Gourock pt1

Located three miles west of Greenock, Gourock is a relatively small town which in the past functioned as a seaside resort on the Firth of Clyde.

The town dates back to 1494 as it was recorded that James IV of Scotland arrived on the shores of Gourock to conquer the Highland clans that rebelled. In 1784 Gourock was bought by Duncan Darroch from the Stewarts of Castlemilk and his house called Gourock House which no longer exists was built on what is now known as the Darroch Park also known as the Darroch Woods or the Gourock Park.

As a former resident of Gourock I know the best places to visit on a day out. There are the Darroch Woods, the Tower Hill, the Promenade, the Gourock Pool and Granny Kempock.

The Darroch Woods

The Darroch woods is a popular place for locals to walk their dogs. There is a path that takes you around the park and it takes around 30 minutes to complete. When on this path you can pass the Gourock Bowling Club, tennis courts, the Bunny Park and a tomb.

The tomb belongs to the Darrochs and various members of their family are buried there.

The Darroch Tomb

One piece of advice I could give you is do not go there at night. Apparently the woods are haunted but from walking through the woods at night by myself your mind plays tricks on you also it has in the past been a popular place for underage drinking and some really odd folk.

If you are interested in learning more about the hauntings of the Darroch Woods please visit Tales of the Oak

Near the bottom of the Darroch woods is an area that is walled off. Inside this is the Bunny Park. The Bunny Park is very popular with the residents of Gourock and there is a play park for children as well as enclosures containing ducks, chickens, guinea pigs, rabbits, degus and budgerigars.

The Shetland pony in the Bunny Park

Cockerel in the Bunny Park

There is also a field that contains a donkey, a goat and a Shetland pony as well as a pigsty that contains two pigs. This park is open most days until late afternoon and dogs are welcome as long as they are kept on a leash at all times.

The next post will be on the Tower Hill and Granny Kempock.

For more images please visit the Gallery.

Tighnabruaich

Last year during one of our longer trips to the caravan we decided to drive to the nearby towns and one of the towns that we visited was Tighnabruaich as it was only a forty minute drive from the campsite.

On the way there we passed the viewpoint which due to the great weather was packed with tourists and locals so we decided to visit it on the way home when it was less crowded and the lay-by that was used as the car park would have some space for me to park my car. When we did go there we saw that the viewpoint which was rather high up (500ft) had a view of the East Kyle and the Isle of Bute which was pretty impressive.

Viewpoint by caledonianmsc

Secret Coast Scarecrows

Just as we drove past the sign welcoming you to the town we spotted this dark, humanoid figure with horns. We both got the fright of our lives as we had no idea what we just seen. The only way I can properly describe it is that it looked like the man with antlers that appears in TVs Hannibal. After the initial shock Stu recalled that when he was researching the local area he came across a few websites that mentioned the first annual Secret Coast Scarecrows. Basically during the summer there are a total of 50 Scarecrows that are on display and entrants to the competition must find all 50 scarecrows and fill out the trail sheet as they go along.
As I did not take my camera with me on this trip as we only intended to go food shopping in Tighnabruaich I had to search the Internet to find images of some of the scarecrows we seen that day.

Drunk Scarecrow from NESA

Terrifying Scarecrow at Entrance by Briars and Thorns

More images can be found at:

• www.nesa.co.uk
• Briars and Thorns Arts