Approaching Arran
Having visited the small isles off the west coast of Scotland in 2008, it was fair to say I was hooked, and with a long weekend at the end of summer on the horizon, it was an obvious choice of where to spend it.
What wasn’t so easy was choosing which island to explore as the west coast features so many, from the larger islands of Mull, to the smaller isles such as Eigg & Muck.
After a few hours of scouring the map it seemed that the best choice would be to head to the southern isles so hours to keep time spent travelling to a minimum, and so Arran, the most southerly of the Scottish islands, won the draw.
View across to the mainland
Arriving at Ardrossan on the mainland late evening, I parked up in a lay-by near to the ferry point to get some kip before taking the ferry across to Arran the next day. The morning brought clear skies and the 55min Calmac ferry trip across to Arran was spent up on deck watching the island approach, as the mainland behind me faded away.
Arriving into Brodick Bay gave a real feel for the diversity of the Island, there was so much going on which provided a really nice atmosphere. I drove through Brodick past the castle and north to Lochranza, stopping along the way to take in the views and have a look around. After a brief stop at Lochranza Castle it was back in the car and a drive down the west coast of the island again making many a stop at various places including the enchanting Machrie standing stones, one of the many intriguing stone circles on the island, all surrounded in myth and legend, one such explanation telling of fairies sitting on one of the peaks and throwing pebbles down to the moor below. It is said that these pebbles became the standing stones. Other folklore suggests the stones circles cover the graves of fallen comrades of the mythical heroes Fingal & Fheinn whom led the Celts to win the battle against the Viking raiders on the Machrie Moor. (http://www.glenislehotel.com/myths_legends.aspx)
Arriving into Brodick Bay gave a real feel for the diversity of the Island, there was so much going on which provided a really nice atmosphere. I drove through Brodick past the castle and north to Lochranza, stopping along the way to take in the views and have a look around. After a brief stop at Lochranza Castle it was back in the car and a drive down the west coast of the island again making many a stop at various places including the enchanting Machrie standing stones, one of the many intriguing stone circles on the island, all surrounded in myth and legend, one such explanation telling of fairies sitting on one of the peaks and throwing pebbles down to the moor below. It is said that these pebbles became the standing stones. Other folklore suggests the stones circles cover the graves of fallen comrades of the mythical heroes Fingal & Fheinn whom led the Celts to win the battle against the Viking raiders on the Machrie Moor. (http://www.glenislehotel.com/myths_legends.aspx)
View from Goat Fell over to surrounding peaks
The West Coast is also the location of King’s Cave where Robert the Bruce hid from the English and was inspired to continue the rise against them after watching a spider’s perseverance whilst weaving a web. Heading down to the South Coast, I made my way to the Seal Shore campsite in Kildonan, right on the side of the beach with the view looking over to the small islands of Pladda and Ailsa Craig (an interestingly shaped island, now a nature reserve and host to an incredible seabird colony), and watched on as the sun set. Unfortunately there were no seals to be seen!
The next day I had booked in for sea kayaking with Arran Adventure so I was up early and made my way to Brodick Bay. Once on the water we kayaked around the coast taking in the view of Arran from the water. At this point we were able to see the extensive birdlife, with gannets dive bombing around us, peregrines soaring over the crags and were even joined by a dog otter, who spent a good deal of time swimming in-between our kayaks.
The next day I had booked in for sea kayaking with Arran Adventure so I was up early and made my way to Brodick Bay. Once on the water we kayaked around the coast taking in the view of Arran from the water. At this point we were able to see the extensive birdlife, with gannets dive bombing around us, peregrines soaring over the crags and were even joined by a dog otter, who spent a good deal of time swimming in-between our kayaks.
Goat Fell Trig point at summit
After a couple of hours Kayaking around the coast, we returned to Brodick and I made my way over toward the Arran Brewery and Visitors centre for a lunch of mackerel pate and oatcakes and, of course, a local ale before beginning my ascent up to Goat fell, Arran’s highest peak. The pathway up is clear enough so it wasn’t long before I gained height coming out of the forest to a view across the east of the Island with the mainland clear in the distance. I continued upwards and before I knew it I was at the summit where the 360 degree panoramic views over the whole of the Island were absolutely stunning. As is often with exposed summit, the wind was in fair force so after a short rest behind a boulder I made my way back down.
The rest of the evening was spent exploring the coast & running with the wildlife of which is abundant on Arran, before making my way back to the campsite at Kildonan.
The rest of the evening was spent exploring the coast & running with the wildlife of which is abundant on Arran, before making my way back to the campsite at Kildonan.
Prayer flags welcome you to Holy Isle
The next day my plan was to visit the Holy Isle just off the south east coast in which you can only get there via a small passenger ferry, which takes off from Lamlash. The Island has a long spiritual history which goes back to 6th century, and features an ancient healing spring, a cave (where St Molaise was supposed to spend many years living in as a hermit) and also evidence of a 13th Century Christian Monastery.
These days it also has a World Peace Centre and a Buddhist retreat, which is why you will find Prayer Flags welcoming you as you arrive on the Holy Isle.
Once on the Island I took a walk down the coast line which leads past the healing spring, St Molaise’s Cave and also features stones painted with Buddhist deities along the way. This was both beautiful and strange as it did not feel that you were on an island of the coast of Scotland, well, not until I came into contact with the Eriskay ponies, Soay sheep and Saanen goats.
Once on the Island I took a walk down the coast line which leads past the healing spring, St Molaise’s Cave and also features stones painted with Buddhist deities along the way. This was both beautiful and strange as it did not feel that you were on an island of the coast of Scotland, well, not until I came into contact with the Eriskay ponies, Soay sheep and Saanen goats.
After a few hours exploring this fascinating place it was time to head back to the boat to return to Arran, where I then drove up the East Coast To Lochcranza, north of the island where I was to camp. The Campsite is near to Lochranza Castle, so once I had pitched the tent amongst the herd of Red deer and midges that dominated the campsite, I walked to the castle. It is in pretty good condition having been restored by Historic Scotland and you are allowed to go into the castle ruins and explore. Now it was getting fairly late on by now and it is very atmospheric to be in the castle alone, add to this the noise of the local wildlife and the bats that kept flying in, it became quite a creepy experience.
As I made my way back to the campsite, I passed by a rather peculiar sight of red deer in the sea loch, which is what is great about Arran, there is wildlife literally everywhere!
It is no surprise that Arran is described as ‘Scotland in miniature’, as it features pretty much every type of landscape, culture, wildlife that you would find on the mainland but all in one place. The amount of time I spent there on this trip didn’t even scratch the surface of what the Island has to offer. As I left the campsite the next morning to make my way back to Brodick to catch the ferry back to the mainland, I had no doubt I would return. Whether for another long weekend, a week or fortnight, there is so much to do and so much more to explore on this Island.
It is no surprise that Arran is described as ‘Scotland in miniature’, as it features pretty much every type of landscape, culture, wildlife that you would find on the mainland but all in one place. The amount of time I spent there on this trip didn’t even scratch the surface of what the Island has to offer. As I left the campsite the next morning to make my way back to Brodick to catch the ferry back to the mainland, I had no doubt I would return. Whether for another long weekend, a week or fortnight, there is so much to do and so much more to explore on this Island.
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