Craigenbay to Stroanpatrick: E2 Day 42

Woods, moors and distant views today with a welcome interlude at St John's Town of Dalry for an early lunch.

I reluctantly left my fine campsite among the pine trees this morning, then headed off over moorland and heath. The plays of light and darkness from the cloud filled sky gave the mountains a moody appearance, difficult to capture on camera, if the lighter sky was captured the detail of the foreground was lost in darkness (and vice versa). The human eye is far more subtle. A road led me into a valley of oak and beech by a small river, sunlight occasionally illuminating the leaves from behind, enriching their colours. Mosses clothed tree trunks, stone walls and any other fixed object in its damp embrace. I was so entranced by the scenery I missed a turn, although as the finger post had taken on a shade of damp green like the surrounding woodland it was easy to miss.

Moody morning view.

Climbing out of the valley on a path among the ferns, more of the surrounding hills came into view. From the top I could look down on the grandly named village of St John's Town of Dalry. I thought myself alone but as I took a photo I was accosted by a border terrier. Its owner told me the large estate I had walked through was a quarter deciduous trees, which surprised me as I had thought the woodland in this area of the Scottish borders would be almost exclusively commercial conifers. 

St John's Town of Dalry.

Reaching Dalry sometime later I was disappointed that it lacked a café. Fortunately the shop at the petrol station sold me coffee, a pie and a few other items. I enjoyed them sitting on a bench outside the town hall (where I also enjoyed the use of the toilet located around the back, a simple but great pleasure that other wild campers may understand)! There were information boards about the Covenanters, protestants persecuted because of their belief that God could speak to them directly without need of a priest, and that the bible was their guide. Many died for their beliefs.

After lunch and a climb out of Dalry there was plenty of walking on paths across moorland with excellent views of distant mountains. The end of this section in my guidebook was at the small farm of Stroanpatrick, but I continued on for a while to reduce tomorrow's journey. Unfortunately finding a place to camp was again difficult, the ground boggy and tussocky. The dry spots were on higher ground, exposed to a fresh breeze. However, lacking alternatives I am camped on one of these and the wind is giving the canvas of my tent a good shaking. I hope it survives the night.

Moorland path in the evening while looking for somewhere to pitch my tent, the ground is wetter and more uneven than it looks!