Spring dates, events and news

Today the sun is shining! We’re getting outside work done and enjoying its warmth on our faces. What a relief after the relentless succession of winter storms we’ve endured in the British Isles this winter.

The start of February is traditionally marked by Candlemas and the Gaelic festival of Imbolc as a halfway point between winter and spring. The first of the month is St.Brigid’s Day. Her name is embedded in many Scottish place names. In fact, the site of an ancient chapel known as St.Bride’s lies just above the campsite: https://canmore.org.uk/site/39781/lochranza-ballarie-saint-brides-chapel

The campsite will open on March 21^st but in the meantime here are some dates for your diary, and information that may interest you.

Firstly, the Arran GeoFest geology festival will be held over the weekend of  18^th-20^th March with walks and talks for all. See:

http://www.scottishgeology.com/arran/

The Lochranza Field Centre is now the Lochranza Centre CIC (community investment company). If you’ve stayed at the campsite before you may well have enjoyed their summer ceilidhs. The centre offers simple, clean accommodation, good food and outdoor activities, particularly for groups. This is what the Geological Society 100 Great Geosites project said about them:

“The Isle of Arran, and particularly the well-known Loch Ranza Field Studies Centre, offers some of the best opportunities to study the geology of the last 600 million years”.

Find out more at:

http://www.lochranzacentre.co.uk

This year’s Arran Mountain Festival takes place over the weekend of 13^th- 16^th May. I know that places are filling up fast already. It’s a great opportunity to take your walking to the next level under the guidance of experienced and qualified leaders. It’s also an opportunity to benefit from insider knowledge of Arran’s lesser-known hills. Find out more at:

http:// www.arranmountainfestival.co.uk

If you’re interested in birds and you are planning a visit to Arran, you may find the following links of interest. We are lucky enough to have Mr Jim Cassells on the island, who keeps us all informed about the birds that live here or pass through and keeps detailed records of them. He is always interested in your sightings.

On the Arran Birds website http://www.arranbirding.co.uk/index.html you can find these sections:
Monthly news http://www.arranbirding.co.uk/monthly_news.html
Recent sightings http://www.arranbirding.co.uk/recent_sightings.html
Short walks http://www.arranbirding.co.uk/finding_birds.html
Notes on Arran birds http://www.arranbirding.co.uk/arran_bird_notes.html

N.B. The photo shows Chalmadale Waters- the name of the burn that runs by the campsite