Cairn Table

22 July 2011

Where - Cairn Table, 593m/1945', Sub-2,000' Marilyn, Map 71, NS 724242
Participants - Neil and Ben

Industrial East Ayrshire is not a part of the country that you would think of for hill walking but Cairn Table is a gem. I have climbed it a few times now and enjoyed it every time. There is a walkers car park at Kames, just south of Muirkirk and a couple of routes go on to the hill from there. There is a more or less direct path across rough moorland that turns into a good track higher up the north ridge and a more circuitous route following the Garpel water for a bit before striking up towards the west ridge. Although duck boards and bridges have been put down in the worst places, the direct route tends to be wet and muddy in its initial stages so after all the rain that we have had recently I decided to give it a miss and take the slightly longer west ridge route.

The Muirkirk area is rich in industrial heritage and there are a number of information boards scattered about.....

We had only walked a short distance before we came across a memorial to John Loudon Macadam who was born in Ayr and who owned tar kilns in the area and who pioneered a type of road construction in the period around 1820. Modern road construction still follows the principles that he set down....

We continued along the land rover track as far as the Sanquhar bridge over the Garpel Water where a rough path branched off and crossed the moor. This is the view of Cairn Table from the bridge.....

I suspect that this is now quite a popular way up as the path quickly improved and is a lot more distinct than I remembered it. There were good views back to Muirkirk when we reached the ridge. The hill behind the village is Middlefield Law, another Sub-2,000' Marilyn, and one of the roughest hills that I have been on.....

In no time at all, we were approaching the cairn. From industrial Scotland, we had been transported back to pre-historic Scotland. There are two prehistoric cairns on the summit, one of which is  largely intact. The stones from the other cairn, however, have been used to build a memorial to the folk from Muirkirk who fought in the 1914-18 war. This cairn is massive and can be seen from many miles away.

Cairn Table is a wonderful viewpoint on a good day and although there was a lack of sunshine today, the air was very clear and I could see everything that was mentioned on the view indicator- the hills of the Lake District, Arran, Ailsa Craig etc. Too far away for a good photograph though. Apart from the cairns and the view indicator, there is a trig point so here is Ben getting in the picture.....

We returned by the same route. An interesting day!