21st
March: First Day of Spring - Lochranza Campsite is Open
It’s one of
those days with a low grey sky mingled with a misty sea, when Kintyre is a smudgy
outline between them, which does not immediately beckon me out of doors.
It’s been a
rainy week or two resulting in waterfalls bursting and spurting out of
Lochranza’s hillsides. I pull on my wellies and head out to enjoy them. The
first thing I notice is birdsong rippling through the air in cascading notes,
rich, flutey whistles, irrepressible twitterings, repetitions and clear,
commanding refrains. Underlying the tunes is the harmonious bass roar of
rushing rivulets spilling down stones, down through the glen, down into
saltwater at the head of the loch.
I walk up the
track to Narachan, looking down on cottage roofs and looking up into the cleft
of Gleann Easan Biorach where dark cloud is gathered. Even so, there are signs
of spring everywhere on this first day of spring: butter-coloured celandine and
glistening clumps of frog spawn in the wet pasture. Raindrops tremble on mossy
branches. Opening buds colour the bare twigs of their trees: alder branches are
crimson, the hawthorn branches fresh green and the sycamore buds are pale
delicate shells cracking apart to reveal new life and leaves.
Waterfall
Walks on Arran
All over
Arran there are waterfalls because the island is a steeply mountainous place
attracting high levels of rainfall. The most well-known of Arran’s waterfalls
is Glenashdale Falls which you reach
from the south end of Whiting Bay (GR 0472530). These falls are a high, narrow
spout plunging dizzily down through lush woodland. I understand that the direct
path is closed for forest operations at the present time but the Falls can still
be reached from the route by the ancient cairns known as the Giants’ Graves.
At
the south end of the island, Eas Mor
Falls above Kildonan, splash and froth over rocky sills. A circular walk
from the car park (GR 019217) takes you on a well-made path by tree-lined pools
to viewpoints where the loveliness of the waterfalls is suddenly revealed.
Nearer
Lochranza, the North Sannox Burn (GR
994468) thunders in spate down from mountain-rimmed Coire nan Ceum all the way
to the sea. A good path with viewpoints has been made by Arran Access Trust.
In
wet weather, every glen, ravine and cliff has its own waterfall. As always in
the mountains, it makes sense to wear boots with good grippy soles if you
venture into steep, wet terrain. Using a walking pole can also help prevent a
slip.
The
photos below show Chalmadale Waters, the burn which forms a natural boundary to
Lochranza Campsite.
