A day of disappointment

A couple of months back I was biking down by New Cumnock and noticed some new open cast coal mining.
I wondered then what impact it might have on some of the trails in the area, well today I discovered the answer and it isn't good.
A lovely rough trail has been gobbled up and another has had a conveyor layed on it, although its still passible its not really worth it.
Following miles of conveyor housing isn't my idea of a good wild trail.
I need to check out a couple of tracks to see if the original loop can be diverted away from the effected area without using the busy main road.

I was heading along the route when I came to a decision point and realised I'd left the map in the car, .....argh...if I continued there was a good chance of getting lost in the hills so the only sensible thing to do was head back.
I did a left turn hoping I'd recognise a ride link I'd used about 3 years ago in the hope I'd get a loop back to the start without retracing my route, turned out OK, but it did shorten the days outing rather a lot.

Back at the car I payed a little visit to the old limestone working just off the road.
They're cut into the strata and form caves, the roof is held up by pillars of rock left in place interesting enough for a quick look.

A short video of today here.