Our 2nd day at Largs – 8th May, 2022.
A brisk walk 2km walk down the Ayrshire Coastal Path to the Kelburn Country Park on a gloriously warm day. This is a good half day out with a wide variety of walks for all abilities and plenty of activities for children to be entertained. As we walked up the long drive we noted the estate had several motorhomes, camper vans and caravans on what looked like around 10 pitches, this could be an alternative to where we stayed at the Yacht Haven. Amazingly we did not have to pay for walking in the park (although you do have to pay for parking) so we made a contribution for the upkeep.
The walk starts going past the family home part of which has been painted with graffiti by a local artist – the work is certainly bizarre and not what you imagine Scottish stately homes to be adorned with.

Our walk took us to the top of the Glen, the path winding ever upward through the canopy of trees reminding us of Muir woods in California (although of course the trees were not sequoias) which were glorious with spring green leaves and dappled sunlight and shade on the ground. It felt as though we were leaving the troubles of the world behind, we only saw 4 or 5 people on upper reaches of the walk which made it feel very special. The path was interspersed with bridges over the tumbling burn and viewpoints for waterfalls with plenty of information points. Kingfishers, Dippers and Grey Wagtails were seen en-route along with some strange painted wood carvings all added to the beauty and mystical ambience – if you ever get here it is a must.

After a light lunch (and must have ice cream) we wandered slowly back to the Yacht Haven to watch Largs Sailing Club racing. We had no idea who was winning but the skill level must be admired. Sitting on a bench overlooking the course we had the spotting scope out and a zoom lens on the camera for some close up views of the racers and photo opportunities. Unfortunately a couple of competitors capsized and along with broken masts ended their race early.