 Brodick Bay seen from Beinn Nuis Jura lies on the western side of the Kintyre Peninsula reachable by ferry from the Isle of Islay. Beyond Islay to the west lies nothing but the Atlantic swirl all the way to Canada. The most striking feature you notice about Arran as you sail from the mainland are the three Paps of Jura. It's a desolate place, the main village, Craighouse is tiny and most of its west coast is unpopulated.  The Paps of Jura seen from the Islay Ferry I've only been to Arran for one weekend and I'm impressed. It was a scottish summer holiday Sunday and only a handful of folk were on the ridges. Out to the north lay the Arrochar Alps and Ben Lomond - a long way away while to the southwest I could see Northern Ireland and to the west - Jura and Islay. Seeing the southern highlands so far away reminded me that Scotland is still a big place and even though I've wandered all across the country, there's still something new to discover.
Many folk regard the Arran peaks as having the most striking peaks outside of Skye. I would agree with that but the principle peaks are all easy affairs. The character of the mountains is hard to describe but it's like Skye, The Lake District and Dartmoor have been fused together. Why Dartmoor? It's flat! I know, but the summit rocks look distinctly like the tors that you have on Dartmoor. The Lake District? Well, the terrain is prodominantly grassy - big eroded paths on the ridges as well (especially on Goatfell). Nothing's terribly remote I don't think bothies exist in many places and sadly there's no remote coastline as the island's completely surrounded by a road. But read on the next page to find out more about the mountains on Arran.  The Hills of Pirnmill on Arran's west coast |
