Hello All,
So I thought I’d share another trip of ours with everyone. This one isn’t quite as grandiose as our reading week odyssey, but it was fun and worthwhile just the same.
Jon, Joe and I decided last minute to make the journey to one of the famed Scottish isles. Because we only had time for a day trip, we decided to go with the one that was the closest—Arran.
Arran is the seventh largest Scottish island, weighing in at 167 square miles. It has been inhabited since the early Neolithic period (according to Google) and has been colonized by the Irish, the Norwegians, and the Scottish. On the west side of the island there are mysterious rock pillars that date back to the Viking age. We read in the tourist pamphlet that there are also large quantities of dinosaur remains and footprints.
We took the subway to the train station and the train station to the port town of Androssan, where we boarded a ferry and made the forty-five minute float over to Arran. All in all, the trip took about two hours—not bad compared to the near-seven hour trip to Mull.
It was a beautiful day when we stepped off the ferry at around 10:30. We went to the tourist office and got a map of the island, complete with descriptions of a few tourist attractions and a bus schedule. We hopped on the bus and road about forty minutes to the northern tip of the island. Once there, we explored the vacant (closed) Arran distillery before being kicked out by one of the workers and checked out the wildlife around the small ruins of a castle.
Jon sneaking up on some wildlife
When we discovered that the bus schedule was less than regularly frequent, we contemplated exploring some caves and a “fairy garden” a couple miles inland. Luckily, we decided to check the bus stop once more before venturing too far, and happened to catch a bus by accident. Right as we stepped in, a torrential rainstorm passed over.
A quick snapshot of the Arran distillery
We rode the bus back towards the port town of Brodick, stopping off a half-mile outside to find food and investigate the Arran brewery. We didn’t find any food, but we did find a cheese shop and an aroma factory (what??). The brewery was pretty cool—the tour was pretty short and disappointing, but the lady in the shop gave us plenty of samples afterward.
We walked a little further past the brewery and came across the (also closed) Castle of Arran. This time we decided not to break in. We walked around, exploring the outer walls, the gardens, and the strange foliage nearby that was straight out of a rainforest. By this time, we were getting drenched with rain, so we headed back to Brodick and got ourselves a meal at a local pub before heading back on the ferry.
The Castle
All in all, it was a good day. Arran is a quiet place during the off-season—lots of elderly locals and a few younger inhabitants continuing their respective family businesses. Our server at the pub complained that Arran was the most boring place in the world. But it does make for a great day trip!
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