Hill Walking - Straiton Monument

Hey Friends 👋🏻

Welcome back to another blog post and my third activity that I will be attempting to cure my pandemic boredom and give my mental health a lift. Check out my first 2 challenges when I made Easter biscuits and took on the 3-course dinner challenge.  

 

For this challenge, I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and take a break from my 4 bedroom walls. I often find it difficult, especially recently with the pandemic, to force myself out of my bed and to get some fresh air. Even just for a short walk, I feel so much better for doing so and it sets me up for my day. So for this one, hill walking seemed like a good choice. Keep reading this blog to hear about my experience, overall rating and my recommendation. 

 

Firstly, I messaged some family to join and I was excited to give this a try. We opted for an easier walk for my first-time hill walking and wanted to stay local so went for the Straiton Monument climb in South Ayrshire. This walk is rated as easy/moderate and is roughly 5.6km so doesn’t take too much time out of your day. 

 

We began our walk in the early afternoon and parked next to a play park in the small village of Straiton. The village is handy for parking and you can start anywhere for this walk. The village itself is lovely to see with its small cottages, parks, rivers and churches and has public toilets and a shop to grab a drink or snack. 

 

It’s easy to figure out where you’re going on this walk with the monument easily visible from the village and many signposts are featured throughout the walk. We wandered through the cute village, through fields with sheep and newborn lambs and woodland forests so there is plenty to look at on this walk. The final stretch is a steep hill which will do wonders for your thighs. We reached the top and it was certainly impressive. There you can take a rest by the Straiton Monument, a monument built for Lt. Col. James Hunter Blair, mortally wounded at the Battle of Inkerman in 1854. And the view was my favourite part where you can see towns, farms, hills and the sea. On a clear day, you can also see Ben Lomond, Arran and Ailsa Craig. 

It was an easier walk on the way back down the hill and to end our walk we headed back to the car and sat at a bench in the park. As a reward, coffee and cake was needed and was a perfect way to end the day. 

So here is my overall rating of this challenge. I would have to give this a 9/10. This is a high rating and for someone like me who doesn’t particularly like walking. It was a lovely route with lots to see and only took us about 2 hours including our breaks. And during the lockdown, it was a lovely outdoor activity to do with the family who I haven’t had a chance to spend time with recently. Any tips I would suggest is to wear some good shoes as some areas can be muddy and walking boots are most likely best with uphill areas. Also, would probably be best to do this climb on a nice day as the views up the top will be incredible.

 

Thanks for reading the blog post and happy walking if you do this one, 

 

Hev x