"A" is for ARRAN - Inner Hebrides Island-hopping, by Bike and Ferry.

 

"A" is for ..... ARRAN

Not "Aran", which is off the west coast of Ireland and is famous for its cable-stitch woollen jumpers. This  Arran is nicknamed  "Scotland in miniature", because it encapsulates the Highlands and Lowlands on one 20-mile long island.  Arran's been part of my life for as long as I can remember, as I could see it most days from the Ayrshire mainland, 12 miles across the Firth of Clyde, as I was growing up.

(And I realise Arran is not in the Inner Hebrides, but it's where our holiday started, and we were hopping to and from it to get to the Inner Hebrides.)

"A" is also for the Ardrossan Ferry 

Arran, the "Sleeping Warrior", from Ardrossan harbour

We alighted from our London train onto Platform 1 at Glasgow Central station, retrieved our bikes and crossed to Platform 13 for the local train to Ardrossan harbour. About 45 minutes later, we strolled the few metres from the train to the ferry terminal to await the ferry.  I won't go into the myriad of issues surrounding the ferries in the west of of Scotland, but, even as MV Isle of Arran was squeezing past the breakwater, we (passengers and Caledonian MacBrayne (Calmac) staff) still weren't sure which berth the boat would tie up at. The choice seemed to depend on the tide, the wind direction and strength and the load on the ferry!  A few days earlier our tickets had been cancelled because the ageing big ferry, "Caledonian Isles",  had developed a serious engine fault and was removed for repairs.  The older ferry, "MV (Motor Vessel) Isle of Arran"  struggled to cope with the early summer surge in visitors to the island.

At last, however, the boat berthed, passengers and cars boarded, then we walked our bikes through the gaping bow doors into the car deck, and tied them securely to the hull.  Our island-hopping had begun!

Arran, and ferry, on the crazy golf course. (Not to scale)

MV Isle of Arran car (and bike) deck

My knot lessons in the Falklands came in handy!

"B" is for Brodick

Brodick is the main town on the island, although Lamlash has the island's hospital and High School.  The main ferry arrives here, and the broad bay sweeps round to Brodick Castle and the highest mountain - Goatfell.  We were based here for our stay on the island.

MV Isle of Arran, with Goatfell in the background

Brodick Castle and estate is now managed by the National Trust for Scotland

Brodick Castle

The Castle gardens are renowned for the variety of their exotic plants and trees.

"C" is for Corrie, a picturesque village north of Brodick.  It only has the one seafront street, but also has the Corrie Hotel, which has a beer garden overlooking the rocky coast. Plus the excellent Mara seafood restaurant. Well worth a pause in your travels.

The Corrie Hotel

The Corrie Hotel beer garden

A quilting exhibition at Corrie

Corrie

 

"D" is for Distilleries, Deer and Dippers

Arran has 2 whisky DISTILLERIES - one in Lochranza which has been going for about 25 years, and a new one in Lagg at the south end of the island, which opened last year.  We decided to visit Lagg with family visitors.  A round trip of about 35 miles, but the ebikes made it easy!  (I hired one for the day - the others own theirs.  I have to concede that my legs are getting too old for hills. Especially after visiting a distillery!).

Some samples of the distillery's output

Ailsa Craig from Lagg distillery

There's also a gin distillery and a couple of breweries on Arran.  Well worth sampling their range of drinks, if that's your tipple.  And the gin distillery has one of the most scenic settings in the world.

Outdoor seating at the  arranbotanicaldrinks  bar on Brodick beach

High tide at the beach bar

So, maybe not as many distilleries as Islay (see chapter on Islay), but somewhere to watch the tide come in, and perhaps have a bite to eat along with a sundowner.   

Decisions...

...decisions.

Something you may, or may not, see on the island is DEER.  If you take a tour of Brodick Castle, you can see evidence on its walls of the popularity of deer-stalking by the Dukes of Hamilton (former owners - now National Trust for Scotland), who would invite guests like Prince Rainier of Monaco to the island to shoot deer. 

Today, the deer can be a nuisance and many gardens have deer fences around them, especially in Lochranza, to keep the deer out.

Can you spot the deer on the hill?

Hundreds of them roam the island

They are easier to spot on Lochranza golf course.

We were also lucky enough to spot many birds (more later) that we don't normally see near our home in London.  We saw two pairs of DIPPERS - one pair feeding their young. (For those of a squeamish nature, skip the piece on the heron later).

A wee dipper

A fledgling dipper, not long out of the nest.

A slight wildlife DIVERSION - Around the coast of Arran, you may see numerous bird species, plus marine mammals like dolphins, seals, and otters.  For the last 3 years, we've been fortunate to see an otter at the same spot in the south of the island!  Not great photos, but the animals seem to like to spend time on these rocks about 200 metres offshore. We watched it for about 30 minutes while it relaxed. Despite us sitting in the grounds of a hotel on a Bank Holiday Monday, we were the only people there!

Otter!

Otter on its back, relaxing before a hard fishing session.

"E" is for Eagles.  There are Golden Eagles on Arran.  Sadly, no photos from me.

"F" is for French Fox

There are no foxes on Arran, except for this mobile restaurant, which provides delicious gourmet French food.  Luckily for us, for several days it was sited at the end of the road we were staying in.  We had a few takeaways from it when the weather wasn't conducive to al fresco dining, but also enjoyed a lovely French brunch - French toast with bacon and maple syrup....Mmmmmm!

French Fox dispensing gourmet French cuisine 

Croque Monsieur, anyone? Followed by Confit du Boeuf, with Bramble Profiteroles to finish!

"G" is for Goatfell, Glens and  Gin  (see distilleries)

Goatfell is the distinctive mountain overlooking Brodick.  At 874 metres (2866 feet), it is a serious proposition, despite not being a Munro (higher than 3,000 feet).  The well-marked path starts at the Arran Brewery and goes steeply up through the grounds of Brodick Castle.

Goatfell summit in the clouds

Brodick Bay, with the ferry passing the Norwegian cruise ship, Spitsbergen

After a short, sharp hike of about 1,000 feet of climbing, I reached the edge of trees and came to the gate in the deer fence (which keeps the deer in the north of the island, away from the agricultural south). 

However, leaving the trees, meant exposure to the full blast of the wind.  As I would have had several more hours walking in these conditions and the top was in cloud, I decided to call off my summit attempt for that day.  On the descent, I met another walker who had reached the summit. "How was it?" I asked. "Windy", was the reply!   He had arrived on the ship, Spitsbergen, in Brodick Bay, and decided to do something a bit energetic.

Glen Rosa, one of many unspoilt glens on Arran

"H"  is for Hares and Heron 

For some reason, we saw quite a few hares on both Arran and Islay.  Maybe farming methods are changing and encouraging these beautiful animals?

One morning, we watched a pair of dippers feeding their fledgling at the side of the river that ran past our accommodation.  We could lean over a bridge and watch without disturbing them for about 30 minutes or so.

Dipper

Young dipper. First day out of nest?

Bird-watching bridge, Brodick

We watched for a while, then went away for 20 minutes. On our return, it seemed as if the fledgling and parents had flown to another part of the river. There was no sign of them. So, we watched a heron which had appeared.  Suddenly, the heron flew across to a bank and grabbed the young dipper that had been hiding there!  Well, a heron has to eat, too!

Hungry heron

"I" is for Islands.

Having lived in the Falkland Islands for a number of years, I feel my wife and I have an affinity for island life.  Certainly, many of the social and economic aspects of island living were similar wherever the islands were. I might speak more on this when discussing Islay, but reliable transport, sufficient workforce, and adequate public services were are all common themes on our travels.

"J" is for ... Juniper - the essential ingredient of gin. "Gin" is derived from "jenever" , the Dutch drink made from Juniper....

"L" is for Lochranza, and leaving Arran

Lochranza is a small village on the north coast of Arran. You can catch a ferry from here back to the mainland (the Mull of Kintyre), which we did. It's a small ferry and there is no booking - just turn up and wait.  While you wait you can try the excellent coffee and sandwiches form the The Sandwich Station, which also has a bike maintenance stand with tools, in case anything has come loose during your descent down the hill.

There's also a distillery and a castle and a pub, plus a nearby site of great interest to geologists - Huttons Unconformity!  Here's a leaflet explaining what and where it is >  https://www.arrangeopark.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/1.-Huttons-web.pdf

More geological information about Arran here >  https://www.scottishgeology.com/best-places/isle-of-arran/  

The mountains of north Arran from above Brodick

Holy Isle in Lamlash Bay

Arran's mountains across Lamlash Bay

A superb sandwich stop, across the road from Lochranza ferry slipway.

Lochranza, looking south

Like most bus shelters on Arran, seats were provided

Mull of Kintyre ferry approaching Lochranza. Sandwich lunch on saddle (Ayrshire ham, with Arran mustard mayo IIRC).

There's a different tempo to life on an island

Parts of the hill towards Lochranza had a good surface. Sadly, this cyclist parted company with his bike a few minutes after this photo was taken. So please take care when going downhill.  However, the local Royal Mail van stopped and took him down to the Lochranza Distillery where he was reunited with his friend and his bike.

Rain had arrived on Arran. Time to leave.

Plenty of space on the Lochranza ferry

First steps on the Mull of Kintyre. Read more in the next chapter (coming soon).

PS - Birds - 

Various friendly birds from Arran.  If anyone can confirm the names are correct that would be great, thanks.

Wheater?

Red-breasted Mergansers?

Song Thrush

Inquisitive Robin

Eider drakes

Goldfinch, from our living room

Notes on Distances on Arran - 

We rode over 240 miles in 2 weeks.  During that time we climbed about 8,500 feet (around 2,500 metres).  

Plus several miles of walking.

Our Bikes - 

Me - Dawes Discovery, 2 x 20 litre Axiom rear panniers.  1 x BTR rear rack dry bag (20 litres). 1 x BTR handlebar bag.

Other Half  - Raleigh (known to friends as "Walter") Motus Grand Tour ebike, 2 x 60 ltr Ortlieb  rear pannier, Ortlieb handlebar bag.

Despite decades of (mostly local) cycling, we were novices at cycle-touring and made the big mistake of packing too much stuff, and of also having rucksacks for the month we were away. Eventually, though, most of the heavier weight somehow found its way into the big panniers on my wife's ebike.  After talking to several cyclists we met on the journey, we would also use front panniers in future, to give better balance and weight distribution.

We used mostly self-catering accommodation (and a lovely B&B on Islay, where our bikes were kept in the garage!). We met many cyclists with tents, including a couple  with 2 children under 5!

Setting off.

Next stop - Islay!