CHATTERBOX - Lochwinnoch

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THE STIRRUP CUP WEST BANKSIDE FARM, GEIRSTON RD, KILBIRNIE, We specialise in vintage & modern jewellery, antiques, curios, art and local crafts Great for Gifts or treat yourself www.thestirrupcup.co.uk Lochwinnoch's Sacred Landscape The windswept moors and bleak hillsides above Lochwinnoch are studded with the rocky remnants of ancient dwellings, fortifications, tombs and farmsteads. The oldest of these stony relics from the past date back more than 2500 years to the Bronze Age. Then men and women excavated and alloyed copper from the Kaim, Tandlemuir and Cloak mines with tin imported from Cornwall in south-west England. This process produced bronze which was used in the manufacture of weapons, agricultural tools, domestic implements, ornaments and jewellery. The neighbourhood's most recent archaeological sites are 16th, 17th and 18th century but-and-bens, ferm touns and shielings whose dilapidated walls and grass-mantled foundations testify to more prosperous times on the uplands before their abandonment and dereliction. Many of these historic places are to be found on the wild moorland around Muirshiel country park at the head of the rugged Calder Glen. The name, 'Muirshiel, is evocative of upland shielings, or temporary shelters, constructed from stone, peat and turf studding the grass and heather moors before the Enclosure Acts of the 18th and 19th centuries. These shielings provided accommodation for shepherds and cowherds during summer days when they took their sheep and cattle onto the hills to feed on lush vegetation around the sparkling rivers, lochs, pools and springs which were also a source of fresh drinking water. This important period in the country calendar was inaugurated by Lifting Day during the early Spring. This was when farm animals were lifted (led by drovers) from lower ground to high pastures where they and their custodians remained till the end of summer. One good example of an 18th century farm steading can be identified at the entrance to Muirshiel country park. This was the West Heathfield steading which was the home of the Muirshiel Watts from around 1750 until well into the 19th century. An Ellie Watt married John Orr from nearby Tandlemuir Farm around 1760 but their marriage was shortlived because the husband was drowned while swimming near a waterfall in the nearby River Calder. The tragedy scene was lugubriously known as John Orr's Linn. North of the park entrance are the ruins of High Heathfield spectacularly silhouetted against the background of Windy Hill which was formerly a prehistoric volcano site. Abandoned during the Victorian era, the old steading was used for dipping and shearing sheep when I worked as a countryside ranger at Muirshiel during the 1980s and 1990s. East of the park entrance is derelict Laigh, or Low, Heathfield Farm which was inhabited until around 30 years ago. Its last inhabitants were former Muirshiel senior ranger Andy Christie and his wife, Gaye, who now run the Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue Centre, near Beith. Lochwinnoch poet Betty McKellar and her husband, well-known sheep farmer Quintin McKellar, also lived there. Beyond Windy Hill is a rectangular rocky foundation believed by archaeologists to have been a medieval homestead. This overlies an Iron Age round house measuring 30 feet in diameter. It's enclosed 14 Antiques, Curios and Crafts A dynamic selection of oils, watercolours and Limited Edition prints Bespoke crafts by local artisans, vintage and contemporary jewellery Well worth discovering for yourself The Barn on the farm, open 10am till late every day Contact Greta Logan on Tel: 01505 683338 Email: greta@thestirrupcup.com www.thestirrupcup.co.uk West Bankside Farm, Geirston Rd, Kilbirnie, KA25 7LQ Just opposite the Golf Course on the Largs Rd within a boulder-kerbed wall 10 feet thick. The earlier structure is around 2000 years old. A short distance away are two semicircular buildings beside Coplie Burn. I visited this site with Frank Newall, one of Scotland's top archaeologists, who said both edifices were known as but-and-bens. These were stone-built houses with one room for human occupants and the other - separated by a passage way - for cattle and sheep. Both belonged to an era when the ability to build a dwelling and light a fire inside it within 24 hours were regarded as evidence of a person's legal right to the property and the land on which it stood. A form of medieval squatting rights, you could say. Just across the moor is Smeath Hill, the site of an unusual Iron Age fortification whose most prominent features are a kerbed wall and corridored round house divided into six apartments. This is situated close to the Craige of Todholes Bronze Age round house dating from approximately 1800 BC. East of Smeath Hill is Thornleybank Forest where thousands of conifer trees clothe the hillside and crest the cloud-streaked skyline. In a secluded corner of the plantation, protected by the prickly branches of Sitka spruce trees, is a large cairn of stones around 30 feet in diameter and with a prominent boulder kerb. This secret site has been identified as a Bronze Age burial site where the cremated remains of members of a prehistoric community were interred in funerary urns around 2500 years ago. It is one of the most sacred spots in the hills above Muirshiel and a spiritual sanctuary where I often reflected on life's mysteries and its purpose. Amidst the melancholic calls of
curlews and the exuberant songs of skylarks, I was made aware of our own mortality and how future generations might view our own generation through the interpretation of our architectural and sepulchral monuments in the years to come. Derek Parker Derek Parker worked as a countryside ranger at CMRP from 1985 until 1999 From the Parish Church One more step along the world I go, one more step along the world I go; from the old things to the new keep me travelling along with you: And it’s from the old I travel to the new; keep me travelling along with you. Sydney B Carter © 1971 Stainer & Bell Ltd I write this in the week the children have returned to school – where has the summer gone? Time, I am learning, goes faster the older we become. Yet we often hear children say, “I can’t wait for such and such a day (often well in the future) to come.” It is almost five years since I came to live and work in Lochwinnoch. Last Tuesday I watched in delight as many of the babies I saw being pushed around in their prams in our first few months here, began school for the first time. I just hope that one of the girls I know is not too disappointed that she has not learned to read just yet! The children all looked very smart in their new uniforms and I think it was really the mums and dads who were more nervous than the children. I know all our children are well cared for and nurtured in our Primary School. Children are perhaps the most precious gift a community share – they are not just our future, they have so much to offer to the whole community, all through their lives. Jesus himself recognised the ability of children to teach adults when he said that we should become more childlike in our living. The recent Summer Club was an example of how children can bring joy to us all. It is Christ’s love of children that is at the root of all our youth work in the Parish Church and we are privileged to share in that work with our friends in Calder Church. All our youth activities are open to all children, there is no residential requirement – everyone is welcome to their age appropriate groups. Sunday School meets every Sunday at 11 o’clock. Children from the age of four and up are welcome to go to the Church of their choice at 11 o’clock (mums and dads are welcome too). After sharing in worship, the children will be taken to Sunday School. Week by week the children explore the Bible, learn more about our Christian faith, take part in quizzes, sing songs, plant bulbs, share fun and laughter and sometimes tears. The older group (P7 – S4) is working through some of the more difficult books of the Bible and sometimes visit other places of worship. For example, the group have visited a Synagogue. Key Keepers is a relatively new group and is an energetic, fun, diverse, creative Christian club for children at Primary school. It meets every Thursday from 1st September at 6.15pm. The A.B.C.s meet in Calder United Free Church every other Sunday at 7.30pm from 4th September and is open to all young people in secondary school. A.B.C.s study subjects of concern to the members, based around the Bible. A.B.C.s have also been exploring worship in other churches and visited St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral and St Georges Tron Church, both in Glasgow. These were great opportunities to worship together and an excuse to go for hot chocolate on the way home. The Boys’ Brigade are holding an enrolment evening on Tuesday 6th September between 7 and 8pm. Boys in P1 - P3 are invited to join the Anchor Boys, where evenings are spent playing team games, singing and learning more about the BB and Jesus. In the Junior Section (P4 – 6) boys begin badge work, become involved in battalion competitions as well as learning more about the main 15 aims of the BB. Boys in P7 and in Secondary School are invited to join the Company Section where the boys become more involved in Battalion activities and enjoy outings, while gymnastics and tumbling offer the boys some serious physical challenges. The Girls’ Brigade returns on the 7th September and invites girls to be part of something big. Girls in P1 – 3 can join the Explorers (meeting at 6pm) who have fun learning about Jesus through a variety of activities. Juniors are for girls in Primaries 4 – 7 and start at 6.45pm. Juniors are busy people, who like to chat, laugh, see their friends as they gain confidence, new skills, learn self control and respect for themselves and others. Girls attending Secondary School are invited to become Brigaders (8pm) who are involved setting topics that are relevant to young adults, extending their current interests and introducing them to new ideas. Children are welcome to join any of our organisations, whether they or their parents attend Church or not. All our leaders are trained and have the appropriate clearance by Disclosure Scotland. The Church of Scotland has a deep concern for the wholeness and wellbeing of each individual. It seeks to safeguard the welfare of all people, regardless of age, who come into contact with the Church and its organisations. We can also ensure a warm welcome for you and your children. May God bless the children of our community in all the activities they undertake and may they all be blessed with a childhood of innocence and adventure. Yours, Lee McKinlay Holistic & Beauty Therapies Swedish Massage Waxing Aromatherapy Massage Eye Treatments Reflexology Manicure Facials Pedicure A mobile service to promote relaxation Gift Vouchers and Loyalty Cards are available Telephone 07854 715625
Page 1 and 2: Nuisance Helpline Anti-Social Behav
Page 3 and 4: Rowing The annual Home Internationa
Page 5 and 6: Lochwinnoch Food Festival Sat 17th
Page 8 and 9: Lochwinnoch Community Library Tel:
Page 10 and 11: What’s On Regular clubs, classes
Page 12 and 13: Appeal for Volunteers to Help Trans
Page 16: St Vincent's Hospice Precious Minut
Page 19 and 20: RSPB Lochwinnoch Reserve Largs Road

CHATTERBOX - Lochwinnoch

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