| Another
route, a high level path still called the Kirk Pad, came over the hills from
Shawhead. After the land enclosures of the 17th & 18th
centuries, this route over the hills and across farmland was barred
by a number of boundary walls separating the sheep and cattle
grazing land of the various
farms. Despite these many obstructions the deceased of the
parish were carried over this
route for burial in the graveyard. At every barrier there were 'stepping stones'
built into the walls and so arranged to enabling the bearers of
coffins easy accesspast the
intervening drystane dykes. |
|
| This
much depleted remains of a line of old oak trees and a depression in the ground mark the
route of the old track. |
|
| From
the crest of the hill the wide fertile plain drained by the
Cluden Water spreads out below. |
|
| The
church and graveyard must have been a welcome site those who
had trudged for miles bearing a coffin for burial. |
|
| Behind
the church the wide sweep of the Cluden Water can be seen
winding across the flat ground to join the Nith. |
|
| The
modern road below, serving the farming communities of the area, is an
early 19th century creation. |
|