Day 4: Girvan to Maidens

Day’s kms 13.9

Overall, a lovely day and I have a sun burn. Okay, maybe it’s a wind burn.

We took a taxi to our start point in Girvan this morning. Soon after we were dropped off, the rain came. It was with us for about 30 mins and then it stopped and the rest of the day was amazing.

I’m super happy that I brought some plastic containers from home for our lunches.

We were dropped off at this Chippy by the harbour today. It’s the furthest point we’d walked to until today. This is where I ate the deep fried pizza.

We came across a Fairy Trail in the rain.

Sometimes you have to watch carefully for the signs. Some are small, or faded, or fallen.

The trail passes through a working farm. It’s very generous of the farmers, but important that walkers respect the spaces and animals.

A sea of grain with Aisla Craig in the background.

The area is known for its baby potatoes (tatties).

After walking through the town, by a golf course, and then the farm, we came to this road, then the beach.

The beach walk began with ankle twister sized rocks. We walked slowly.

Dad nearly had a fall soon after this pic. Funny how the tables get turned and now I watch him like he might have watched me when I was small and taking little risks.

The beach became sandier and easier to travel over.

After we stopped for lunch, I noticed another jellyfish. Dad said he wouldn’t touch it even with a rubber glove.

A two bedroom, shorefront apartment, with the sea on your doorstep. It comes complete with your own Juliet balcony overlooking the courtyard and sea, and a spacious living/dining area.

This showed up a minute later. 😂 So he then tried, “I wouldn’t touch it, even with a Lamborghini.” 😂

I did pick it up and put it back in the water, but maybe it was dead already.

Dad got a little grumpy with me because he was feeling nervous about the tide coming in and I was picking up sea glass.

Walking below Trump’s Turnberry golf course.

The beaches at this point are absolutely stunning. We could have walked around the point and up to the trail as we had enough time, but the tide was coming in. We took the exit off the beach just to the right of the point at the end of the beach. It is marked.

There is a fancy tea house in the lighthouse, but walkers aren’t meant to cut across the course. The whole area, with hotel and golf course, had an exclusive, hoity toity feel, especially compared with the rest of what we’ve experienced in Scotland as salt of the Earth. There’s a lot of money in the Trump property.

At about this point in the day, I read some emails and saw one from our accommodation beginning tomorrow. The first words of the message were:

Hi Kimberly,

We are writing to you to inform you that the property, West Sands, is unfortunately being taken offline on the dates you have selected.

“What?!” screamed my impatient mind. “We’ve been scammed?! No, it’s through booking.com, so that can’t be. Can it? Kim, take a breath and read carefully.”

However, we are pleased to let you know that we have found a great alternative for you.

Let’s see!