Ken's Blog

The island’s brochure was right.  You can’t do Arran in a day.  But if you are hard-pressed to see much of Scotland, there is Arran.  Arriving late in the evening, I had camped a mile or so from the slipway at Lochranza, on the north-west side of the island.  Iain owned the campsite, together with its generously hot showers.  Louise and Brian had recently taken on the running of the on-site ‘Pavilion’ cafe and shop.  They were very committed, having left behind the relative sophistication of Glasgow, bringing their two children with them to carve out a future in more idyllic surroundings.  They had a dream of better things and had done something about it.  You sensed that in just a short time they had begun to make the place their own.  I admired them.

Pavilion shop and cafe

In the morning I headed anti-clockwise around the coast from Lochranza.  A distinct Outer Hebridean feel – windswept, cottages huddling together in small settlements – soon gave way to warmer, more undulating countryside.  At Lagg, tucked away in a sheltered valley towards the southern tip of the island, I found palm trees.  This could have been the English Riviera, perhaps the Isles of Scilly.  The island of Ailsa Craig, south of Arran, was prominent.  The map indicated it had a castle, which struck me as odd, and unnecessary, for the place appeared to be a natural fortress.  The golf courses grew in number as I started north up the east coast.  The first notable village, Whiting Bay, had bungalows, an alarming number up for sale.  Brodick, and the ferry to the mainland, was soon close.  A viewpoint a mile or so short provided a final glimpse of Goat Fell and its fellow Cullin-like mountains in the north of the island.  I realised why the island is often referred to as ‘Scotland in minature’.

Village of Lagg, Southern Arran

Island life has always fascinated me since I first visited Caldey, a little way off the Pembrokeshire coast, many years ago.  Caldey is known for three things – monks, chocolate, and perfume made from gorse.  An interesting mix; the chocolate I understand but quite what inspired the monks to experiment with perfume derived from gorse bushes has always elluded me.  Some while back I had the chance opportunity to visit a small, remote island community in the Southern Oceans at a time when visitors were relatively rare.  The island’s administrator had gone native, or at least he wore an ear ring.  Many aspects of life there seemed familiar – children running around in the primary school’s playground, the warm welcome in the white-washed cafe.  And yet you sensed subtly different social norms beneath the surface.  Not the case with Arran I might add.

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 24th, 2009 at 7:38 am and is filed under Cycle expedition training. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.