Scotland reminds us of open lands, beautiful wild beaches, horizons, adventure trails, locks and waterfalls. According to our scratch map of the UK we still had to explore this wonderful country and we could not wait. Jane feels perfectly at home in Scotland having visited there often as a child and then living and working there fresh out of college (a few years ago now mind!). In 2000 Ivan traveled from Lands End to a John O’Groats on his 1965 Triumph Trophy alongside his best friend Pete. Together we have explored some of the highlands and lowlands on motorcycle trips and holidays. We have fond memories of a special trip to the highlands with Ivan’s mum and dad. We have both never been to the Isle of Arran. As you know the scratch map starts us exploring again in 2020 after the first lock down ended and late spring is a great time to visit Arran, so this blog takes you there with us earlier in the year.
Ah, Bonnie Scotland, it’s good to be back.
We headed up the west coast and stopped in Troon, overlooking the Isle of Arran.
It was in Troon we learnt that the main ferry route to the Isle of Arran, from Ardossan to Brodick was having major problems due to the main ferry broken down. A local couple told us we could still access the island by another, much smaller, ferry crossing whereby we did not need to book and could just turn up. However, there was a catch... the journey to Claonaig would mean a 125 mile detour.
We drove through some areas of outstanding natural beauty and stayed in forestry picnic sites overnight. We wanted to slow down and enjoy this part of Scotland.
We visited lochs and small towns, enjoying the spring sunshine. The roads were empty and landscape stunning.
We found Scotland to be very welcoming to motorhomes. Forestry sites in Scotland allow you to stay overnight, as long as you are self contained and follow the country code of “leave no trace”. We were happy to oblige and found ourselves alone in the forest after 8pm, listening to the sounds of the wild animals in the night.
We visited small fishing villages and towns on our way to the ferry, enjoying Scotland’s sights and sounds. The detour was long however we loved it and we explored areas we wanted to come back to and there is so much more to visit on the south west coast.
Photo of the map of Arran taken on the ferry. There is a road which circumnavigates the island, a road through the middle and a few other narrow tracks beside, that’s it, we won’t be getting lost!
Eventually we arrived at Claonaig and had a 30 minute journey to the north west of the Isle of Arran and the small town of Lochranza.
Our first night was spent overlooking the Mull of Kintyre and watching a stunning sunset. Some people say the Isle of Arran holds the best of Scotland, in miniature. It has everything: mountains; forests; wildlife; beaches and glens. All the things we love and wanted to explore, we were excited to be here.
The next day, we saw Dolphins and seals from the roadside. It felt like we were living the dream. The nights were short so we had really long days to explore this beautiful island on the Atlantic coast.
The island has beautiful beaches and is 20 miles long and 9 miles wide so we assumed we could explore it in a few days.
We were wrong! If you like exploring as much as we do we quickly realised we needed more than a few days to explore this beautiful historic island. It was full of treasured sites. Above we visited the Neolithic standing stones on Machrie moor. We found out they part of the rich archaeological landscape of Arran dating to between 3500 and 1500 BC.
The countryside and villages were all easy to access and most of all friendly and welcoming.
Brodick castle and gardens was a great day out.
We loved seeing the Scottish Coos.
The seaside at Brodick was set up for tourists however you could easily find a breathtaking backdrop.
We loved this sign at the campsite, however it was not the reason we moved on! We headed off voluntarily to explore more and wild camp on other areas of the island.
Having Daphne and our cycles really is the perfect combination to explore Arran. However we did encounter huge mountain passes that, had we known about beforehand, we probably would not have undertaken 😅.
Wild camping on the beach meant we could get up early and watch the sunrise. As with many parts of the island we were often the only ones about. It felt very special. The whole area of Lamlash bay is a designated “no take zone” which means no fishing or other activities which would take from the sea or the beaches were allowed in that area. It means the wildlife and oceans have a chance to recover and thrive.
From Whiting bay we followed a nature trail to the waterfalls and enjoyed a picnic lunch watching deer and buzzards in the distance.
One of our favourite park ups for the night was in Kilpatrick forest overlooking the Mull of Kintyre watching another amazing sunset. We were so lucky with the weather and the photo above was taken at 8.30pm on an evening in late April, so lovely long days.
Ivan taking photos at one of the many Glens on Arran (above). Burns ran through pretty glens on their way from the mountains to the sea and who doesn’t love a waterfall. We spent the night next to a raging burn after plenty of night time rain and wondered if the banks would burst.
One day we cycled along the beach to a rough track trying to follow the coast. We ended up giving up as big boulders were in our way however we met a few people walking the 65 mile coastal path around the island.
Loving our adventures Jane took a cold dip in the burn and Ivan had a paddle 🥶. The only sensible one was Otto who stayed snug and warm in his winter coat watching from the side lines.
On a cloudy morning in May we said goodbye to Arran, thanking her for her beauty, friendship and shelter. We will be back, in 10 days we still had not seen all we wanted to. It’s a beautiful place and we fell in love. Lots more places to visit in Scotland and we cannot wait.
This blog is dedicated to Ivan’s dad, Len Brown 1933-2022.
