isle of Whithorn.

A couple of miles down the road I came across a dead badger on the grass verge, what a coincidence! That's a new entry on the "Road Kills" league table, Frogs are winning with Deer in second place.

After passing through Port William I ended the day at 16.30 in a small car park just coming into Monreith. The information board says Gavin Maxwell used to walk his otter on the beach here.

16 miles walked today.