Cairn Table

[McMole]

We went well prepared with sun cream and midge spray to find enough wind to discourage midges, no clegs and broken cloud most of the time. We parked in the signposted walkers' car park with a handy board showing the various colour coded waymarked routes. Only problem was the waymarking didn't go very far or had disappeared over the years. On such a clear day and for such obvious routes it wasn't necessary.

From the walkers' car park we took the indicated route through the old mine workings and up to the summit over the desiccated moor.

On the path with the Memorial Cairn obvious far ahead.

Zoom of Memorial and two ancient cairns

The superfluous duckboards

Once there, many photos were taken of the war memorial. This is notable because it commemorated not just the 87 men of Muirkirk Parish who had fallen during the First World War, but also the 262 men and women who had returned.

Jaywizz by the memorial cairn

Inscription gradually fading away

What is being hidden by erosion and lichen

Nearby there is a stone pillar with an indicator on top for nearby hills and two large Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age cairns The nearer cairn has the trig point on top of it and was robbed to help construct the war memorial

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Looking from one ancient cairn over the other

The custom of interring remains on hilltops still continues as demonstrated by a find thereabouts.

A recent addition

You can't get away from them - Whitelee Wind Farm

The WH route down follows the uphill path for a while before branching off. Instead we took the other obvious route from the top. This as shown on the board in the car park heads further to the south towards the Garpel Water to join the track at the footbridge over the Water.

On the descent

In fact the obvious track headed down to a ford over the Water some distance SE of the bridge. The river was low and very easy to cross, so rather than reverse course we crossed it and joined the track early.

Footbridge over Garpel Water

On our way back to the car park we passed Macadam's Cairn and later the impressive red sandstone Kaimes Ironworks Institute with three clock faces on its tower and with adjacent ironworks cottages built from the same stone.

Macadam's Cairn

Inscription on cairn - overwritten to make it legible

Despite there being several cars in the car park we'd met only a solitary runner and a couple plus dog on our way round. A fine day out with the various bridges and duckboards en route being completely superfluous.