Day 70 of the End to End was another day in which we’d drawn a line on the map and walked along and then found all sorts of surprises along the way.
It began at Auldgirth Inn and the first thing was to cross the Nith by the Auldgirth Bridge. Now an elaborate footbridge, it used to be the road bridge.
The roadside verges continued to provide a lot of interesting sights. Foxgloves are looking majestic at the moment but there’s much more. Nettles grow close together with dock which is handy is you should inadvertently stumble into the former. The nettles are a source of life for many other species, including some colourful fungal rust and other creatures.
There were many bees out today, and that was good news for the scores of apiaries near Cleuch House. I bought some Scottish blossom honey, a summer honey made by the bees in the summer meadows I’m currently walking through.
Bob met me and we stopped for lunch on a wall near Porterstown farm. We then walked into Keir Mill. This small village was the home of Kirkpatrick Macmillan who invented the bicycle. His tombstone in the village cemetery reveals a family story that was common in this area in the 19th century with the early death of his wife and several children. Examination of other adjacent gravestones tell much the same story. The local school teacher lost two children in infancy and three sons to the wars of the early 20th century, for example.
The bridge at the end of the village provided a spot to converse with some cyclists. The local cycle route here is named in memory of Kirkpatrick Macmillan.
I rejoined the road and walked the last few miles to the Drumlanrig eastate in Bob’s company.
From Psalm 119
Your words taste so sweet; sweeter than honey in my mouth!
The bees are very busy and the meadows and verges are alive with their buzzing.
Each flower makes an inviting place for a bee: foxglove and dog rose, each one a cup for a bee to drink from.
The golden nectar that the bees produce is a special bounty, replaying the taste of summer on our lips.
It’s no wonder that ancient people likened this liquor to God’s words.
May God grant us a quiet night and a peaceful end
JAL 23.96.2019
Day 70 of the End to End from Auldgirth Inn to Drumlanrig Castle