The rain stopped before we set off but the temperature had dropped back a month to single figures. Following the railway up to Pinmore we left the pot hole ridden A714 and escaped on to a lovely quiet and, what Sue calls, a "clever" lane that gradually gained height for us.
Some rather undulating lanes followed but we finally got a vista of the mountains of Arran and the giant granite dome of Ailsa Craig came in to view. The clarity of light and colour together with the wind picking up the sea produced a wild scene on the Ayreshire coast.
We arrived at Culzean castle a little tired so we sat in the sunny courtyard of the visitor's centre with a bowl of Cullen Skink and a pot of tea. We then went on a speed, self guided tour around the castle, the highlight being the curved doors in the library.
We left the castle on the Heads of Ayr road which is famous for its illusion of gradient on the Electric Brae. The 1 in 86 gradient that we were supposed to experience was rather swamped by a strong headwind so it felt a bit uphill all the way to Ayr!
Looking out our window at the ancient solidity of the Scottish landscape, we are shocked to hear about the earthquake in Nepal and are thinking about all the people we met in Kathmandu at the start of our year away.
Figures:
Distance:- 57 km
Cycle Time:- 4 hours 21 minutes
Average speed:- 13.0 kph
Total Distance:- 1941 km
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