There was a decent weather forecast for today, so I hoped to get a nice all-day run, but alas various urgent admin tasks cropped up this morning and I didn’t get away until two o’clock. I had no idea where I was going, but initially headed east as far as Dumfries. I thought I might call in at A&G Motorcycles to talk to Allan about getting me some new tyres, but they were closed. (They only open half the week nowadays.)
By now the sky eastwards was heavy dark cloud, while westwards was blue sky and sunshine, so it was a no-brainer to go back west. I decided to head for Kirkcudbright, to make an appointment with the garage to check an issue with my larger van. (The guy is an OK mechanic, but he’s a bugger for not answering his phone.)
Leaving Dumfries, I took the old Military Road to Castle Douglas. Running parallel to the A75, it’s splendidly traffic-free apart from the odd tractor (mercifully none today), and has some grand views.
At Castle Douglas, I passed by Carlingwark Loch.
Just before Kirkcudbright is the Tongland hydro-electric power station: a beautifully maintained Art Deco building dating back to 1931 and still generating electricity from the River Dee.
Galloway was definitely leading the pack in green energy.
There was an apple tree in the grounds beside the road. One had fallen off, so I ate it.
Garage appointment made, I ignored the usual coast road home, and took the back road to Gelston for a change. It’s a nice traffic-free road which winds round the back of Bengairn. (Or the front, I suppose, if you live on that side.)
I turned off at Gelston on to the single track road which climbs over between the hills and drops down through the Kirkmirren woods.
I don’t know if these woods have a story, but on a dark winter night the lonely half mile of road through them always feels creepy. No problem on a sunny afternoon like today, though, and in another ten minutes I was home.