Burns Museum to Brown Carrick Hill

Brown Carrick Hill is the hill clearly visible from Ayr, forming part of the Carrick Hills and is easily identified by the 3 masts before the summit which form the Police Wireless Station. This is a hill I can see from my house and has been on my todo list for a while. I’d probably have done it sooner but the access has always put me off. Routes either ascend from the minor road off the A719 to the west near Genroch Farm or from the other side to the East. This has put me off as I didn’t want to drive halfway up the hill park and do a snatch and grab on the summit, seemed a bit too easy.

I looked on OS Maps for other routes people had done and there was sone again from the East but cutting in much sooner which means much less time on the main road. This was the route I choose and I was concerned about all the field boundaries and rightly so, hence why the descent was via the minor road towards the A719.

Weather was mild and overcast with some sunny spots with high winds around 22mph from the south.

A post-Christmas walk, my wife and I with the do Rio parked at Burnes Museum and head onto the Trailway which forms the old railway line between Ayr and Turnberry and curves around the south of Alloway towards the A719.

From here it was a 700-meter walk or so along the main road for which there is a pavement until the entrance for Balig farm, this track ascends towards the mast above the farm and is a gentle ascent. This is where it got tricky, the route I had been following on OS Maps was ok for the first couple of gates and then led us towards fence lines with no gates or styles and did involve some fence hopping. Difficult to get lost as you always have sight of the 3 large masts if it’s a clear day. Once out you’ll meet the access road for which most route on this hill will start from. We came out exactly at the bottom of the road that leads to the Police Wireless Station and a windy and windy accent quickly got us there.

The actual summit of Brown Carrick Hill is somewhat beyond the masts, walking past the station there is a dip before it ascends again and a short walk across the ridge and over a style takes you to the trig point at the top of Brown Carrick Hill, it was especially windy and we didn’t spend too long here before retracing our steps. We choose not to do the fence hopping on the way back simply took a left once back to the minor road and followed it all the way to the A719. There is no pavement on this part of the road up until you get to the Heads of Ayr Farm Park, then a pavement provides an easy route past the Haven Holiday park and retracing the first part of the route.

In summary, if I did the route again, I’d likely prefer to head towards the coast path and the access via the main road after the Head of Ayr