Cuff Hill and Kirkleegreen Reservoir

The Cuff Hill walk was popular maybe ten years ago, then rumours began to circulate that it had become overgrown and impassable.   There are a couple of rough sections with uneven path surfaces and a bit of gorse.  Maybe there’s a couple of awkward stiles and gates/fences to climb but we found a gate in the deer fence and the path is far from impassable.  It presents a lovely rolling landscape of gentle hills and pretty woodlands.

We start walking from The Dixon Court Car Park, off New Street in Beith and go through the town, crossing the busy A737 then up Threepwood Road to the memorial cairn viewpoint at Bigholm.  We continue for two miles on the road between Beith Golf Course and Loanhead Quarry to Cauldhame then climb Lochlands Hill via either the gorse and St Inan’s Chair or Bogside Farm to the trig point.  We will have a tea break at a stone dyke above Cuff Farm then go down Cuff Hill to Kirkleegreen Reservoir for lunch.  Then it is round the reservoir, through the deer fence gate and tracing faint paths through grass to pass the ruin of Rakerfield.  From there, we are looking for traces of the Old Drove Road towards Brownmuir and the ruined Flax Mill of Beith.  This is where we find the old right of way, rumoured to be impassable.  It’s not.  There’s a wee bit of woodland, a rough path, a bit of vegetation and a ladder-stile: all part of the fun; and we return on the nice smooth tarmac road to Beith.