Gourock pt2

The Tower Hill

After a quick search on Google. I found that there is very little that explains what the Tower Hill was once used for instead all that appears are images of the place and the actual Tower. Onone website it said that it used to be used as a former lookout and study of one of the Lairds of Gourock House. Which used to stand close by. So instead I will tell you what I heard about the place from locals whilst growing up in this town.

Lookout during the World Wars - I was once told that it was a lookout for enemy planes, U-boats and ships and due to the Tower Hill being so visible it was easy to alert others. This does seem possible though the Tower itself did exist before that so that cannot be the reason it was built. Yet on the grounds of the Tower Hill Park there is a Royal Observer Corps(ROC) post. I once came across this a few years back and always wondered what it was. Once day the padlock was broken and I opened it and looked in and saw ladders leading down into darkness. The place was covered in spider webs so I did not climb down also the fear of what I may find stopped me from doing so. I managed to find more information on this ROC post and found that it was used during World War II.

ROC Post

Gourock ROC Post

It was an entrance to a copper mine - This was a common one that I heard though the location to the mine is located on Kirn Drive which is on a completely different side of Midton. The entrance has since been walled up and most passers by would think it was just a wall.

Copper Mine Entrance

Bunker - Like the others, I have heard this one a few times. Basically it was believed that the Tower was once open so that during the bombings in World War II locals could use it. Though this does make sense, at the time the town was smaller and houses were not very close to this Tower so it would be very inconvenient.

In short, it would be cool to know what it was used as in the past but now it is a great place to go on a warm day because the view is impressive.

The Tower

View from the Tower Hill

Granny Kempock

Located just behind Kempock Street is a stone which is referred to as the Granny Kempock. It is an odd shape and its origin is unknown. It is believed that it is an old altar to the pagan god Ba'al. There is a local superstition that when sailors are going on a long voyage of a couple who are just married must walk around the stone seven times for good luck. From where the stone is located and with the fencing around it I can imagine that this would be rather difficult.

There are also stories that say it was once a witch that had turned to stone.

The Granny Kempock

The Granny Kempock plaque

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

Benmore Botanic Garden

Located between Dunoon and Loch Eck the Garden was once part of an extensive plant and painting collector called James Duncan land and was first Established in 1863.

The garden covers around 120 acres and boasts Giant Redwoods that stand over fifty metres high and over one hundred and fifty years old as well as over three hundred species of rhododendron and over one third of the world’s conifer species.

Victorian Fernery

Outside of the Botanic Garden is a large car park with plenty of space for coaches and cars in order to enter the garden visitors must pay a small fee at the gift shop:

• Adult £6
• Concession £5
• Under 16s free of charge

One of the amazing views

The garden is open for the majority of the year, only closing November – February. The best time to go to these gardens is on a dry day as you will be doing a lot of walking if you plan to see it all. When we went it was on an extremely warm day and even though there were plenty of trees that provided shade we still ended up sunburned. That did not ruin the day though as we managed to cover the majority of the locations on the map that you are supplied with on admittance. If you were to visit this place it would be in your best interest to stick to the map and paths as due to the size of the place it is incredibly easy to become lost. If you do happen to get lost there are plenty of maps posted throughout the garden informing you of your current location.

Stuart inside the Victorian Fernery

While we were walking around the garden we seen plenty of wildlife however they were difficult to capture on camera. We did manage to get pictures of newts and crickets.

One of the many crickets we spotted

Due to the majority of the visitors being elderly we found that a lot of the walks were empty and peaceful as they tended to stay near the entrance were the ponds and benches are located. So if you ever find yourself in this area the Benmore Botanic Garden would be worth your time.

If you want to see more images please visit the Gallery page.