Friday 17 December 2010

Arran re-visited, final part

Here we go - the last pics from our Arran trip. As I said, I was now a cripple, unable to walk with a very swollen and painful knee! We decided to do a round-island exploration today, and just LOOK how nice the weather was! This is the lovely cottage we stayed in, details here; www.glenbank.com
I have to say, it was really lovely. The perfect location, warm, comfortable and the owners are just SO friendly. The welcome pack is great. I think we'll be returning to Glenbank in the future!


This is Corrie harbour, right outside the door. I think I've already mentioned that Marvin, one of the owners of the cottage, did the figurehead for the boat (on the front). You can see his super work here;

A calming view across Brodick bay.

Holy island, taken by Sue, from Lamlash bay.

One of our favourite views - the sentinel which is Ailsa Craig, with Pladda island on the right.

(Sighhhhh) Lovely Ailsa.

A view of the two through a sculpture at Kildonan hotel.

The Kildonan sculptures. There is a 'roof' on these during Summer, but the winter sees it taken off and locked away from the wrath of the gales that lash the coast.

Looking inland across the gentler countryside of Arran, on our way to Blackwaterfoot.



A zoomed view of the mountains of Beinn Bharrain range


Looking across the bay to the 'twelve Apostles', used to house ousted farmers during the clearances.

As we passed Lochranza youth hostel we saw this deer, nonchalantly grazing in the garden, oblivious to us only yards away, taking pictures.

Next stop was the famous butchers in Lochranza, where we bought two lovely venison steaks for dinner. Of course, you need a good whisky to wash it down, so we also called at the Arran distillery to get one.

I mentioned 'The Bastion' in my last set of pictures, here it is!
Notice how different and MUCH more imposing it looks from this angle?

We arrived back at the cottage with the weather picking up, and severe warnings on the TV and radio. A bit worrying, as we were due to get the ferry back in the morning. The way things looked, it would be touch and go! It was really rough during the night, with the wind rattling tree branches against the cottage roof and howling round the building all night. The next morning, it had calmed a little, but the drive to the ferry showed just how nasty it had been during the night. The sea had ripped up sections of the road, torn down railings and strewn boulders and pebbles, seaweed etc all over the roads. One old resident said he'd NEVER seen it like this before! This is a (bad) picture taken through the car windscreen on our way to the ferry.

The night ferry had been cancelled, but we were assured the morning one, on which we were due, would sail. Sail it did, and to be honest, the crossing was about the same as the one over, maybe a little rougher. Standing on deck was a bit difficult, as the wind was screaming round the ship but I got this shot.

That was it, all that was left was the six hour drive home, which we did without incident.
Arran is a fantastic place, and I would say anyone would enjoy it, it's just got so MUCH going for it. Of course, like most of Scotland, particularly the west, I would avoid the 'midge season', which is the Summer months - usually June to September.

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