Tuesday 23 April 2024 - A Bike Ride from Penninghame

Today's 56km bike ride started from Penninghame, so Richard, Jenny, Tove and I enjoyed a leisurely start whilst many of the others started earlier on a trip to Ailsa Craig.

We started along the road that took us as far as Bruce's Stone, which is said to mark the spot from which in 1307 Robert the Bruce watched his band of outlaws successfully ambush English soldiers on the other side of the loch, which is pictured above from the stone outcrop where (below) Jenny and Tove are sitting.

Beyond Bruce's Stone we left the tarmac for several hours. After a steep climb we gained views down to Loch Dee, above which a piece of modern sculpture is situated.

We lunched near a milepost above Loch Dee, in view of swans on the Loch and cuckoos in the woods behind us.

After following Sustrans route 7 and the Southern Upland Way past Loch Dee to Craigencallie House, we turned right up a rough track that led eventually to Auchinleck. The track passed Murray's Monument and another recent sculpture.

The track to Auchinleck was a delight, with a final swooping descent that had my old mountain bike registering nearly 30 mph on the rough surface.

The light breeze helped us fly down the last few km of tarmac to Newton Stewart, where a convenient footbridge got us back on the A714 for the last 5km to Penninghame

This was an excellent 56km ride, taking less than 6 hours, during which we ascended over 850 metres.

Then a fine meal from Richard, involving sausages.