Straiton is a single street of eighteenth-century cottages near the head of the Water of Girvan, laid out as an estate village and now a conservation area. It is reached from Girvan by the B741 through Dailly — seventeen miles of quiet valley — or more quickly from Maybole. The village itself takes five minutes to see; the walks around it take a day.
Lady Hunter Blair's Walk
The reason to come. A woodland path follows the Lambdoughty Burn up a steep glen through a series of waterfalls, the finest of which is the Rossetti Linn, named after the Pre-Raphaelite poet and painter who is said to have contemplated throwing himself into it. About two miles there and back, with steps, bridges and some slippery sections — proper footwear, and take care with children near the drops. In spate after rain it is genuinely dramatic.
The monument and the hill
A short steep climb from the village leads to the Colonel Hunter Blair monument, an obelisk raised to a local laird killed in the Crimean War, with a view down the whole valley and out to the Galloway hills. Fifteen minutes up, and the best short reward in the area.
Blairquhan
Blairquhan Castle, a Regency mansion in a great estate beside the village, is privately owned and used for weddings and events. It stood in for Balmoral in the film The Queen. Access depends entirely on what is on, so check before assuming you can see it.
The Carrick Forest Drive
South of the village the road runs up to Stinchar Bridge, where the Carrick Forest Drive begins — a forest road running through the hills of Galloway Forest Park to Loch Doon, with red deer, viewpoints and some of the darkest skies in Europe overhead. It is seasonal and may carry a charge, and it is a forest track rather than a road, so check it is open and drive slowly. See stargazing.
Practical notes
About 17 miles and 30 minutes from Girvan by the valley road, which is itself the best part of the trip. The village has a pub that has served Straiton since the eighteenth century, though opening varies — check before relying on it for lunch. Park considerately on the street. This is a good base for walking and, with the forest drive on the doorstep, one of the best places in the region for a clear-night sky.
