The drive was fine for a while but once we cleared Dalmellington the gritters appeared to have gone on strike, no evidence of grip at all, so a slow careful journey to Carsphairn. After that the side road to the walk start was another 6 miles of sheet ice on a minor road, great care indeed, were we mad, would we meet another car coming opposite? Thankfully no incidents but just getting out of the car was a challenge, it was an ice rink.
Walk finally underway and the route initially followed the Southern Upland Way path. An electric fence to get over first. Normally the Way track would be clear but with the snowfall it was more a case of spotting a marker post and heading for it.
A nice start to the morning but already the clouds were darkening, more snow? A couple of roe deer bounded off to the trees, stunning deep brown coats, white rumps clear even in these white conditions. Only wildlife seen today.
Actually feeling quite warm, enough to remove my mid layer, hat and gloves. At tea break I realised my GPS watch had not started, no doubt my fault, so a belated recorded trip info.
We soon reached a crossroads with different options for the hill but we opted for the direct route up to Manquill Hill. The snow was much deeper here and the lead walkers were doing a good job trailblazing the hard work, breaking the new snow for the rest of the group.
There were good views looking to our left of Cairnsmore of Carsphairn, great light, mist covering the middle, good chance it was an inversion up top.
However, the one drawback so far was the pace of the walk. We were averaging about half the pace I would have expected. With hindsight some of the party probably should not have been on the walk, in normal circumstances maybe but in these conditions maybe not, but once started we have to go at the pace of the slowest.
A brief respite on the top of Manquill hill followed with a short downhill walk with views up Benbrack, albeit the top was covered in cloud. As it turned out by the time we got to the bottom of Benbrack the leader was concerned at the pace and that time was against us as the hardest climb still to be done. The main issue was not the walk out as the white conditions would have made the light ok, but the issue of driving the 6 miles of minor road, in ice rink conditions, in the dark.
Sadly we agreed to abort, wise decision, the hill will still be there for another day.
On the way back we pass the Manquill bothy. Apparently this derelict bothy was renovated with govt money (our money), for the benefit of Southern Upland Way walkers, looked after by the mountain bothy association, but then a couple of years later it was taken back by the landowners and closed to the public. No wonder some landowners are derided.
On a happier note the light conditions today were fantastic, at times it was like being in a solely black and white landscape. Then a glimpse of blue sky gave some colour, an odd lower hill had the oranges and browns to give yet more colour, photos from ordinary cameras cannot do this justice.
Overall it was an enjoyable walk but no doubt we would have finished in the dark had we continued.
A check with another walkers GPS gave this data:
Time:4.23 hr
Distance: 6.7 miles
Ascent: 400m approx.
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