Isle of Arran

The 432 square kilometre Isle of Arran is located south-west of Glasgow and is only accessible by ferry. It is not exactly full of tourist attractions but people visit for it's tranquillity and to get in touch with nature with lots of walking trails throughout the island.

Best bet is to have a car. Parking is relatively simple with often free car parks throughout though watch for restrictions. Most roads are single track with the roads to the west and south not in very good condition when I visited in summer 2024. Petrol is difficult to come by on the island so if you do drive be sure to fill up before taking the ferry across.

Walking is another option though there are a good number of mountains and the roads are quite narrow so if you walk on them be very careful for vehicles. There are plenty of well-marked walking trails around the island. There is also a bus service here operated by Stagecoach

Getting to the island is via one of three ferries, the main (and most frequent) island ferry is between Ardrossan and Brodick (55 minutes) though there is another ferry Troon and Brodick (1 hour and 20 minutes) and another between Tarbert (Lock Fyne) and Lochranza. All ferries are operated by Calendonian MacBrayne (CalMac) and it is highly recommended you purchase tickets in advance online.

There are a not a huge number of dining choices on the island though the occasional pub which, of course, does food. The best choices for dining are in Brodick, being the largest town but the options are not great.

One thing to try is the Arran Ice Cream which is quite tasty indeed. There is an ice cream parlour (and pizza takeaway) in Brodick on the north end of town.

A few people may visit here for the Arran Whisky which is brewed in two distilleries located in Lochranza and Lagg (in the south) but as I am not a drinker, I have not done so. Both have visitors centre and offer tours.

This small stone circle site is just off a farmer's road in Machrie. There is no parking here so I just pulled off the road, leaving the car to walk through the gate and up the road a short distance to see the site. It is well worth a few minutes of your time to visit.

Brodick is the largest town on the island with the ferry to/from Ardrossan docking on the southern edge of the town. It is home of one of the two Co-Operative food stores as well as a number of restaurants (mostly fast-food) and a cobble beach. Nearby is Brodick Castle which can be accessed via a wooden walkway along the beach starting in the town.

Brodick Castle is a large site and is well worth a visit though allow a day. There is an entrance charge that includes access to the entire site which includes a large car park.

There is not much in Kildonan though you can see the ruins of “Kildonan Castle” through the gap in the hedge in someone's backyard (or, if you can spot it, from the beach) but more spectacular is the view of lighthouse just off-shore on the small island of Pladda. Evidently there is a dinosaur footprint somewhere along the shoreline of Kildonan though we were unable to find it (but it was high tide). There is a small car park (on the grass) in Kildonan with steps leading to the sandy beach which is quite a popular walking area.

The Kings Caves are accessed by a long path starting/finishing at a small car park on the A841 south of Tormore and north of Torbeg. Round trip the walk takes about 1.5 hours in good weather with the caves themselves a steep climb up/down to the water's edge. The large caves are quite spectacular with visitors leaving piled stones in many.

A small town south of Brodick on the east coat of the island, it is home to the second of the island's Co-Operative food stores (these are the only “supermarkets” on the island so important to be aware of) but has a large park along the beach front with amazing views of Holy Island which can also be visited by a daily ferry service (see Billy Shiel's Boat Trips for details).

Lochranza Castle stands out in the bay at Locharnza - A tower at the end of a spit of land in the middle of the water. It can be visited free of charge with a (free) grass car park nearby. Inside there are helpful signs pointing out where things were located when the castle was in use which gives you an idea of what it must have been like.

Probably the biggest attraction on the islands and only a short drive from Brodick, the Machrie Moor Standing Stones are accessible via a path from a small car park located at the south of Machrie on the A841. It is about a 30 minute walk to the site and there are many stones to see along the way.

For further information, please see:

• VisitArran - Travel information
• Wikipedia - Isle of Arran