Arran – Geological Showcase and home to Clachaig Man

The towering mountain mass of GoatFell dominates the Isle of Arran as it slumbers in the warm Gulf Stream entering the Firth of Clyde. Between mountain and sea perches historic Brodick Castle. Its red sandstone walls contain displays of fine silver, porcelain and paintings. Outside blooms a sparkling rhododendron garden.

Brodick with its sandy beach, hotels, boarding houses, amusements and shops is the isle's largest resort and the ferry port. At Brodick’s north end Rosaburn Heritage Museum contains information on local social history, geology and archaeology.

Corrie a former fishing hamlet of whitewashed cottages on the road north makes a convenient starting point for ridge walkers and mountaineers.

Loch Ranza a former herring-fishing village lies in a sheltered sea loch at the north end of the island. The roofless ruin of its 16th Century castle stands brooding on the loch shore. Loch Ranza distillery is a major tourist attraction. In summer a ferry runs between the village and the Kintyre Peninsula enabling onward travel to the Western Isles.

Whiting Bay in the south is another popular resort. In Lamlash Bay sheltered by Holy Isle visiting and resident yachts bob at their moorings.

Quick Tips:

Arran is the largest island in Scotland’s Firth of Clyde. Washed by the warm Gulf Stream, it has a milder climate than its latitude suggests. Although only 17 miles from Ayrshire on mainland Scotland, it feels like an island much further away because of the climate and the palm trees growing there. Nevertheless come prepared for the changeable Scottish weather and make the visit in summer rather than at any other time.

Bring a stout pair of climbing boots for walks. Many of the sights such as Bruce’s Cave, Stone Circles, waterfalls or scenic walks need the use of a pair of legs. A path leads up from Brodick Castle for those wishing to climb GoatFell.

For the culture vulture, Arran Folk Festival takes place in early June and the Brodick Highland Games early August.

Best Way To Get Around:

The car ferry leaves from Adrossan on the Ayrshire coast and crosses to Brodick. Crossing time is about 55 minutes. Arran is 20 miles long and 56 miles round so a car is useful for getting around. Alternatively buy a day ticket on the buses and hop on and off as often as you wish. Cycles are available for hire in Brodick. There is also a new long-distance footpath around the island.

Travel to Ayrshire can be by air to Glasgow or Prestwick airports. The area is also well served by rail and road links with the rest of the UK.

A more adventurous method of visiting is by boat. There is nothing more romantic than to arrive at a mooring as the sun is setting and to paddle ashore to the local pub. Yacht hire is possible from Larg’s Marina on the Ayrshire coast from Sunsail and other operators. Loch Ranza and Lamlash Bay are the best moorings. Lamlash used to have long jetties for visiting pleasure steamers, but these have all gone.

The island has many holiday homes, hotels and bed and breakfast establishments. The choice is yours – visit for a day or stay for a week.

Mountains, lowlands, dykes, sills, glens, corries, polished walls of granite, staircases of waterfalls make Arran a showcase for earth scientists. Nowhere else in Britain is there such diversity in such a small area.

Igneous rocks including granites and lavas, occupy half the island. Within the mountain masses there are two granites. The older coarse-grained granite gives rugged, dramatic scenery. All the major mountains of Arran consist of this rock. Into this granite younger fine-grained granite has intruded.

In the south, rocks from lava flows dominate the landscape. Magma injected vertically into the earths crust form narrow sheets known as dykes while sills developed where the magma flowed in a sheet between the planes of the surface rock.

Where Magna is harder than surrounding rocks it forms sills caused by erosion wearing away weaker rocks. These form steep steps in the hilly landscape above Whiting Bay. Rivers tumble over the junction between the hard and softer rocks in a cascade sometimes leading to a staircase of waterfalls. The massive bulk of Holy Isle sheltering Lamlash Bay formed from a cone-sheet sill.

Dykes appear around most of Arran - some up to eight metres high. In the north dykes cut the granite but here the granite is the tougher, and the worn away dykes form small gorges, pools and waterfalls.

The oldest of the other rock types are the schists found in north-west Arran. These underlie moors and coastal slopes flanking the granite peaks behind Lochranza, Gatacol and Pirnmill and appear in coastal cliffs. Alongside the North Sannox Burn where it passes beneath the A841 it forms first-rate sunbathing and picnicking platforms.

A geological fault separates the Dalradian rocks and the northern granite from the rest of the island. The fault curves round the granite from the coast north of Lochranza emerging again at the coast at Dougarie. To the south of the fault, the main rocks are red and white sandstones and conglomerates, with some limestone and beds of coal. These sedimentary rocks weathered to give fertile soils.

The ice ages produced boulder clay. Thick deposits appear where streams have cut down into them and in roadside cuttings along the Brodick-Lamlash Road. The ice sheet deposited blocks of the northern granite all over the south of the island.

Local glaciers polished and shaped the glens and corries to give polished walls of granite in Glen Rosa and Glen Sannox. As the glaciers melted, debris carried dropped to form ridges and mounds called moraines.

As the ice fields retreated, vast volumes of water entered the sea. Sea level rose and coastal lowlands became flooded. As the climatic warming ended, the rise in sea level slowed, while the land freed of the weight of ice rose, raising sea beds clear of the sea.

The result of all these forces over millions of years has been to produce an island with a physical geography complex and fascinating.

The battle fleet tossed expectantly at anchor, their dragon prows sniffing the breeze blowing into Lamlash Bay. By October 1263 King Haakon of Norway’s patience was exhausted. He determined to teach the troublesome Scots never to challenge his authority over the Western Isles again.

No respecter of foreign kings, the Scots aided by autumn gales defeated the king’s forces at Largs on mainland Scotland. These and other historic happenings can be explored at the Isle of Arran Heritage museum. Founded in 1976 it lies on the main road just north of Brodick. The displays include a model replica of a Viking ship of the kind that assembled in Lamlash Bay before the fateful Battle of Largs.

Before the kingly presence on Arran, man had lived and worked there for thousands of years. Arran's archaeology and geology presentation are lucidly explained. There is a genuine Early Bronze Age grave (over 3,000 years old) and the pottery food vessel found in it on display. Clachaig Man, 5,000 years old re-created by computer technology from a skull found in a long cairn at Clachaig, on Arran, in 1900, and sculpted by local artist Marvin Elliot is there.

One thing I find disconcerting about rural museums is that I have worked with many of the items. I remember the change over from oil-lamp to electric lighting and from horse-drawn farm equipments to tractors. Much to by surprise I once saw a school photo containing myself at an antique fair. For those not familiar with country living, The Isle of Arran Heritage Museum is a treasure and people like myself can simply be annoying by exclaiming, "I’ve used that and that!"

The group of buildings were previously a croft and smiddy, and include a farmhouse, cottage, bothy, milk house, laundry, stable, coach house and harness room – suitable for a rural museum.

The stable and coach house contain permanent displays. Old photographs show village life and farming methods in bygone days. The island's long seafaring traditions are remember from the days of sail, through steam powered puffers, paddle-steamers and warships, to the latest car ferry.

The smiddy is still as it was when work stopped in the 1960's, and has changed little from early 19th century. Its forges, bellows, tools and other equipment are original, and horses shoeing demonstrations take place several times a year.

In the museum’s grounds sit a collection of horse-drawn farm implements, two tractors, a Victorian post box and an old telephone kiosk. The farmhouse holds a café and special exhibition area, where displays change every year.

The museum has a custom-built archive and an area where visitors can access and search the database containing the museum inventory. Computer access and microfiche readers aid visitors in tracing family history – But not going back unfortunately to Clachaig Man.

Use of this equipment is on Wednesdays or by prior arrangement. The Museum is open every day, from April to October, 10:30am–4:30pm. Entrance fee: Adults £2.25 and child £1.

She comes in low and squat as if hugging the water, her twin side paddles leaving twin wakes. Approaching the quay her paddles stop before thrashing in reverse and churning the sea into green champagne. Warps hang momentarily in the air before grabbing hands place them around bollards. Not an easy ship to manoeuvre, the Waverley, the last sea going paddle-steamer in the world, relies on warping into position.

Built in 1947 and driven by 2100 horsepower generated by a triple expansion diagonal steam engine beating out its tune in Waltz time she steams at 15 knots. She breathes and exhales steam - a living, breathing creature. Her twin raked back funnels emit gentle wisps of smoke.

The Waverley has two bars, a self-service cafeteria and a souvenir shop. There are seating on the decks and two deck shelters for foul weather, not to mention the comfortable saloon seating in the bars. She takes up to 925 passengers and runs a summer schedule in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland.

I embark for a day trip from Ayr across to the Isle of Arran. Making myself comfortable in a seat aft of the funnels, I relax. This is where the engine room ventilators belch warm steam-flavoured air and the beat and hiss of the steam engines resound upwards. We thunder away from Ayr, stirring up a stiff breeze as we head across to Arran – I had chosen my spot well.

Waverley is 239.6 feet long by 30.2 feet wide (excluding the seven foot wide paddle boxes) she has a draught of 6.5 feet. The original triple expansion steam engine powers her. From a viewing gallery placed along each side of the engine room you can view the mighty engine beating out its tune. Lean over and you see the whole engine – the steam-powered pistons rotating the crankshaft driving the paddles, the valves directing the jets of steam into and out of the cylinders!

On 6th August 1974 the Paddle-Steamer Preservation Society bought Waverley for the price of one pound. They set up the Waverley Steam Navigation Co. to run the ship. Repainted in her original attractive colours her funnels are red, white and black and are hull red, black, gold and white, she has run under their flag since. Millions of pounds have been spent keeping the vessel seaworthy. Worth every penny!

Travelling at upwards of 15 knots the 17 miles to Arran evaporates. A jink of sea appears between Holy Isle and Arran, and Brodick Castle perched below Goat Fell Mountain emerges out of the early morning haze. Once more the mighty paddles thrash in reverse as we come into Brodick harbour.

Decision time – is it going to be an inspection of the castle or the museum, climb Goat Fell mountain, follow the Food or Taste Trail or find the nearest bar and sample the local beer and whisky?

Arran Food trail is an enticing trail full of delicious tastes and smells. Producers of the Isle’s quality delicacies open their doors to visitors. Each has a visitor’s centre explaining how each delicacy is made.

Enjoy the aromas and buy mementos of the visit straight from the producer. It’s a good excuse to sample the island’s beer and whisky and you can amaze the kids by showing them that food does not originate in a supermarket.

The food trail extends up the east side and along the top of the island, so complete the circuit and see "Scotland in Miniature" -– there are good views across the Kilbrandon Sound.

At Lamlash, the Paterson Arran Kitchens is the home of Arran Fine Foods -- relishes, mustards, chutneys, salad dressings, preserves, and marmalades -- plenty of fruity aromas wafting around here. The company started at a kitchen in a local house in the 1970's and has been going strong since then.

Moving up to Brodick we have something for the chocoholic. James' Chocolates provides a window on chocolate making. Chocolate arrives as sacks of round buttons and leaves in sleek, glossy shapes filled with intense flavours and subtle textures. The chocolate, chock full of luxury goodness, simply melts on the palate –- irresistible!

Just outside Brodick is the Island Cheese Company at Home Farm. The tradition of farmhouse cheese making continues here. See the raw milk transforming to curds and whey and finally to the finished cheeses. Choose from Bellecreme, soft cheeses including crowdie, fromage frais, crème fraiche, sour cream, and goats milk Goat Fell crotins. Also a range of flavoured cheddar's plus an extensive range of British cheeses.

By now you will have built up a thirst. There is no better way to slake it than by a glass of Arran Blonde, Arran Light or Arran Dark beer at the Arran Brewery. The raw ingredients are barley, wheat and hops. A viewing gallery give a chance to experience the sights, sounds and smells. That smell of hops will prepare you for sampling the finished products at the gift shop.

Moving north and around the tip of the island to Loch Ranza, the Arran Distillery close to the sea loch and Loch Ranza Castle is a must see for malt lovers. The tour starts with an audio-visual presentation about the origins and production of the 'water of life', in the mock 18th-century crofter’s inn. A guided look around the distillery and sampling the produce follows. Do ask them why they sited the distillery in the windiest part of the island and how often the roof has blown off.

The distillery began in 1995, and already the whisky it produces is attracting international acclaim, with expectations that its single malt, when mature, will become a classic. There 's also a restaurant providing excellent food and is part of the award-winning Arran Taste Trail.

By now, you need to burn off a few calories –- suggestion, run up Goat Fell!!