My favourite time of year

In my mind early October and late May battle it out for the loveliest time of year. Lately, night skies have been peppered with stars and the Milky Way has been clearly visible. The symphony orchestra of stags has continued to blare out around the clock. (The stags have stationed themselves on crags around the glen for maximum impact.)

The bracken on the hillsides is sinking down in a blaze of fiery gold and the rowans are laden with glossy clusters of berries  In May 2011 I wrote a blog about the devastating effects of a powerful wind we had, which turned all the trees prematurely brown. But nature is clearly putting tree survival to rights with this bumper crop. Half a dozen basking sharks have been cruising up and down the coast between Lochranza and Catacol, and the little ferry to Claonaig has detoured a couple of times to see them.

The fine weather has given us chance to get started on the autumn task of clearing out the ditches but yesterday we took some time off to walk the classic Cock of Arran route, heading up from the campsite and across to Laggan then returning along the coast. Above the Narachan (the old track above the campsite) a stag with a small group of hinds kept us under close watch. We could sense his tension and didn’t linger to agitate him more. Up above, a croaking raven was chasing a golden eagle until the eagle caught a thermal and rose serenely higher and higher.

This route is full of historical and geological interest that I have described in earlier blogs: prehistoric giant millipede tracks, centuries- old graffiti in Ossian’s cave, the Cock of Arran itself, Hutton’s Unconformity and more. At Fairy  Dell, where there is a choice of paths home, we chose the North Newton route because we knew we could get choc ices from Reg at the Whins and eat them whilst having a rest and watching the seals on the rocks below. Incidentally, Kitty, who is 81 and has lived in Lochranza for most of her life, says that what is commonly called Fairy Dell is really Dairy Puddle.

Today it’s raining but I’m pleased to report that our newly cleared ditches seem to be working. The weather hasn’t dampened the testosterone-charged atmosphere we inhabit just now. I am reading “The Sea Kingdoms” by Alistair Moffat which discusses Celtic Britain, but not as something past and gone, but something very much alive in the west. Many of us will be following a Celtic tradition soon with turnip lanterns for Hallowe’en. I hadn’t realised that the originals 2,000 years ago were the skulls of enemies stuck on posts to make ghost fences for protection!

The pictures show: Laggan cottage, the Cock of Arran (something else that lost its head some time ago) and the view from the Whins.

What do campsite wardens do on holiday?

I love camping, and always have. I never sleep so well as when I am camping, and if it’s a wet, wild night and I’m snuggled in my sleeping bag in our small green tent, I sleep even better.

A problem until now for us in our three years of running the campsite has been, ironically, lack of camping. Three years ago we spent two entire months kayaking and living in a small tent in a very wet and windy summer in the Scottish islands. Now, our time off comes from November to February but the little Calmac ferries, which stitch the islands together in summer, will soon be heading up the Clyde for the winter. Seizing the moment before this happens, and leaving campsite-sitters Carol and Alan in place, we finally went camping again, heading north to Knapdale.

A good thing about living in a place of islands and remote peninsulas is that you don’t have to go far to be somewhere completely different. Knapdale is an area of long sea lochs and ancient woodlands, and if you like the wild nature of Lochranza, you would like this area too. We sea kayaked round the Faery Islands, looked for signs of beavers, felt very small watching the awesome power of the tide rushing past Jura, and put a foot in the footprint on the (replica)Stone of Destiny at Dunadd, where Scotland’s earliest kings were crowned.

We stayed at Leachive Campsite in the attractive village of Tayvallich. I’ll wild camp if I’m on a mountain or sea kayak journey far from civilisation, but I don’t find sleeping on boggy tussocks relaxing, nor digging a hole every time nature calls. I positively enjoy the quirky nature of small campsites. Leachive Campsite itself was a very pleasant base, right in the middle of the village and close to the water’s edge.

It was all happening in the Kilbrannan Sound on the way home to Lochranza, with porpoises and a basking shark swimming unconcernedly beside the boat.

Lochranza in August

August is Arran’s busiest time of year and this year it has come with many days of warm sunshine. Evenings have found the red deer cooling off in the loch. Inspired by their example, on hot afternoons we have plunged into cold pools up in the glens, whilst back on the campsite, campers and red deer can be seen snoozing alongside each other.

Every summer, the local PGL geology field centre organise ceilidhs in Lochranza Village Hall. If you’ve never been to a ceilidh, this is an initiation not to miss. A ceilidh is a traditional get-together with songs and dances, and the Arranach Ceilidh Band who provide the music for Lochranza ceilidhs, are a positive treat to the ears. Chris Traill is the caller, guiding you through the old Arran, Scottish and Irish dances. Ceilidhs vary on a scale from exuberant to wildly riotous; the dancers from toddlers to the very old. You’ll find that moving so fast means the summer midges certainly won’t catch up with you!

 

Customer service

A telephone  conversation:

Caller: I’m just making enquiries about the campsite

Me: That’s fine. What would you like to know?

Caller: What’s the weather doing with you?

Me: It’s a bit wet today

Caller: Oh (significant pause) Is it always like that?

Me: Not at all. We’ve had a lot of sunshine this year so far and in May and June we’ve had gorgeous sunsets

Caller: I expect the mountains get in the way where you are

Me: The sun goes down over Kintyre and shines right onto Lochranza in summer

Caller: I’ve heard it’s sunny on Islay

Me: That’s nice for Islay

Caller: What are the midges like?

Me: Well, it depends on the conditions. They’re only around in warm, still weather at dawn and dusk, and we usually have breezes here that keep them away

Caller: Oh (significant pause) You get a lot of wind then?

Me: We’re a west coast island ! Actually, today it’s pretty calm

Caller: Hmmm (significant pause) How much is it for one person in a small tent?

Me: It’s £8 a night

Caller: What facilities does that include?

Me: The fee includes our lovely hot showers, hot water for dishwashing; use of a spin dryer, iron and drying cupboard in the laundry, and a fridge, kettle and microwave in the campers’ room. You don’t pay extra for using hairdryers…

Caller: I haven’t got much hair. I don’t need a hairdryer.

Me: Oh dear

Caller: If I decide to come do I need to book a pitch?

Me: Small tents don’t usually need to book but we can never guarantee we have space

Caller: I don’t know when I want to come. How close is town by the way?

Me: Brodick is 14 miles away over a rough hilly road. On dark nights it’s a very dark road indeed – watch out for the stags charging about – not to mention the potholes.

It’s a fact that West Scotland is a wild place.

It’s not Bognor Regis.

No weather forecast comes anywhere near accuracy regarding the microclimates……… and when the Atlantic winter gales gather up all their might and howl up the loch, it’s positively terrifying.

That’s how we like it.

Caller: Have you got a supermarket?

 Castles in the Air: Climbing Caisteal Abhail 859m

“Climb Goat Fell” (the highest peak on Arran) is usually on every first-time visitor to the island’s To Do list. However, if you’re approaching from the north, it is Caisteal Abhail, the second highest mountain, that will command your gaze. Aptly named, it looks surreally high, like a huge fortress topped by turrets.

“The Castles” is the nearest of the high mountains of Arran to Lochranza Campsite and its summit makes up the chest of the Sleeping Warrior. You’ll find you won’t share your climb with crowds, as can happen on Goat Fell. Once at the top you feel you have stepped into another world as you wander along grassy corridors between tors of granite blocks. Views of the entire coast of Arran and beyond open up. You can sit on a sun-warmed granite slab and eat your sandwiches, relishing the silence, and gazing back to Lochranza with its miniature white cottages and boats. You are Master or Mistress of all you survey gazing down from your airy throne.

A good route to the top of The Castles which doesn’t involve scrambling begins in the North Glen Sannox Car Park (from Lochranza it’s a short bus journey). “Caisteal Abhail 4 miles” is signposted. The well-made path climbs gently up the left-hand side of the splashing burn, which is popular with gorge walkers for its pools and water slides. At the top of the forest, you go through a deer fence gate then a narrow path takes you across moorland and a couple of gullies to the corrie lip. This is glaciated scenery scoured out by ice in the last Ice Age. To your left the clear rocky ridge of Cuithe Mheadhonach will take you steeply up to the summit of Caisteal Abhail, with close-up views of the gash of Ceum na Caillich (the Witch’s Step) as you climb. At a high col you suddenly see all the Arran mountains ahead of you.

To descend, you continue north west around the broad rim of the corrie, gradually descending to Sail an Im. From here you can descend into Gleann Easan Biorach, following its pretty burn right back to Lochranza and the Isle of Arran Distillery. Look out for golden eagles and red deer as you walk.

Allow 6-7 hours for this route.

The Arran Mountain Festival moved to May this year and experienced weather from snow on the Friday to hot sunshine on the Monday. I posted a blog about my day out on the Gaelic in the Mountains walk. You can find it at www.arranmountainfestival.blogspot.co.uk

Things Happen in Threes

In one of my earlier blogs I’m ashamed to say I complained about not getting out much. Feeling like being in a cake shop and not allowed to eat. Luckily for me my complaints were read by Joe who lives close to the Irish coast, which can be seen from Arran on clear days. Last year he came over the sea in his Redbay rib Ricochet with daughter Hannah, and this year he came to whisk us away for an exhilarating ride in beautiful, sparkling sunshine.

Just like buses- you wait for one for ages then three come at once- I was especially lucky  and had a third day out in the same week. This time it was a city trip and it involved catching the first ferry then the train to Glasgow (my fares for the day including ferry and train return came to only £16). I travelled with Wilma Stark who is a play-writer living in Lochranza. If you notice a ruined cottage near the Youth Hostel she has written a moving play about its history. It’s called the Barking House and it’s being performed in Edinburgh in September. The purpose of the day was to go to the Play, Pie and Pint at the Oram Mor at lunchtime where we saw a powerful tale of man’s inhumanity to man. The plays are new writing and can last no more than an hour.

Returning to Lochranza, bathed in golden sunsets every evening lately, is like returning to a different world. No traffic sounds, just sheep sitting on the road, deer grazing round the village and the eagles circling above Torr Nead.

Places to go Hunting For…..

It’s not much more than a century since Lochranza was reached only by sea, despite, at that time, supporting a much higher population than now through fishing and crofting. Today, the beautiful scene of Lochranza’s castle ruin encircled by the loch, with the white cottages of the village scattered along the shores, is a familiar one in calendars of Scotland. Nonetheless, this area is still full of little-known, relatively unvisited but truly remarkable places of historic and geological interest. To find them, you need an OS map as there are few signposts. The walks are not long but the terrain can be rough.

Here are five of my favourites (some previously referred to in this blog):

Giant Millipede Tracks near Laggan Cottage   GR 972512

These dimpled tracks imprinted on boulders splashed by the sea were left behind by Arthropleura  320 million years ago-  it was the largest land-based invertebrate ever known.

Fairy Dell   GR 948523

This lies beyond the well-known fairy Dell and its little white cottage. It is a long hidden chasm formed by a collapsed cliff- an actual Rivendell, enchantingly pretty and with a sense of enchantments. Rock bridges and trees arch overhead. Be careful! There are steep drops!

Lochranza’s Prehistoric Celtic Hill Fort  GR 927503

It’s only when you stand on it that you realise what a well-chosen defensive position and vantage point it is.  The long wall is a reminder of a time of warring tribes.

The Allt nan Calman in Glen Catacol   GR 916455

As you walk up to Loch Tanna you pass this giant waterslide and pretty plunge pool. To me, it’s the highlight of the walk.

Coastal Path at Imachar  GR 863405

South of Pirnmill and Whitefarland are raised beaches and inaccessible cliffs of ancient woodland. Where the road cuts inland is a delightfully pretty stretch of the Coastal Way with little waterfalls, rock pools and caves. In summer it’s splashed with bright-coloured wild flowers. Look out for the distinctive dry stane dykes in this area.

If you find walking in rough terrain difficult but would like to find magical microcosms like the ones I’ve mentioned, I recommend a visit to Brodick Castle for its woodland trails, especially the Cnocan Burn and the Merkland Burn. The land is managed here by the National Trust and the Forestry Commission.