Surprise! I’m in Arran. I built up enough time off in lieu at work after a big project I decided to go on a little holiday – and I want to bring you with me! My aim is to blog every day I’m here, sharing the places I explore and the pictures I take.
I arrived yesterday, having had a panicked journey up to Ardrossan Harbour, managed to catch the ferry over to Brodick. I’ve enjoyed some of the local hospitality and am staying in a lovely guesthouse. I also explored some of Whiting Bay, which is where I’m staying, and enjoyed a few mindful minutes listening to the ocean.
But you don’t want to hear about that – you want to hear about the scenery, the wildlife, the walks – and the weather.
I think I may have been a bit ambitious with my first full day on the island. My plans were to walk to Lamlash via Kingscross to see the lighthouse on the Holy Island, grab some lunch, bus back down to Kildonan to see the lighthouse at Pladda (seeing a theme here?) and do some walking.
My plans were scuppered when I turned the wrong way out of my accommodation. Instead of finding my way onto the Arran Coastal Way, I ended up walking the back roads around Knockenkelly and Auchincairn. I couldn’t complain though – I discovered some beautiful wooded walks, crouched down among the mushrooms and copped some absolutely spectacular views of the Holy Isle.
At this point, I realized that I would need to rework my plans and so I caught the bus to Lamlash and found myself some lunch. The weather here alternated wildly between absolutely glorious sunshine and pelting it down with rain. After I’d eaten, I headed out onto the breakwater and managed to capture this panorama of the Holy Isle and a stunning rainbow – it was so vivid!
I then began my walk back to Whiting Bay, but before I even made it to the Coastal Way I found myself at the doors of the COAST Discovery Centre. This brilliant little centre is working hard to raise awareness of the importance of protecting our marine environments, helping people make more sustainable choices and to show off the magnificence of our underwater wildlife. My favourite thing here was the aquarium full of starfish and shrimps. 10/10 would recommend.
Finally, I made it to the footpath! I got a little bit turned around near the start, but eventually found my way onto an impressive stretch of boardwalk. To whoever took the time to nail on all the anti-slip strips onto every other plank – I owe you my life. With the intense rain over the last couple of days, it was unbelievably slippery, which meant I had to take great care and watch my footing rather than enjoying my surroundings. That being said, I did hear the familiar sound of a seal sticking its head above the water with a great harrumph! and I enjoyed watching a very big seal yawn.
This stretch of the walk was very slow progress. The boardwalk itself was very slippery, but every now and then the path would dip down onto the coast. I slipped, tripped and waded through ankle-deep seaweed in some places, but I was determined to get to Kingscross.
Once I had completed the last portion of the boardwalk, I grabbed a seat on a convenient bench to have a drink and wait for the worst of the latest rainstorm to pass over me. I was very glad I did this because a red squirrel came and had a look at me! Lovely to see such a gorgeous thing.
The path then took me upwards along the cliffs, via a clump of Amethyst Deceivers and down a very old-looking road before taking me back down to the beach at Kingscross. It was here that I got a fabulous look at the Holy Isle Inner Lighthouse (sadly, not one for my list as it isn’t in England – worth seeing regardless). I thought it looked so beautiful in the after-storm light and I was glad that I had made the effort to come all the way down.
After that, I had a quick stop at the Iron Age hillfort before hurrying on back to Whiting Bay. Normally I wouldn’t have rushed this last section, but I had an online appointment to keep and I was determined to make it. Very pleased to report that with the help of the bus I was only two minutes late. I did, however, arrive back at the guesthouse looking like a drowned rat.
So that was day one of my Arran adventure! I hope you enjoy reading, and fingers crossed I’m able to keep to these daily updates.
See you tomorrow!