Only a short walk but one with a good range of late summer flowers and an interesting feature at the top.  It can be treated as a walk in its own right, or an access route to the northern hills, or an add-on to the Tramway track between Port Bannatyne and Ettrick Bay. 

Starting from a road junction (GR053673) midway between the roofless St Colmac’s church and the red-roofed houses (see photo above), follow this lane for about 100 yards before turning left onto a track that leads gently uphill.   If you come by car, you can use the cemetery car park near Greenwood’s Crossing (see Walk 15) and take a short cut through the older part of the cemetery.

Marsh Woundwort

A favourite of mine at this time of year is Marsh Woundwort with its erect stem of pink/purple flowers.  Although its leaves have a faintly pungent smell, they have none of the unpleasantness of its more dowdy relative, Hedge Woundwort.

Common Hemp-nettleAll members of the Deadnettle family have square stems and leaves in opposite pairs.  Another member of this family currently in flower is Common Hemp-nettle, a species with a particularly bristly stem.  The flowers are small and tend not to last very long, but I find the overall architecture of the plant intriguing!  

At the top of the track, pass through the bright green wicket gate and enter the area of the former slate quarry.  The track now broadens into a hard-packed stone approach route, on which a number of species have managed to secure a foothold, principally Silverweed, Pineappleweed, Common Mouse-ear, Corn Spurrey and Water-pepper.

 After crossing the small burn, you can begin to get some idea of the extent of the quarry, though the tree cover that has developed since quarrying operations ceased makes this a little difficult.  (For a brief description of former quarrying operations on Bute both here and elsewhere see http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/500442/1/OR09040.pdf).

Water-pepperThe level floor of the quarry is covered by large patches of Water-pepper.  Flowering late in the summer, its inflorence is hardly spectacular with small, greenish-white flowers.  But pick and chew a leaf to discover the reason for its name, a distinctly acrid, pepperish taste that will linger for quite some time.

A winding track climbs further up the quarry, leading eventually to the slopes of Edinmore Hill and beyond, but otherwise now retrace your steps and enjoy the views across to both sides of the Bute coastline.

Species in flower include