THE VALLEY OF THE KEN 49 



I have used the word classical to describe the 

 scenery: and indeed I cannot think of any term 

 which would more suitably express the character 

 of the landscape to be met with in the valley of 

 the Ken. The contours of the hills form such 

 undulating and sweeping lines, and the spacing 

 is so fine, that inevitably the mind reverts to the 

 landscape of the early Masters, with its decorative 

 balance and fitness of line. The type of scenery 

 differs from that of the more northerly districts ; 

 the country is more open, the distances greater, 

 and the awkward V shape, so often seen in the 

 Highland glens, is always absent. 



The river runs from north to south. The 

 traveller, making his way up the valley from 

 Dairy, may see, some twelve miles distant, a big, 

 steep, grass-covered mountain which is divided 

 into twin peaks, standing like lonely sentinels, 

 marked on their eastern slopes by precipitous 

 escarpments. This smooth and large-based moun- 

 tain — known as Cairnsmuir of Carsphairn — is 

 practically embraced by the Ken and its tributary 

 the Deugh, for they both take their rise in a 

 wild, bleak country, at a point still more northerly. 

 The Deugh, the western arm, and the larger 



