THE ISLE OF ARRAN

Once again it's been too long between drinks and once again things have changed! Evan is now back in Glasgow after beating a hasty retreat from Arisaig (we'll need another blog to tell that story in full!) and is working in Edinburgh. And the sun is finally winning the war against the cold - bring on Summer!
A couple of trips have also been undertaken during this time. Evan headed back to Oz for a hit and run mission (not really the sort of trip for this blog) and Carly had a great time in Milan (but forgot the camera...). But the good news is we've also recently undertaken another short Scottish adventure - this time to the small Isle of Arran, only a 2hr train/ferry journey from Glasgow. Along for the ride with us were Evan's mum Karen and her friend Pat, and aside from the odd sporadic shower on the first day the sun shone brightly for us all!..

One of our first views of Arran, from the Calmac ferry. These are the Goatfell mountains which dominate the north of this tiny island (approx. 12kms wide by 30kms long)..

The ferry arrives at the largest town on the island - Brodick. This is the view from the terminal looking north across Brodick Bay towards Goatfell Mountain..

Our first stop was Brodick Castle and Country Park..

The castle itself. There has been a fortification of some sort or another on this spot since the 5th century, however most of the design and construction of this castle dates from the 18th and early 19th centuries..

Pat and mum at Brodick Castle - wrapped up to try and escape the midges! This was the first time any of us had encountered the dreaded Scottish midge..

After the castle we began our circumnavigation of the island, heading north along the eastern shores..

Group shot! Somewhere on the northeast coast of Arran..

After a nice drive through the mountains and a quick stop at the Arran Distillery we came to Lochranza - a beautiful little village on the shores of Loch Ranza! This was our first view of the 13th century Lochranza castle..

The walk out to the castle promontory, home to a herd of the locals and drydocked boats (at low tide anyway)..

The mouth of Loch Ranza..

Another amazing sight!..

Some of the village..

Carly in the castle..

The view from the crumbling tower..

Earth, stone, sea and sky..

Carly, Karen and Pat outside the castle..

After Lochranza we continued around the island to the west coast and the tiny village of Pirnmill, home to a very comfortable B&B (with million dollar sunset views) and a great restaurant..

Next morning we woke to a beautiful day so we hit the walking trail, heading to the 'King's Cave'..

The walk in took about an hour, heading first through a pine forest then onto a cliff top walk with spectacular views across Kilbrannan Sound to the Kintyre Peninsula (Scottish mainland)..

Not a bad spot for another group shot. In the background is Drumadoon Point..

Mother and son..

A fern's eye-view of Drumadoon Point..

The cliffs below the track are full of caves of various sizes and shapes. From the inside looking out..

This is the cave everyone comes to see though. Known as the King's Cave it's purported (along with others off the west coast of Scotland) to be where Robert the Bruce had an encounter with a spider in 1305/06 whilst on the run from the English army. The spider's repeated and persistent attempts to spin a web, after continually failing, is said to have inspired him to continue his struggle against the English..

Either way it's a pretty impressive cave in its own right - about 30 metres deep and 15 metres high..

We took a different path from the cave back to the car and were rewarded with views like this..

After a quick lunch (and a mission to find the carpark) we headed off on another walk, this time into the interior of the island. This is an old bothy, now home to just sheep, that we passed on the track..

Our destination this time was the Machrie Moor standing stones, ancient pillars placed here thousands of years ago. This was one of the larger ones we saw, set aginst the backdrop of the northern mountains..

This is just one of dozens of stones placed here during the Bronze Age (almost 4000 years ago)..

One of the taller stones - about 18ft high..

Also in the area are circles of squat granite stones..

The most impressive of the remaining stone circles. Although these formations date from around 1800-1600BC there is also evidence of wooden formations being placed in the same area approximately a thousand years before...

Always an eerie sight no matter where you see them..

Mum and Carly approaching a single standing stone..

After visiting the stones we began the drive down to the southern coast of the island. On the way we stopped for a toilet break and came across one of those pubs that just compels you to stay a while and have a drink. This is the Lagg Hotel, one of the oldest on the island, dating from 1791..

A good spot to try the local brew!..

A little while later we arrived at our 2nd night's accommodation - the Kildonan Hotel..

The view from our room - not bad at all..

The hotel is literally on the beach and as it's right down on the southern coast of the island it actually receives quite a lot of sun. This is the view from the beer garden, looking across to Ailsa Craig, a pyramid-shaped island that's now a bird sanctuary and Pladda, a privately owned island with an automatic lighthouse..

Another good spot to try the local ale..

The beer garden itself..

Pladda and Ailsa Craig from the beach in front of the village..

Another beautiful Scottish beach - although quite a rarity on Arran due to it's mainly rocky shore..

Scotland turning on the postcard-perfect image for the camera!..

Dinghy heading over to Pladda..

After leaving Kildonan we began heading north along the eastern shore again. The next village (and the last on our circumnavigation) was Lamlash. The harbour here was used by the allied navy during both world wars and the island across the water, appropriately named the 'Holy Island' is now home to the Samye Ling Tibetan Centre and is used mainly as a retreat..

Lamlash, another idyllic village right on the water and our last stop before returning to Brodick and jumping back on the ferry!..


Well, that was our trip to the Isle of Arran - we hope you enjoyed the photos as much as we enjoyed being there! Special thanks to mum (Karen) and Pat for coming to see us!
And now that summer is making itself felt let's hope the next trip isn't too far away!..