Ayrshire Coastal Path Ardrossan - Portencross

The festivities are over and my weight has gone up so a need for serious exercise is a priority. Along with many others I have had a cold and sore throat for what seems like weeks now, so no heavy running or cycling just yet. I woke up this morning to rain battering the bedroom window. 

Looking across to Arran

The forecast last night had indicated that today could be the only decent day for the rest of the week so what's the score? On went the internet to check and the met office site now showed the rain to clear up about 9 am, then mainly dry with the possibility of some blustery wintery showers. Make your mind up time but as the rest of the week shows constant rain today is the day for getting outdoors. As it turned out we saw plenty of blue sky and black stuff as well.
A friend wanted to come with me but his walking distance is limited so I opted for a straight forward stretch of the Ayrshire Coastal Path. I intend to walk the whole path over the next few months but I will be doing it in stages rather than one 5 or 6 day chunk. It is easier for me to do it this way and as it passes my door there is no need to pay for B&B's etc. But as it is a straight line up the southern west coast logistics will still be slightly challenging without two cars. 

Looking south an angry front goes past

As I pack some gear into the car the rain comes on again, is this an omen? Pick up Franny and a short drive takes us to the town of Ardrossan, probably more famous as the place to get the ferry to the Isle of Arran but it is a starting point in the guide for the path. Ardrossan is in the process of reinventing itself from being a town with a high area of unemployment and poverty to a modern marina with surrounding upmarket apartments and restaurants. This is ongoing with further development plans in the works, well done to them.
The walk for us starts close to the ferry terminal and we can see the ferry out at sea heading towards the magnificent island of Arran. A short stroll soon has us going along the seaside walkway. The wind batters us from the North but the skies are blue, for the moment. Today we will have the sea on our left for the full walk and as we are walking northwards the sun is at our back. Helpful as in these conditions at this time of year the sun can be sore on the eyes. You have a choice of beach or roadside path. Pick the beach and you are hardly aware of the road traffic. 
This stretch of sandy coastline takes you up to Seamill/West Kilbride. On a nice summers day the cars will line this route as families enjoy the beach. It is known locally as the pink beach due to its high sandstone content, many of these sandstone outcrops are still intact along the way. The views across the firth are to Arran with snow on the high tops. It is a day when Arran frequently disappears as the next weather front rolls down the firth. Thankfully we avoided the worst of it until late on.

Seamill - West Kilbride

The wind is still blustery by the time we reach Seamill/West Kilbride and today we stay on the beach path which avoids the need to go through the town, unless you want some food and drink or toilets as there are none of these on the path itself. Seamill mainly sits on the coastline with West Kilbride slightly inland. West Kilbride has developed itself as a craft town with small businesses and galleries if you wish a detour. Thankfully as we go past the caravan park the wind drops and the walking is more comfortable.
This coastal walk is full of inlets some well populated with sea-birds. In one alone we spotted mallard; widgeon; teal; oystercatchers; curlew; redshank; turnstone and most common gulls, not a bad start.

Looking north to Little Cumbrae

The beach is popular with dog walkers but thankfully no angry dogs around today only sniffers. Sadly there are more instances of dog dirt around than I would like to see. As we walk on the view north is dominated by Little Cumbrae which stands out majestically when the sun hits it. This small island has a ruined castle which was destroyed by Cromwell. You can see the existing settlement from Portencross. The island is owned by a Hindu couple and is said to be a centre for yoga and meditation but in reality little is known about their activities.
The route now takes you past the golf course which is demanding at the best of times but more difficult with this wind. All the golfers are well wrapped up. I enjoyed my first round of the year yesterday but it was a much milder day.
The beach has disappeared into a mass of rocks and boulders lined with slippery seaweed. We pass a waymarker for 'Portencross Road' but decide to keep walking to the point where we come across a small gate into a field. The local cows have done their best in making this section a thick muddy gloop so a short detour towards the sea allows us to cross into firmer ground. 

Portencross Castle

At the other end of the field is Portencross castle which has a carpark if you were doing this as a 2 car job. We stick to the rocky shore and approach the castle from this side. The panoramic views at this point are just breathtaking, you just can't buy this scenery, absolutely magnificent. To our west across the firth is Arran, looking north you can see the Argyll peninsula. Little Cumbrae dominates immediately in front and to its side the houses of Millport Bay stand out. Behind Cumbrae the hills part to reveal the entrance to the Holy Loch and right beside us is Portencross castle. With the blue sky, blue water, waves sparkling white as they end their journey crashing onto the rocks, what a scene. The castle has stood since the 1300's but has anecdotal history going back to the 800-1000's when it is said the bodies of Scottish kings departed from Portencross to their burial sites on Iona, a hazardous journey. It is also said that Robbie Stewart, the 1st Stewart king, signed 'charters' here.
The weather at times was extremely black and angry as it passed on either side of us, so far so lucky, we had been spared. At this point against the darkness I saw the enormous shape of a nuclear submarine as it came down the firth after leaving its Faslane base on the aforementioned Holy Loch. Whatever your view on the money spent on this deterrent it is still an impressive sight.

Nuclear sub heading to sea

Rainbow over Seamill

We had done our bit for the day. The final stretch of the walk from Portencross to Largs I will look forward to another day. According to the guide book today our walk was just over 6 miles. We have another 3 miles or so backtracking to get our lift so a good enough stretch of the legs. We had spotted quite a few rainbows today and right at the end of our walk the black heavens opened with ice rain beating down, a short but wet shower with our own close up of a rainbow.

Portencross coastline

It is January, hat and gloves on but it was a cracking wee walk to get the year started, as they say in the west of Scotland, pure dead brilliant.