Isle of Arran Revisited
Some places are so beautiful or evocative that visiting again and again never seems quite enough. The Isle of Arran is one of those beautiful places.
Starting with the ferry ride, three of us huddled together on the bow on the icy first weekend in December to make sure we didn’t miss any of the spectacular views as we approached the island.
Fresh off the ferry and barely after setting off on route to the Isle of Arran Distillery, we spot a seal. Practically running from the car to get a better view, we arrive at the sand to see a lonely seal, perched on it’s side on a submerged rock a few hundreds metres from the shore. It’s shape somewhat mimicking the ship sitting out to sea behind it, we silently stand and watch.
The drive from our Brodick seal to the distillery in the North of the island is fast, then the drive to Kildonan at the south of the island takes longer. The light is fading and the passengers, having both enjoyed a whisky, are napping to the 80s roadtrip soundtrack. By the time we arrive in Kildonan the winter sun has set and we resign to searching for more seals in the morning.
Luckily for us, Scottish sunrise is at about 8.30am in winter. Well rested after the long dark, we headed down to Kildonan beach just as the sun was rising over the water. The walk along the beach, with seals playing in the shallows as the sun rose was phenomenal
The colours of the sky – vibrant purples, orange and yellow – faultlessly mirrored in the silvery sand, were some of the most striking I have ever seen. We took our time to experience it all.
As the colours stopped fluorescing, the glow of the morning on the rocky shore soon faded too, so we headed back for refuelling before a long afternoon of walking.
We first returned to the haunting Machrie Moor stone circles on the west coast of the island. Less windy and more wet than our first visit nine months ago, the stones stoically stand through it all the scenic landscape of the moor.
Avoiding the rain and a party of Pheasant hunters, we head back to the car and on to find warmth before our last stop of the short visit.
Glen Sannox on the opposite side of the island was the perfect place for short afternoon walk before the ferry back home. Only a few miles north of Brodick, the glen lies amid the Goatfell mountain range. We only braved the weather for long enough to explore a little of the dramatic valley.
We followed the river up the glen, past the long closed barite mines and instead of following the walk further towards the looming mountains, we crossed some precarious stepping stones and headed back to the car. It is a place we will come back to another time - to camp and tackle the longer walk, through Glen Sannox and mountain pass to the neighbouring Glen Rosa.
The Isle of Arran is a small island, but it is filled with special places and seemingly secret corners that could be leisurely explored over a whole week or with gusto as we did, in only a few hours on a weekender. I can’t wait to go back in spring to find some more hidden places.
