Kippford Walk, Stone Creatures and Lunch

[Rob's photo of a heart-shaped fern emerging]

 

 Rob, Brock and I went on a favourite walk of ours today, from Kippford to Rockcliffe and back. There is a circular walk through woodlands full of bluebells and ransomes, at this time of year, to Rockcliffe and back along the shore path, with views over the inlet, the mud flats dotted with picturesque boats, to the next peninsula with its woodlands and hills.

 

[Brock on the beach at Rockcliffe: the half-way point]

There is a garden on the return leg, where someone makes strange little stone creatures out of rocks, pebbles, found items, teddy bears' eyes, and sometimes teeth. There are always a few new ones to spot.

We decided to try a new place for lunch: The Mariner Hotel, Restaurant and Bar We sat in the beer garden with Brock. There were quite a few tables available outside, with good views over the marina. There is plenty of indoor seating in a conservatory, for when the weather is less clement.

We ordered orange squash, mineral water and two portions of the vegetable curry with rice (Rob had half rice/half chips). It arrived fairly quickly, and was a good-sized portion. It was tasty: quite mild, English-style curry, with a fruity/spicy flavour; plenty of chickpeas, sweetcorn, greens (chard, I think), red pepper and onion. Rob said that the chips were very good, too. The bill came to just under £20. The choice was a bit limited for vegetarians apart from the curry, (mainly cheese-based dishes: macaroni, salad, or panini). But at least there were two gluten free, veggie choices: the curry and the cheese salad.

Glenkiln Sculpture Walk - Part 2

Rob and I completed the second part of the Glenkiln Sculptures Walk today. It was a bright, frosty morning - perfect for walking. The walk is 2.5 - 3.5 miles, depending on where you start from.

The first sculpture you see is The King and Queen by Henry Moore. The figures sit on a hillside overlooking the Glenkiln Reservoir.

A mile or so further up the track and you come to this sculpture called 'Visitation' by Sir Jacob Epstein. The sculpture is set within a circle of scots pines and looked very eerie standing there in the mist with rays of sunlight breaking through the branches.

You follow the track through a couple of fields, before getting back to a small single-track road, which you follow round to the left, between hills full of sheep. Henry Moore's 'Two Piece Reclining Figure No. 1" sits to the right of the road. An interestingly abstract figure, which looked like it had male and female 'aspects'.

We stopped off, for our second visit, to Kilnford Barns Farm Shop and Restaurant on the way home, for lunch. The restaurant has a modern feel to it and the loos are very well fitted out and clean. The staff are polite, efficient and well-trained. We both had the 'delightfully' named, 'Meat Free Salad', which comprises mixed lettuce, tomato, and cucumber, plus your choice of three other salads. I went for the red cabbage and sultanas, char grilled vegetables and potato salad. Rob had a similar plateful. We shared a bottle of mineral water and both had a tray bake. Rob had a roll and butter. The bill came to £14.40. The food looked very good, but was a bit lacking in flavour (and protein - eggs, cheese or mixed beans would have been good). It was very cold and perhaps that was part of the reason. You get a choice of dressings and there looked to be about 8 or more varieties. I had the blue cheese.

Other choices on offer included:- sandwiches/toasted sandwiches; some meat dishes; and macaroni cheese. I would go back again, but it would be nice to have more vegetarian choices, such as baked potatoes, or vegetable curry, for example.