Ayr Gorge Walk, Failford near Mauchline Ayrshire

Location

From the M77 comimg from Glasgow take the Dumfries turn off onto the A726 also signed as Mauchline. Continue along this route until you reach Mauchline then at the traffic light in the Centre of Mauchline turn right onto the A743 signed for Ayr. Follow the A743 for about three miles until you see the signs for the village of Failford then as you progress down the hill park on the layby on the right hand side . Map

Route

Across the road from the layby is the Failford Inn. Cross to the Inn & continue down to where the pavement narrows at a small bridge. Just beyond the bridge on the left is a sign "Ayr Gorge Woodlands Wildlife Reserve" . Take the path that leads left down towards the river after a few hundred yards the path swings away from the river & up a flight of steps as you climb there are excellant views over the River Ayr.

After walking for about 15 with the river on your right you will come to right hand fork marked by a post with a yellow band about 10 yards ahead. Follow that path uphill until you reach a bench on your left at the top of the hill. From the bench turn onto the left hand path towards the little bridge ahead of you. Continue until you reach the point where there are some steps decending down towards the river. Ignore the steps & follow the path that runs straight ahead. After a few minutes you will reach another bench beyond which there are some steps down to the left towards the river. ( The path to the right leads to Stair for those of you interested in a linear walk). Follow the steps down with the river on your right.

After walking for around ten minutes you should reach a series of steps that climb up & left for a 100 yards or so, this is the last climb on this route. When you reach the bench at the top of the steps turn right following the path that is closest to the river retracing your steps back to where you started the walk. There are a number of options as you can see below but the route we have suggested covers the entire length of the gorge walk.

Approximate distance & time

Distance 3 miles. It should take around an hour & fifteen minutes to walk the route.

Facilities

Food & drinks are available at the dog friendly Failford Inn which is ideally situated at the start of the walk failford Inn

otherwise you can find a number of shops & pubs in Mauchline a few miles away.

Hazards

Take care around the river with your dog & young children especially in winter when it can ice up.