Twa' brigs walk, Muirkirk

A varied circular walk taking in two historic bridges in the moorland landscape south of Muirkirk.

Terrain

Good footpaths, surfaced minor road and a section of the first tarmacadam road experiments!

Public Transport

None to start.

Start

Walkers car park, Kames near Muirkirk. Open start point in Google Maps for directions.

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Walk Description

Stage 1

From the car park simply head towards the information board next to the strange wooden shelter, and bear right along the path waymarked River Ayr Way. There is some confusion with waymarker arrow colours in this area, so be careful not to head across the moorland towards Cairn Table by accident.... This path passes behind the Kames Institute and adjacent houses, before reaching a minor road running alongside the motorsport circuit and golf course. Turn left along this road and continue southwest to a ruin with large information board stating that the track underfoot is actually local man John Loudon MacAdam's early experiments with road surfacing, and the ruins behind the board formed MacAdam's residence in the late 1700s. MacAdam moved to the property to manage the 9th Earl of Dundonald's tar works before buying the company himself in 1790. A short distance from the ruin the earthworks associated with the facility are visible - turn right where indicated to descend alongside the outline of a row of miners' cottages to reach Tibbie's Brig (originally Garpel Bridge).

Stage 2

Tibbie (Isobel) Pagan was a poet and contemporary of Robert Burns and ran a small inn adjacent to the bridge tending to the needs of the local workers. A path is apparent descending to the riverside on the east of the bridge - head down this and onto a narrow footpath following the river. Cross a couple of simple footbridges before striking out into the rolling countryside. The narrow but obvious path takes a pleasant meandering route over the varying terrain alongside the scenic Garpel Water before a series of eroded waymarker posts indicate a sharp left turn across the moorland.

Stage 3

Take care to follow these to reach a well-made drove road. This ancient route links Muirkirk with Sanquhar some 28km distant, and is known to have been well used by coach traffic in 1793 as part of a route from Glasgow to Dumfries. Turn right and proceed along the track to reach the second bridge across Garpel Water - Sanquhar Brig. Formerly of wooden construction, a modern metal footbridge provides access to the moorland and hills beyond.

Stage 4

Spend some time exploring the various wells in the area including Minister's Well (or God is Love Well) as well as the nearby Bronze Age ruins. When satisfied, turn around and return along the drove road, but ignore the outward route branching left in order to reach a cairn commemorating John Loudon MacAdam built from stone taken from the remains of his kilns.

Stage 5

From this point it is simply a case of retracing the outward route, but instead passing the front of the sadly abandoned Kames Institute enroute to the car park.

Route: Phil Turner

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