home to a variety of wildlife. It then drops back down to the coast and continues alongside the A77 into the busy town of Girvan using pavement, beach and promenade.
From the Kennedy Mausoleum turn left onto Main Street and then first left onto The Vennel. Walk along the pavement towards the shore, passing Ballantrae Parish Church, several houses and the primary school. On reaching a small car park the road sweeps round to the right and onto Foreland. Public toilets are available to the right of the car park.
Continue along Foreland on the pavement, passing Shore Road and Kintyre Avenue on your right until a small harbour is reached, where a waymarked sign points right to the slipway at the entrance of the harbour. Walk down the slipway and onto the sandy beach to continue north, heading away from Ballantrae Bay and towards Bennane Head. The beach provides good walking and the views towards Bennane Head, out to Ailsa Craig and back to Ballantrae are excellent.
As you approach two cottages at Bennane Lea turn right and walk towards a waymarked sign. At this point walk off the beach and onto a grassy track beside the cottages. Turn right to pass through a gate and cross an old road, then cross a cattle grid at another gate. Go through this gate to reach the very busy A77, which must be crossed. Take great care here as the traffic (including many trucks) moves along at the national speed limit of 60mph, making its way to and from the ferry ports at Cairnryan and Stranraer.
Ballantrae's fine, sandy beach leads all the way to Bennane Head
Once safely across turn left and climb steeply alongside the A77, walking on the grass verge between the metal barrier and the fence. This section of path travels beside the road for approximately one mile and although there are several feet between you and the traffic real care must be taken, particularly if there is a large group, children or pets on the walk. As you gain height alongside the road the views back towards Ballantrae are superb. About halfway up the hill the metal barrier stops so take extra care here. Once at the top of the hill the houses of Bennane Lodge and Meikle Bennane are passed on the left, then as the A77 begins to descend the verge crosses a singletrack farm road (which leads to Little Bennane) and reaches a waymarked sign. Carefully cross the A77 here back onto the western side of the road.
Near Bennane Head is a cave that runs to a depth of nearly 200m. Local legend states that this was the home of the infamous Alexander ‘Sawney’ Bean (spelt erroneously on the OS map as Sawny). He was the head of a Scottish family of cannibals who reputedly murdered over 1000 men, women and children in the 15th or 16th century. The clan managed to keep their whereabouts secret for 25 years thanks to the cave being blocked by water at high tide, keeping its murderous inhabitants and the remains of their victims hidden from passers-by. It was only by chance that Sawney Bean and his band of outlaws were finally caught, when they ambushed a man and wife returning from a local fair. The husband put up a furious struggle with his sword and pistol, managing to escape (sadly his wife became the Bean family's final victim) and tell the magistrates at Glasgow. When King James VI was informed, he and an army of 400 men tracked the Beans down to their cave at Bennane Head. Following their capture, Sawney Bean and his clan were all executed without trial in Edinburgh.
Looking back towards Ballantrae at dawn from Bennane Head
Continue along the path as it descends alongside the A77 by way of a grass verge, which runs between a fence on the left and a metal barrier on the right that separates the path from the main road. The fence is there to protect against getting too close to the edge of the verge, as steep slopes fall away to the coast. The path here can be quite tight at times but the terrain is good for walking. Cross the entrance and exit of a small car park, then as you round a corner you are treated to superb views down to Lendalfoot, towards Pinbain Hill and further north to Turnberry. Continue walking down the path to pass a waymarked sign and the entrance to Balsalloch Farm and North Ballaird, before the route drops down to the coast and passes Bennane Shore Holiday Park. The metal barrier has to be crossed then re-crossed here as the verge travels over a burn.
The superb views along the coast to Balsalloch Hill and Pinbain Hill from above Lendalfoot
Continue along the verge past the Bistro @ Pebbles Spa, then cross the entrance of the spa onto a pavement. As you continue along the pavement the temptation is to head down onto the beach but it is very rocky and not ideal for walking along so it is best to stay above the shore. Great boulders can be seen sitting on the beach, while there are also very attractive cottages on view on the outskirts of Lendalfoot. These small, quaint and wooden dwellings are quite idiosyncratic. As you approach Lendalfoot these views enhance the pleasant walking along the pavement. Bear left away from the A77 at a lay-by and follow the road round to the Varyag Memorial.
The Varyag was an iconic Russian warship that was badly damaged and suffered many casualties in the 1904 Battle of Chemulpo Bay during Russia's war with Japan. A mismatched battle heavily in favour of the Japanese resulted in extensive damage and the ship became immobile as a result. In 1905 she was salvaged by the Japanese and, renamed Soya, became part of their navy. During World War I, however, Japan became an ally and many ships were returned to Russia, including the Varyag in 1916. She was brought to Britain under her reclaimed Russian name in the following year for repairs but, because of civil war in Russia, they never took place. The ship was eventually sold as scrap to Germany in 1920 but, ironically, sank during a storm when being tugged across the Firth of Clyde. The Varyag went down only 450m off the coast at Lendalfoot.
When you leave the memorial continue along the road and back onto the pavement beside the A77. Head down onto the beach at this point where there is good solid walking by Lendalfoot. Once away from the village, however, make your way back up onto the pavement and onto a grass verge, as the beach becomes very rocky. Continue along the verge to pass the small, unobtrusive grave of one Archibald Hamilton and crew. The gravestone reads:
The Memory of Archibald Hamilton and crew, Natives of Kings Cross, Arran who were drowned near this place September 11th 1711.
Climbing the old coach road away from Lendalfoot above Kennedy's Pass
Once away from the grave the verge becomes very narrow, so head back onto the beach. Continue over some boulders and onto a shingly beach that provides good walking with plentiful surrounding wildlife. As you walk along the beach you pass a sign to the right at the edge of the main road that informs road users that walkers cross the A77 after another 300 yards. At this point head back up to the road and onto the pavement, which then ends at a grass verge. Walk along the verge to reach a waymarked sign just before a bend in the road at Slockenray. Cross very carefully over to the eastern side of the road to reach a wooden gate. Go through the gate and climb a good path up a very steep slope away from Slockenray and onto an old 18th-century coach road. This steep-sided gorge is initially quite impressive but after the gravel path climbs steeply round a hairpin bend the gradient eases slightly. The pass runs high above the coast and gives fantastic views back to Bennane Head and Lendalfoot, as well as north along the coast and
