On 1 st December 11 members of Biggar Ramblers headed up the A70 to walk the landscape of rich industrial archaeological history of the Muirkirk and Kames area. Starting along the River Ayr Way, initially on the old railway beds, the group then walked beside the remaining evidence of the canal. This preceded the railway carrying ore and coal from the local mines to the ironworks, built in 1787. On reaching the road to Auldhouseburn the ramblers had a big surprise, the sight of a parrot called ‘Blaze McCaw’ (search for him on facebook)
being taken for a walk by its owner. This beautifully coloured bird brightened up an otherwise grey day. The group proceeded passed the hillside farm poultry sheds before turning
along a track adjacent to the sprawl of old pit shafts and mounds of spoil. The second half of the walk passed the last remaining 3 miners’ cottages and the sad sight of the empty and decaying Kames Institute building. Walking up Furnace Road the ramblers were treading on the track which John ‘Tar’ MacAdam used for his road construction experiments. A large cairn commemorates his work on the site of the Tar Kilns established there in the early 19 th century. Down the hill the walkers took their lunch by Tibbie’s Brig, where Tibbie Pagan, a local poetess, had lived during that time. In 4 short miles much had been learned about the many different local mining industries which made Muirkirk such a prosperous, thriving community during the Victorian era. www.biggarramblers.org
