Moods of Autumn in the heart of Galloway

The weather in Autumn swings between the wildest of moods. Our final guests got the full range of washout and perfect days where you can leave your coats  behind. If you live within a few hours of Galloway you could take a spur of the moment holiday with us and have the best days of the year.

Autumn colours this year have been so vivid, helped by the beech trees holding onto their leaves. Last year an early storm tore off the leaves and felled many of the glorious old trees. Roads were blocked across Galloway by the pale grey elephant corpses. Beech have very shallow root plates and love sandy or light soils. Last years victims are now stacked in neat piles in our log store.

High pressure sat over us for more than a week and we had our first penetrating frosts and ink black night sky. Day after day we had the best time of the year to ride bikes and walk the sea cliff paths close to home.

A fifty mile ride into the moorland above Corsock along the valley of the Urr Water before heading towards Moniaive. A cliff walk loop of just a few miles to take in the storm clouds to the south as they chased across the Solway. A 20 mile loop on the gravel bike to check the woods around Laurieston for wild mushrooms. Then the search for the ultimate short gravel ride. We started and finished this ride at the mountain bike centre at Kirroughtree and headed up into the mountains around Cairnsmore of Fleet.

All but one of the rides had the crucial addition of a flask of coffee and homemade flapjacks. These always make a ride special, making you stop and take in the landscape and to listen to the sounds of the environment. Often we try to include making coffee on our guided rides. A flask or a little bit of bushcraft skills to brew up a quality coffee transforms a ride and always adds to the experience. Get out and do stuff, carpe diem people!