South West Scotland 2021: Part Eighteen

22 September 2021

Last night I’d driven until I realised that by driving in the dark I was missing the chance to see new places, and I got really tired. So when I pulled in to where the two other motorhomes were, I settled and fell asleep quickly without having a single idea of where I really was. When I looked out of my window in the morning, I was parked up in a concrete area nestled in among the trees, the sky was filled with cloud and one of the motorhomes had already left. I couldn’t see anything else. I could have been anywhere! I again took my time getting ready and looked at my map for today. While the aim was to visit Doon Castle, I noticed that Ness Glen was on the way, so decided that it might be more fitting to do that first. If it was going to rain today I would be less in the open and I’d have part cover under the trees in the glen. I also considered Dalcairney Falls, a good walk from the glen, but do-able if the weather stayed dry. I readjusted plans a little and headed off down the single lane road with my ideas for today looking like they might be quite promising.

As I was driving I noticed the sun break through the cloud a little, and when I rounded a bend on a hill, it beamed down on a white house in the distance. It looked SO beautiful, I pulled over when I could and took some photos before the sun vanished again. This, it turned out, was called Craigengillan, and a lot of the land in this area belongs to its estate. Although the house has been here since the 1600’s, it, and its lands, fell into disrepair over the years. The people who bought it in 2000 have since invested into its preservation and conservation, turning the whole area into a beautiful site for tourists and wildlife alike. They seem to have done a fantastic job. I really loved how this chance photo turned out, and that it gave me a good reason to look into what it was and what they have been doing.

I continued my drive to the Roundhouse takeaway down by Loch Doon, and parked up. The hope was to pop back in there on my return for something as a treat for my tea this evening – nice idea, surely?? Only I didn’t quite make it back before closing time.. missing by just 5 fecking minutes…5!!!! Grrr. Anyway, for now it was a nice positive idea and as I got ready, I decided that I would add the second walk to take in Dalcairney falls after all. I didn’t think they would have much water to ‘fall’ with, but still felt it might be worth checking out. I could walk it from here, and I couldn’t find clear instructions on any parking closer than this anyway so I may as well make a big ol’ hiking day of it, right? I packed myself a lunch, some drink, and headed off.

Ness Glen was beautiful, and it was a very easy walk alongside the River Doon. I stopped to take a few photos on the way, seeing some beautiful dappled light by a small waterside bridge. I thought to take more on the way back when I would be walking towards the water flow to save myself keep looking back as well as forwards, and so, just took my time enjoying this walk. Start at the end and work in the photos on the way back, it seemed like a great idea, although as it turned out, I was once again taking the current weather for granted, and not considering that it might change. Thank goodness I’d turned to capture this scene, because of course, that’s exactly what happened!

I got to a large wooden bridge, walked over the river and then took the extended route towards Dalcairney falls. The walk to Dalcairney was a little tougher, being a further 2 miles, and going uphill. At a few points it rained lightly, and one other I went slightly off track, going higher than I needed. I rerouted myself however, and tried to follow google to correct myself. We passed a derelict building, and then entered an open hilly area. River had been off the lead for most of the walk by this point, but on spotting some sheep, she started to run towards them. When I realised what had caught her attention, I immediately called her name sharply, followed by a stern ‘Here!’ She stopped in her tracks coming straight back to my side, and seconds later a farmer appeared in the field. He gave me a little curt nod of approval, and said nothing as I walked passed with River close by my heels. I was never prouder of my little dog than I was at that moment.

Not long after that, I descended to a proper path again, and finally, 3 hours after I started my walk, I reached the falls… Well.. The dribbles. (see header) I don’t think I have ever seen any photo of these falls that showed a flow as poor as this one! But, well, I had this for my visit, so decided to work with what I was given. The location was still beautiful, so before anything, I rested with River for a while – soaking in the peace and tranquillity here. She thoroughly loved paddling in the calm pool beneath the dribble, so I let her enjoy that while I ate my lunch. I really struggled to see much to photograph, so settled on the solitary log in the middle of the water, with the thin stream of falling water as an afterthought behind it. To be fair there wasn’t much else to focus on!

As I was shooting this, River started splashing in the water next to me, which she never does… And when I looked, she seemed to be having the same issue as she had yesterday. I hastily left the camera in the middle of the water and encouraged/carried her out as best as I could, so that whatever this was, she wouldn’t collapse and drown. Her face showed the same fear, but she clearly trusted me and let me carry her part of the way (she hates being lifted up), recovering again with no after effects, very quickly. This had me very confused. I went and got the camera, and we left this side of the falls. Ultimately, I didn’t know what else to do, but carry on. I felt horrible being torn between giving up, and wanting to continue here today, but there was nothing else I could do but book in to see the vet as soon as I could after my return in a few days. (they were amazing, and made a space for her the morning after my return) From here on in though, meantime, I kept such a close eye on her, I wouldn’t let her get much further than a step or two away from me. Thankfully she didn’t have any more episodes while I was away, having just one minor one a day after seeing the vet. It turned out she had an ear infection, and it was causing her to have seizures. I was asked to keep an eye on her just in case she was going to have them more regularly, in which case further treatment was available and advisable. Thank God it wasn’t anything worse, and my mind was put at ease with the reassurance these were not unusual, and often disappeared after the underlying cause was treated. Apparently I’d acted exactly the way I needed to on both occasions, remaining calm, and reassuring, but making sure she was safe in her environment. Since then, River has been fine, and we haven’t seen a repeat episode.

Back to today though, as I got to the top of these falls, I crossed the little bridge, and then descended back down the opposite side to see if we could capture the lower falls as well as the main falls. The lower falls seemed to be stealing the show over the main ones today. It was tricky getting to the best spot, but we made it, crossing the river, and basically coming back to the first side but much lower down. I am sure that in full spate this would have been impossible, but I struck lucky today. I took my pictures, and we climbed back out to the starting point on the first side.

Climbing out was actually a challenge in itself, with a large tree that had fallen over a now obvious path in such a way that I literally had to manoeuvrer in and out and around branches that had completely covered the route. Have you ever tried climbing a tree horizontally? Me neither, it was…interesting, and quite fun. Without this in the way, it would have been a much easier shot from my original side, but I hadn’t noticed this path from above it earlier.

We then started the long walk back. My feet were painful, but today felt like it was a success, and River was very much back to her normal self, sniffing just about every hole she could find. I took a few shots on Ness Glen once we reached there again, but without the sun casting small dapples of light in the area, it all looked very flat in the camera. I’d been very lucky getting the earlier shot I now realised! By the time I got back to the camper my feet were too painful to do much, with two days of over 7 miles each were taking their toll on my plantar fasciitis. With the roundhouse having just closed, and the rain trying its hardest to stay off as best as it could, I decided to stop off in a campsite here, just so I could recharge Fred, and hopefully have a shower. Sadly there was no shower or toilet block of any kind, although there was electricity, so I was very happy for that and decided to stay anyway! As I picked out a spot to park up in, a cloud of mizzle finally settled on the area for good. It was very grim and wet, so I was just thankful to have a place to stay without having to look any further!

For some reason, I struggled to sleep though, even with the sound of the rain that eventually established a wonderful soothing sound throughout the night. It was a good thing that I only had Doon Castle to do tomorrow!