Pleasure island
TRAVEL
Beautiful Brodick Bay (min picture); local choose; a Calm ferry with Amn'; highest peak, Goattefl In the background
James Smart went to Arran where he walked the gorges, Climbed the hills, scoffed the cheese, drank the beer and got very wet — and loved every minute.
rran is often described as
‘Scotland in miniature‘. and
on the way there. on a preciously clear spring evening. it seetns an apt description. As we glide though the Firth of Clyde. Cumbrae and Bute sliding past against a sky flecked with gold. Arran's deep green forests. rolling hills and bare mountainside grow
clearer and clearer but any signs of
settlement are hard to make out. It looks like a land apart.
Of course. Arran is no twee playground: its peaks rise from sea level to near Munro-height and represent a genuine challenge. especially when the weather moves in. The isle’s population of 5000. meanwhile. has its problems. On the train from Glasgow to the ferry port of Ardrossan Harbour. a local woman explains that. thanks to the traditional influx of wealthy holiday-makers. house prices have risen to the degree that young people often struggle to find accommodation. On am'val. a peek into an estate agent’s window in the
main town of Brodick reveals prices that would not be out of place in a buoyant city.
Tourism. of course. is the key industry for Arran. and locals and visitors seem to mesh together happily. It is unlikely. for instance. that the fine food shops that dot the isle could survive without the custom of both groups. After a night spent quaffing IPA in the Brodick Bar — more a bistro than a pub. but a pleasant place to while away a few hours —- we pick up some oatcakes at Wooley"s bakery before entering James’s Chocolates. where a bunch of schoolchildren are in the middle of some very difficult decision-making. Looking at the counter. where immaculately shaped squirrels and frogs sit beside rows of fudge and liqueurs. it's easy to see why. We settle for some fudge and supplement it with oak— smoked cheese from the Island Cheese Company up the road — which looks deserted until you notice the large interior window that separates the small cheese
factory from the shop front » and a couple of apples from the local Scotmid. because man cannot live
WE REACH THE SUMMIT, WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE RED DEER THAT POPULATE ARRAN'S MOUNTAINOUS NORTHERN REGION
on quality local produce alone.
The day‘s mission is the 2mm (ioattell. the highest peak on the island. The night has (in mid-April) delivered a dusting of fresh snow at altitude and. shrouded in a morning mist. its summit looks pleasingly mythical. We cut across a golf course to Cladach sawmill. joining small groups of walkers on a
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muddy forest trail that Itteattders Its way into the hills. until lir'otlick's lltltt stretch looks like tt lily ltrwlt once more. The mist. though. shows no sign ol clearing. Soon the
grass beneath our leet has changed to rock and snow. and we are having to hop. scramble and stumble our way around houlders. liventually we reach the summit. where you can see the red deer that Populate Arran's mountainous northern region. and. on a clear day. It) ll‘L‘lilltti. \Vc‘ can see llhttlll ten
feet. it's still a great feeling ol achievement. The cheese and
oakcakcs taste splendid a \ icw no doubt shared by ('harlie. a hardy Yorkshire terrier w ho has also made it up lmaster in tow r. and spends some minutes snul‘lling around the rocks in search of crumbs. The downhill route is quicker til harder on the knees». fuelled by bursts of banana ldeliciotrsr. chilli chocolate (surprisingly palatable) and rum and raisin (as close to heaycn as a cubular snack can getr fudge. .\'o
x, THE LIST 113