Cairn Table

Location and Access Muirkirk is a small town which lies 24 miles inland from Ayr close to the Lanarkshire border. Cairn Table is the highest of the hills which dominate the moorland landscape to the south of Muirkirk, rising 593m above sea level. The hill takes its name from the two large prehistoric cairns which […]

Tibbie’s Brig

Location and Access Tibbie’s Brig (NS 689 258) was built in 1793 as a crossing point on the Garpel Water to replace the ford which had been used up until then. Although originally called simply “Garpel Bridge”, it was later renamed to commemorate Isabel “Tibbie” Pagan a local poetess who lived in Muirkirk and was […]

John Brown’s Walk

Location and Access Both of these sites lie to the north of Muirkirk and are reached by taking the B743 Strathaven road from the traffic lights in the middle of the town. John Brown’s Walk is a moorland track which goes to a monument which marks the spot where John Brown, one of the Covenanting […]

Gazetteer

The Ayrshire Bird Report names the places where sightings took place. Often these are the hot-spots listed in the Where to Watch Birds in Ayrshire section. However, for many records the place might not be so well known. The table below lists the places mentioned in the 1999 Bird Report (a typical year, I hope) […]

Shalloch on Minnoch

Location and Access Shalloch on Minnoch (NX 405 907) is the highest hill in Ayrshire and is the focal point of some fine moorland and hill birding for those fit and energetic enough to explore the tops. From Straiton, take the hill road south towards Newton Stewart. This road is part of the South Ayrshire […]

Straiton

Location and Access There are a number of good birding possibilities in the vicinity of the village of Straiton (NS 8 04) on the edge of Galloway Forest Park in the Southern Uplands. Buses run regularly betweenAyr and Straiton and one companycarries cycles. The village lies on the local cycle byway network (see Ayrshire Paths […]

Blackcraig Hill

Location and Access Blackcraig Hill, at 700m, is one of a number of energetic but technically easy hill walks in the vicinity of New Cumnock. One route onto the hill is to park 6km up the Glen Afton byway which leaves B741 just outside New Cumnock and follow the public footpath which leads past Blackcraig […]