Glenapp can be reached by either car or bus and although there is a very small car park across the road from Glenapp Church there is room here for only three or four cars, so it is advisable to use the excellent bus service to drop you at the bottom of the lane leading to the church. If you choose to drive, walk from the car park past Old School House and as the road end is reached turn left to cross the A77. If you take the bus, get off at Glenapp Church and simply walk up the track to the church.
GLENAPP CHURCH
Built in 1850, Glenapp Church was originally a chapel-of-ease for the villagers of nearby Ballantrae. Many towns and villages in Scotland at this time had a chapel-of-ease, which were built to solve the problems of worshippers who could not travel to the larger parish churches; the distance and terrain between Glenapp and Ballantrae would have been too difficult for many during the 19th century. With seating for approximately 70, it is one of the smallest churches in Scotland. In 1985 the church became united with the larger church in Ballantrae. Known locally as The Glen Kirk, it is one of the many fine buildings to be found along the Ayrshire coast.
It is a beautiful little building with lovely stained glass windows, one of which commemorates Elsie MacKay, a British actress and member of the Inchcape family (Glenapp is their family seat) who died while attempting to fly across the Atlantic Ocean in 1928. The graveyard also contains the tombstone of her father James Lyle MacKay, the 1st Earl of Inchcape (a title in the peerage of the United Kingdom that was created in 1929). Its elaborate design includes the carved figures of an eagle, owl, lion and tiger. The memorials to the 2nd Earl, Kenneth MacKay and the 3rd, Kenneth James William MacKay can also be seen in the graveyard. The beauty of the church really sets the scene for the walk ahead.
After exploring the church walk back down the path to reach the A77 and, taking care, cross the busy road to reach the start point of the Ayrshire Coastal Path. A good track leads to an old bridge over the Water of App and then descends to another bridge, the track continuing through lovely mixed woodland. It provides easy walking as you pass Craiganlea House on the left, then it bears right at a waymarked sign to climb steadily, passing beneath the slopes of Sandloch Hill.
The Ayrshire and Arran Coastal Paths begin near the attractive Glenapp Church
The superb views continue as you walk north with Arran, Ailsa Craig and Kintyre all visible
As the stony track climbs, go through a wooden gate that takes you above the line of trees. Here the views across Loch Ryan towards Galloway are superb. Corsewall Lighthouse is visible at the northern tip of the Rhins of Galloway peninsula (the southern tip of which is the most southerly point in Scotland) as it guides the ferries travelling to and from Northern Ireland into the loch. The track then continues high onto open moorland, where it may surprise you to find such a wild landscape.
Although the path here alternates between grassy and stony the route makes for easy progress. A fence runs to the left of the path with Finnarts Hill rising beyond it, while the slopes of Sandloch Hill to the right are vibrant with a thick covering of heather during the summer months. As it continues north the track becomes less steep and passes through a wooden gate at an old sheep enclosure, before it reaches another gate.
Go through the gate to continue onto a path that becomes grassier with Penderry Hill rising to the right. Windswept moorland is all around but as two standing stones are passed the views west to Kintyre (and Ireland on very clear days) are superb. It is here that the first real views of the rugged Ayrshire coastline can be enjoyed. As the track descends quite steeply to the north it bears right then flattens out, with gorse bushes to the right and a dry stone dyke to the left, before it passes through another wooden gate.
Two more wooden gates are passed on this track. After going through the second, stick to the main track and ignore the indistinct path descending to the left, which leads to Portandea. Go through two more gates to reach a junction of dry stone dykes. From here the level grassy track leads through mixed trees of hawthorn and gorse and there are expansive views that provide the first look at Ailsa Craig, its wonderful profile a mainstay throughout much of the route.
The wonderful, distinctive profile of Ailsa Craig rises out of the Firth of Clyde, seen here from Ballantrae
AILSA CRAIG
The distinctive cone of Ailsa Craig, which lies some 15 miles off the Ayrshire Coast, rises sharply to over 1100ft in height and has a diameter of approximately one mile. The island is renowned worldwide due to the quality of its granite, used in the production of curling stones, and quarrying took place on the island for many years. Quarrying has now stopped but loose pieces of granite are still taken to be used for curling stones, the production of which still takes place in the Ayrshire village of Mauchline. Ailsa Craig is a popular tourist destination with daily sailings from Girvan allowing visitors to walk on the island and view the wonderful birdlife that calls Ailsa Craig home.
The track then descends slightly to a fork in the road. Go right here (passing a couple of farm buildings on the left) before the track levels out into mixed woodland consisting of beech, birch, hawthorn, and rowan with the surrounding landscape becoming more agricultural. The track makes for easy and enjoyable walking and, as it sweeps 90° round to the left, crosses an old bridge to develop into a farm road.
The road continues on to reach a waymarked sign where a track bears left towards the small rise of Craigangal. Continue down this track until it turns right. Walk along the flat farm track with Craigangal now to the left and views of Carlock Hill, Milgarva and Green Benan to the right. Just after a bend in the track, go through a wooden gate which in turn gives way to another wooden gate.
The track then descends past an old ruined cottage and at this point becomes boggier and rougher. Walk down the track towards the coast through lovely Currarie Glen with the attractive waters of the Shallochwreck Burn tumbling to the right of the track. Kintyre is directly ahead as the track continues to descend steeply to the beautiful cove of Currarie Port: a real hidden gem that is unreachable except on foot or by boat. This wild, rocky and windswept cove is a great example of the fantastic scenery on offer all along the Ayrshire coastline.
Toadstools in Currarie Glen
Once Currarie Port is reached, cross the beach to pick up a path that keeps to the right of the burn and then go through a gate. A stony and eroded path then climbs steeply, with a sharp drop to the right affording great views across Currarie Glen. The mixed woodland of the glen looks stunning during the autumn months.
At the top of the slope go through a metal gate then turn left to walk along an indistinct path that climbs steadily between bracken on the left and a fence to the right. A short climb leads to the top of the hill and to a waymarked sign at a gate pointing straight ahead. Go through the gate and walk along the path between a dyke and a fence. Take care as the path is very narrow here and the walking underfoot is quite rough. Upon reaching the end of the dyke cross it and bear right onto an open field from which a narrow path can be followed with steep cliffs to the left and a wall continuing to the right. This path leads towards the conspicuous profile of Downan Hill and is one of the finest sections of the entire route, with exemplary views extending across the Firth of Clyde to Arran as well as further along the Ayrshire Coast.
Walk northeast along the path, passing a waymarked post until a fence is reached. Follow the line of the fence downhill towards another waymarked signpost, then cross a small wooden bridge and keep walking downhill past a third waymarked post. A narrow, grassy path descends to a small, shallow burn and then climbs to an electric fence. Keep to the edge of the field and walk along the path, following the white-capped posts of the electric fence as it ascends and descends round a steep gully to a wooden gate. The path maintains its course as it climbs to a wooden gate and a waymarked