An interesting relic of past farming practices may be observed as you enter the open field beyond Bennan Farm. There on the right are the stone circles of the rick bottoms which kept the corn stacks off the damp ground. They date from the time of the steam traction engines and the threshing mills which toured the farms in the autumn and winter months. On the stones were placed boughs and hedgerow cuttings, then the sheaves of corn carefully and skillfully in circular patterns.

The walk passes through Bennan Wood where you can branch off to a path which leads to Bennan Hill. The top of Bennan Hill is about 900ft and, unlike the Hill of the Goats opposite, is wooded almost to the summit. In Gaelic Bennan means small mountain. Returning to the main path travel through the woods south until just past Craigfad where you can cross the river. In the wood itself look out for primroses and violets, also long-tailed tits, red squirrels, deer and badgers.

Returning you will see the V - shaped valley occupied by the Water of Girvan, a prominent feature seen from many parts of Ayrshire. Straiton's name may mean a settlement in a deep valley (Celtic in origin). Largely its present layout derives from the ideas of Thomas Kennedy, Earl of Cassilis, in the late 18th century.