Final day of Galloway Tour. Woke up in the night to the sound of rain, still raining at breakfast, still raining when we were ready to go, but eased off as we started out and the sun even came out for a minute or two. However, after 30 minutes it rained heavily for 20 minutes or more. Nowehere to shelter so just got on with it, and eventually it stopped and the sun came out (partly) again. Kept going for 20kms to the Red Kite feeding place, only to find it not opening for another 45 minutes, and feeding not taking place until 2 hrs after that. As we turned around a kite flew across the road in front of me into a tree. Watched for a while, then it took off and wheeled around, soon joined by 2 or 3 others. Magnificent birds, well-named as their body is red and when flying they cruise around in the sky looking exactly like a kite. Hard to believe they almost became extinct in Britain due to hunting and poisoning.
There was no shop or cafe in the nearby village, just a gallery. Looked interesting so we decided to go in, and the owner immediately offered us tea and biscuits. He is a landscape photographer and has some stunning images on display:
pmcphotography.co.uk.
Not long after we left there the kites put on another display for us, and the rain held off for the rest of the ride to Castle Douglas. Soon we'll be on a train back to Edinburgh for a bit of festival fringing.