The Wind Of Change

The weather takes its toll on Quintin Lake’s camera as his coastal odyssey around the UK continues

One step across the diminutive Galloway Burn, and I’m in Ayrshire.

The coast stretching north towards the Clyde is gratifyingly direct, and with a marked path to follow, I feel like I’m flying along. The weather gods don’t want me to get too smug, however, and it rains for five days solid. Seeing me trudging along, a highway maintenance truck offers me a lift; “Aye, nee bother,” the driver says when I explain why I can’t accept. The friendly gesture lifts my spirits.

Following a disused stretch of the old coast road, I duck into a cave to escape the rain and eat my lunch. Nearby, a cairn in memory of the wayfarer who lived here reads: “Henry Ewing Torbet (Snib) of Bennane Cave, 1912-1983: Respected and Independent”.