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Off the beaten track, but you can't really go wrong with a short riverside walk that starts and ends by a pub! Bascially just a little exploration of the Ayr Gorge Woodlands - a little-known wildlife reserve on the north side of the river near Failford.
The gorge itself is attractively wooded:
Heading south along the bank after a short ascent and descent, there's a slightly more open area. Whilst the reserve is very clean, there was a lot of rubbish caught up in low-hanging branches above the river, from times of spate.
Further around, it's worth taking a path (signposted as a dead-end) which soon leads to Peden's Cove, a set of steps hewn from the rock where covenanter Alexander Peden apparently preached to a congregation on the opposite river bank.
We scrabbled up a slightly dodgy slope to reach a higher path. although it'd have been much easier to return to the last path junction and turn left. This led around to a further loop at the far end of the reserve, with lots of steps but plenty of birdlife (a spotted woodpecker, dippers and grey wagtails) and some impressive fungi on the riverside section.
Back to the start along the inland (western) boundary of the reserve, with views over the rolling fields of Ayrshire.
A pretty place and worth a visit if you live in the area!
