Isle of Arran
From Imakoopedia
The beautiful Isle of Arran is situated in North Western Scotland, in the Firth of Clyde near Glasgow.
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Regions
Cities
Lamlash
- Main population centre
- bowling green - Visitors welcome to this seasonal facility, you are asked to wear flat shoes. The green is only open in good weather to avoid wear. £3 per adult £1.50 for concessions.
- Poor beach - very stony
- Medical Centre
- School - Arran High School is situated to the West of Lamlash
- Fishing Trips - limited places available so a very good idea to book ahead at the caravan on Lamlash Pier
- Boat hire - £20 for a 4 person boat for 2 hours, £30 for a 6 person boat for 2 hours. Fishing rods are also available for hire. The views from the centre of Lamlash Bay are well worth the money
- Boat to Holy Island (seasonal)
Brodick
- Main supermarket - Brodick is home to the Co-op and the One Stop (this has recently been purchased by the Co-op) supermarkets, these offer the widest selection of goods on the Island.
- Computer Shop - to the East of the main Co-op this shop offers a range of computing goods, also good if you run short of a fuse as no where else on the island seems to sell them.
- bowling green - Visitors welcome to this seasonal facility, you are asked to wear flat shoes and there is normally someone on hand to show you how to play if you've never tried before. The green is only open in good weather to avoid wear. £3 per adult £1.50 for concessions
- Leisure centre offering swimming pool - Auchranie Hotel is a private facility but offer public swimming facilities
- Good beach - This is situated on the west side of the town, the other beaches nearer the ferry terminal are nearly all rocks
- Majority of hotels and guest houses
- Cinema - this temporary facility uses the hall next to the library, film showings are rare and run several months behind the mainland
- Library
There are 6 computers in the Library and are the only public place on the island that you can check your emails. The library opens at the following times:
Sunday - CLOSED
Monday - CLOSED
Tuesday - 10am-5pm
Wednesday - CLOSED
Thursday - 10am-7:30pm
Friday - 10am-7:30pm
Saturday - 10am-1pm
- Petrol Stations - There is one situated between the pharmacy and the One Stop supermarket, the other is situated as you leave the ferry, this also offers car hire
- Ferry Port - ferry timetable (http://www.calmac.co.uk/arran)
- Bus Station - situated next to the ferry terminal
- Mini Golf - on the western end of the town next to the One Stop Supermarket offers a grass course.
- Crazy Golf - in the centre of the the town is a more exotic affair in line with a crazy golf course based on concrete and prone to flooding.
- Basic Go Karting - age restrictions may apply to this as the set up seems geared towards children
- Bike Hire - Available at Arran Adventure centre (near the crazy golf course) and also available next to the Mini Golf course.
Blackwaterfoot
- Bus 'station'
- Pub/Hotel
- Garage
Clauchlands Point
- Strange concrete structures - Bird spotters or bunkers?
- Good view of Holy Isle and Mainland
- Nuclear Submarines have been spotted from this point
- large amount of bird life
- Quite common to see seals relaxing on the rocks
Lochranza
- Ruined castle - currently under restoration until 2008, though still accessible
- Arran Distillery
- Rock men of Arran - Fantastic little shop sat placed on the side of the hill on the East coast of the Bay
- Small convenience store
- One Pub - closer to the pier
- Youth Hostel
- Bus route
Other destinations
Holy Isle
- Sole inhabitants are Buddhist monks, during summer tourist season, boat takes visitors roughly every hour from 10am to 5pm
- Vision of Virgin Mary persuaded previous owner to sell it to the monks
- Food stuff available for purchase from monks
- Walk up the backbone of the island
- Beautiful view of Lamlash and Mainland
- Buddhist Monastery - please note this is not accessible to the public as it is used as a place of retreat (Monks stay there for 3 years and 3 months)
- Caves
- Buddhist Art
- East side of the Island is closed to the public as there is the danger of rock fall
Whiting Bay
- Large Beach
- Football Pitch
- Youth hostel
- Giants Graves - 1.5 mile round trip
- Waterfall - 7 mile round trip
The Ross
- Lamlash to Lagg
- Not recommended to take this route in the winter as road can become impassable
- Good to take cars
- Possible to bike - though i found the trusty 1950's 3 speed Raleigh i used to be unsuitable and had to push it up the steepest parts, mountain bike highly recommended
- Sparsely populated, danger of meeting sheep on the road
- No public transport
- Fantastic Scenery
Understand
The Isle of Arran is often described as 'Scotland in Miniature', offering the scenery of the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands on one Island, in the North and South respectively.
Talk
Get in
By Plane
The nearest Airport to Arran, is Glasgow Prestwick International on the mainland, situated 32 miles to the south of Glasgow. Flights arrive daily from Stansted, Paris and Dublin along with less regular flights from other destinations (check here for destinations (http://www.gpia.co.uk/)). The airport is well sited with numerous hotels in the vicinity. A train station is situated to the east of the airport complex with trains direct to Glasgow Central and offers an indirect route to Ardrossan Harbour through a change at Kilwinning. The train takes 15 minutes to get from Prestwick to Kilwinning. Taxis to Ardrossan harbour are also available at a standard charge of £15 (?need to check).
You will then have to take a ferry to Arran.
By train
Trains run regularly from Glasgow central to Ardrossan Harbour, where you can pick up the ferry to Brodick. Make sure you get a train to Ardrossan Harbour as Ardrossan Town and Ardrossan South Beach are some distance from the ferry port, nearly all trains to the harbour meet up with ferrys. Tickets for trains can be bought once on board as well as at stations. Discounts are available when you show a valid plane boarding pass. Go to By Boat section
By car
There is no bridge link to Arran and you must take the ferry.
By boat
The only reasonable way to actually get to Arran is using one of the two Ferries operated by Caledonian McBrayne. The Ferries run between:
Ardrossan(mainland) - Brodick(Arran)
Name: MV Caledonian Isles
Facilities on Board: toilets, children's play area, tourist information desk, disabled access, Bar, Restaurant
Vehicle capacity: 120 cars (other vehicles can be accommodated)
Passenger capacity: 1000
Duration of Trip: 55 minutes
Runs all year: Yes
Trainlink mainland: Yes
Claonaig(mainland) - Lochranza(Arran)
Name: ?
Facilities on Board: toilets, small passenger lounge
Vehicle capacity: several cars (other vehicles can be accommodated)
Passenger capacity: 100?
Duration of Trip: 30 minutes
Runs all year: Closed in Winter
Trainlink mainland: No
Be warned services can be cancelled due to bad weather and reduced services run on Sundays and off season. There is an extra Friday evening ferry which does not run for the rest of the week
Get around
See
- There are great rock formations and a lighthouse at Kildonan
- Aisla Craig
- View from top of goat fell
- seals in the sea around Arran
- The Mull of Kintyre accompanied by singing the song
- The fairies in the garden on Holy Isle
- The Buddhist rock carvings
Beaches
- Pirnmill has the best beach on the Island
Do
- Golf
- Brodick Castle
- Sailing
- Lawn Bowls
- Go on top of Goat Fell. Recommend tackling in the morning; it can be achieved in half a day. Has fantastic view from on top, worth trying to go on a clear day. Its all walkable, no climbing involved
- Pony Trecking, North Sannox, spectacular scenery.
- Corrie - Has waterfalls, is steeper.
- Take the ferry from Lamlash to Holy Isle. See the wild ponies, goats, seals. Have tea with a Buddhist monk.
Eat
Drink
Sleep
Get out
External links
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