A short walk full of interest, the two brigs in question are steeped in history. Thanks to the work of local men they have been renovated and restored so that their historic past is preserved.

On the way to the brigs, there is a cairn erected to the memory of John Loudon McAdam, the road builder, who laid the first stretch of experimental road in Muirkirk, when he was owner of the tar works there.

Tibbies Brig (Garpel Bridge) was so renamed after a Muirkirk worthy who lived in a clay biggin at Garpelside. Tibby Pagan made a few shillings by selling small items from her basket around the countryside, but her popularity surrounded her singing and poetry. She published a volume in 1803 which included one of the best known "Ca' the Yowes tae the Knowes". A cairn was erected in 1931 on the site of her former house and has been restored.

On the way are the fossil burn and the Cauld Water spout. Sanquhar Brig was another vital link which greatly helped the coach traffic in its day. The brig fords the Garpel river on the old drover's road to Sanquhar. In the 1793 Statistical Account of Scotland mention is made of a great new road from Glasgow to Strathaven then by Muirkirk to Sanquhar to Dumfries. The old brig of wooden structure has been replaced by a metal pedestrian bridge.

One of the many wells in the vicinity is Minister's Well (or God is Love Well) a fine spring of water, clear and cold as steel, On the route to Sanquhar Brig there is evidence of lead, coal and iron ore mining, and some evidence of the tar works.

A short distance from the brig there is an example of a Bronze age oblong hut similar to others in the area. Sanquhar Brig is a tranquil picnic spot.