RUDE AWAKENINGS

It’s five in the morning. I’ve just been outside, having been lying awake for sometime listening to the raucous bellowing of a stag outside the caravan window. You’ve heard of swimming with dolphins- well, at this time of year, here you get to camp with stags roaring close by. Just bring ear plugs if you want some sleep. Outside, the sky is black and peppered with billions of twinkling silver and gold stars. The solid outlines of Torr Nead and Meall Mor edge the sky. Winds are whooshing about in Glen Chalmadale and Gleannn Easan but it’s calm down here and I can distinguish many stag voices calling round the village in answer to the one who’s woken me up. A few motorhomes are staying on site and I can’t see any lights on so I’m hoping everyone else is still fast asleep.

It’s coming to the end of our first season now. We close on October 31^st until March 1^st. Anyone holidaying in Arran now truly sees the tourist season end in a blaze of autumn glory. Visitors come back daily with reports of something special, including today “We saw the northern lights from the pier last night” and “We saw a basking shark passing Pirnmill….”. I myself saw a little colony of common seals basking on the rocks at Newton shore and red squirrels scurrying about all over the place. But it’s the daily soap opera of the deer that dominates our lives: the chases, challenges, tussles and, of course, the desperate groanings and defiant bellowings.

Red Deer on the First Day of Autumn

There aren’t many human visitors on site now, but it’s all happening with the red deer. It’s 8pm and almost dark. In the last light you can see two deer on the skyline. Sitting in the caravan with the lights off makes a brilliant wildlife observation hide. A massive, magnificent, dark-coloured stag with many points on his antlers has come down from the hill on to the site to exert his authority over the hinds. There is something primeval about him, as though the forest has come to life. He has scared away the young males and is pursuing a small herd of hinds with this year’s calves right past the caravan window. The calves are watching him curiously but warily. He lifts his head and roars a groaning, grunting, mooing roar, no doubt directed at the stags over the burn.

These deer are not tame, although the hinds and calves are very people-tolerant. We do not feed them. I guess they’re around so much because this was their home, before ever there was a campsite- and the golf course has juicy green grass as well!

We regularly see unusual and amusing insights into red deer life. The other day I saw two stags sitting down, absolutely motionless, being pecked all over by jackdaws. The deer clearly didn’t want to move as they were enjoying it so much. The birds were probably de-ticking them.

Insights

This has been a week of special moments. Walking along the coast back from Laggan to Lochranza on Tuesday, I found the prehistoric giant millipede tracks there, in a rocky cleft by the sea, at last, after much looking! 320 million years old and clearly visible!

Another ancient discovery followed on when Nigel and I went to a meeting of the Arran Natural History Society. This involved an interesting talk by a ranger whose job it is to identify ancient trees in Ayrshire. He told us that he records trees whose girth is greater than three metres. We measured the campsite’s huge sycamore as soon as we returned. It is over five metres, making it a tree that must have witnessed many human generations coming and going at Lochranza.

I have also had some sudden unexpected glimpses of Arran’s beautiful wildlife. First of all, yesterday morning, a camper drew my attention to one of the eagles soaring above the campsite, its wings catching the golden rays of the rising sun. Then today, walking in Glen Catacol, first a black adder wriggled across the path ahead, then an adder a little further on.

The stags are moving closer to the campsite now. The rut approaches. Last night a heavy mature stag was standing underneath the Stags Pavilion sign board. Wonder if he was aware that Teddy was serving venison on the other side of the glass?

Finally, I have seen the Sleeping Warrior properly: visor, chin, chest and all. Here’s a photo at sunset from the top of the Boguillie Road. Can you see him too?

So long summer………………

17th August

The reason I haven’t blogged for ages is that campsite life has been hectic and today is the first day I’ve had some spare time in weeks. Don’t get me wrong, I know I’m lucky to live and work in as beautiful a place as this, but I have to confess to a degree of jealousy of holidaymakers who have come to stay here. It’s great to meet so many new and interesting faces, but I want to be out there camping and exploring the island too, and, in summer, as campsite owner, I simply can’t. Maybe we could live in our little tent …..after all, it was camping here on the start of our sea kayaking tour last summer that brought us here.

Though we’ve just had a gorgeously warm and sunny weekend (see picture of me swimming in Coire Fhion Lochain, which was slightly less chilly then the sea at Blackwaterfoot the day before) there are signs of Autumn now. As we look across to Kintyre and the setting sun, the point the sun goes down appears to be moving daily southwards, and now there is black darkness at night again. We’ve had meteor showers, just like in “Local Hero”.

I don’t think midges have been excruciating many times this year at all. I can only remember one evening when people playing golf looked more like they were practising martial arts. All sorts of research about midge dietary preferences keep being reported on The News. The latest is that you’re more likely to get bitten if you’re tall because midges fly two metres up. Hmmm. My own theory is that they like hot food, just like we do. I’m cold-blooded and clearly not appetising to them. Whatever the theory, we remind ourselves that, along with the rain, they are Scotland’s natural defences. Just think! If it was sunny all the time the whole world would want to holiday in Scotland.

Scotland is not at all like England, and it’s whenever I go to concerts and ceilidhs I notice it most. I love the way everyone joins in and dances with total abandon, enthusiasm and lack of inhibition –all generations together mostly. It’s as if music is the life-blood of Scottish people. Rainy Julys are made up for by fantastic atmospheres at community events. One of these was last Friday when Corrie had its own version of UpHellyAh, recreating the Scots battles against the Vikings (see photo).

Also see Jamie making the past live at Lochranza Castle (I mentioned him in a May blog) You can visit his website: www.claymorekiss.co.uk

On Rain, Golf and Whisky

Almost three months of sunshine had brought about empty burns and parched ground until last week when Nature remedied matters with a flash flood in Lochranza. Torrential rain streamed off the steep hillsides and the dry ground failed to absorb it.

The golf course looked like an extension to the loch but Dunkirk spirit was much in evidence with everyone helping each other and the Village Hall and the PGL Centre opening for people who had got very wet. The deer meanwhile headed up to the hills.

The waters quickly subsided leaving us with a major operation of fencing repairs. The sheep seized the opportunity to run back into the golf course, and Mr. and Mrs. Mahers, two of our camping survivors, found some of their belongings in the loch near the castle several days later.

It has been an unusual year: a long, snowy winter; a drought and then heavy rain, but Scotland has been looking like itself again with strands of mist curled round the hills. The verdant green of grass and bracken is dotted with the delicate purples and blues of heather and harebells.

Talking of weather, people who go out in it whatever it’s doing are golfers. I have revised all my preconceived ideas about golf since I arrived in Scotland. I didn’t realise that golf had developed as a sport which worked in the wild Scottish coastal scenery. I had no idea that when you hit the ball, you can’t see the target. And I definitely didn’t expect it to be so hard to play. Local Golf Pro Dougie Bell is now giving lessons on the golf course (including to Nigel and myself). He swings the club with graceful nonchalance and the ball flies way over the trees lining the burn. To get the ball airborne, never mind in the right direction, is my current target.

Golf isn’t an exclusive sport in Scotland; everyone enjoys it- a bit like whisky. Incidentally, the Isle of Arran distillery had an open day at the beginning of the month with lots of free tasting. I have to admit, a drop of whisky fire in my veins when we arrived here in the icy weather of February went down very well, but on a sunny warm afternoon in a carnival atmosphere and surrounded by the Lochranza hills, it made a lovely summer drink too. Skerryvore played in the Village Hall later in the day. I’d travel a long way to see this band but having them in the same village was a treat beyond all my expectations.

As I write this it’s afternoon and blue sky has pushed yesterday’s clouds away. The site is very quiet after the rain and outside our caravan a little herd of deer, with hinds, last year’s young and a little calf, are flat out fast asleep. Further down the golf course, four stags are having their version of a hot tub party. They are sitting together in a bunker on the golf course so that you can only see their splendid new antlers above the rim.

Summer Solstice

It’s the Summer Solstice…..

…… and it hasn’t been truly dark here for weeks. It hasn’t rained for weeks either up at this end of the island, and the golf course greens are more like yellows. It’s been warm enough to tempt us for a swim at Laggan whilst kayaking along the coast from Sannox back to Lochranza. Laggan Cottage (only accessible by sea) now has a resident, a writer called Paul Story. You can find copies of his novel on the hillside by the cottage for you to pick up when you’re walking past.

Red Deer News! We now have two little red deer calves on site.

I’m not keen on very tidy, formal gardens but I do love Brodick Castle Gardens with their sense of teetering on the edge of wildness; lush, colourful and full of surprises. I went to a guided tour there last week. Amongst many fascinating facts I learnt about the plant shown on the photo (forgotten its name though) which grows for five years, flowers, explodes and dies and, as it dies, it shoots out seeds which sprout up and begin the cycle again.

Arran has some brilliant community gatherings and festivals. We’ve had the Wildlife Festival in May and the Folk Festival in June. Coming up on July 3^rd is the Whisky Festival, across the road at the Distillery. There is going to be a ceilidh in the evening with Skerryvore and I, for one, can’t wait. Nigel and I saw the band playing in Achiltibuie Village hall two summers ago. The stirring sound of their bagpipes went soaring over the sea to the Summer Isles. They’re very talented and very energetic.

If you’re a mountain lover, it’s going to be the Arran Mountain Festival from the 17^th to the 20^th September. Find out more about the walks and talks on the website: www.arranmountainfestival.co.uk

Summer days

The Spring Bank Holiday week was sunny, hot and busy.

The island has exploded into colour with yellow flags along the roadsides, bluebells and pink campion.

The stags’ new antlers are now sprouting up rapidly, thick with “velvet”.

Otters have been frolicking at the sea’s edge, munching on fish.

A lot of people tell us that they would like to run a campsite, so we thought it might be interesting to post:-

A typical day in our lives

First week in June 2010

7 am Plan the day’s tasks. If fine, it’s going to be golf course work on the greens and fairways.

Check toilets- clean? Enough handtowels? Loo rolls?

8.30 am Take it in turns in Reception, dealing with bookings, payments and enquiries- as well as talking to our visitors.

10 am One of us works on the site, the other deals with correspondence, orders, accounts, sees callers and welcomes golfers.

12.00 Quick lunch.

12.30 pm until 2 pm Clean the showers, toilets and reception building.

2 pm Carry on site maintenance and improvements. More letters, e-mails and phone calls. Following up marketing strategies.

4 pm Take it in turns to be in Reception welcoming arrivals.

6.30 pm Cook and eat our evening meal.

Hope for a walk, a game of putting or a kayak paddle.

Keep in touch with our families.

Bath much appreciated after so much outdoor work.

10 pm Walk round the site to make sure all’s well. Check toilets again.

A Perfect Day Out on Kintyre

When you live on an island and everywhere you look across the sea there are other islands as well as the mainland, it makes you restless to get on a boat and see what these far off places are actually like when you get there. We’ve still got lots of Arran to explore but as we live so near the Claonaig ferry service we seized an opportunity and a hot day to go across to Kintyre as foot passengers with pushbikes.

The sea was looking tropically turquoise as we boarded ship. In half an hour we were pedalling along the Kintyre coast looking at Arran’s dramatic mountain shapes from a different angle. The pretty coast line had little sandy stretches and rocky fringes, splashed with yellow birds foot trefoil and pink thrift. We stopped for a coffee and ice lollies at the Post Office in the sleepy village of Skipness, then carried on under leafy oaks and beeches to explore the well-preserved Medieval castle and chapel. A ringed plover scurried bravely around us, pretending to have a broken wing in order to lead us away from its nest.

We had lunch at The Seafood Cabin. Sitting in the garden of vivid pink and orange rhododendrons eating smoked salmon and salad under bright blue skies couldn’t have been a nicer way to pass a summer’s afternoon.