#6: [22-May-15]

#5: [03-Aug-11]

#4: [01-Apr-11]

#3: [27-Aug-05]

#1: [12-Jan-02]

11-Jul-2005 -- On the warm and sunny 11th of July we pitched our tent in the meadow near the river beside the Bladnoch distillery. It was early in the afternoon, and the CP 55°N5°W is not that far away (about 60 km) from this beautiful place in the southwest of Scotland.

It promised to become a contemplative afternoon trip along the west-coast to the spot a little north of Stranrear. (I must admit, I had not read the report of Gordon Spence before our hunt, so we did not know about the lurking spruce coppice …).

We found a small trail, diverging from the A77 and climbing the costal hills in direction to the CP. From the place we parked our car, the GPS-receiver detected the spot in a distance of 2.4 km east and we started our hike at 5 pm in the bright afternoon sun.

The first part uphill the green slope opened a magnificent view on Loch Ryan, the Rhins of Galloway and over the North Channel to the Antrim cost of Ireland. 20 minutes later and arriving on the plateau, we discovered the wide spruce forests towards the CP. When reaching the western fringe of the coppice, the receiver told us to follow this course for another km.

Some Sheep watched suspiciously our endeavours to find any access to the thicket – no chance. So we decided to walk back and to return maybe 10 years later, when the trees are big enough to allow to enter the forest. At 6.30 pm we reached our car and we could take advantage of the beautiful evening to have a beer in the Harbour Inn, overlooking the bay in Garlieston … and later on to taste some excellent whiskies at the Bladnoch distillery.