Around Arran
Cycle touring on the Isle of Arran
August 2014
The Plan
The Isle of Arran, situated off the Ayrshire coast in the Firth of Clyde, is often described as Scotland in miniature. I have visited the island a number of times over the years and have to say it's not a bad description. There are mountains and glens, wild places and lovely villages. The roads are quiet, traffic is generally forgiving and courteous and the welcome has always been with a smile.
My last visit had been in 2011 when a mate, Dave, and I took our bikes across on the Calmac ferry from Ardrossan for the day and enjoyed a great time riding round the island. The beauty of the place is that it is not too big and riding a circuit of the island is perfectly feasible in a day, making sure you time the ferries right of course!
Much as Helen and I enjoy our rides together, whether it be one-day rides or multi-day tours, there is no doubt that sharing the 
experience with friends is also very enjoyable, and rewarding. Phil and Barb are two such good cycling friends and when we discussed this brief holiday with them we were delighted when they expressed a keen interest to join us. So, it was a foursome who set out for the Clyde ferry port of Ardrossan in the height of summer.
The geography and topology of Arran lends itself to a figure of eight and, with the distances involved, we decided that a two day trip would give us time to explore the island and enjoy both the mountainous northern half of the island on day 1 and the rolling southern half on day 2, with an overnight stay in Brodick on the east coast (also the main ferry port on the island). With a weather forecast that was favourable we travelled in anticipation of a glorious two days exploring Scotland in miniature!
Day 1: The Mountains (65km, 750m of ascent)
The Calmac ferry runs a regular service from Ardrossan to Brodick every day with times to suit everyone. The four of us had left Cumbria early to make light work of the 3 hour drive to Ardrossan in time for the mid-morning ferry sailing on our ship, appropriately named the Isle of Arran. Having deposited the cars in the ferry car park we took our bikes and made our way to the booking office to get our tickets. The beauty of travelling without a car is that buying tickets tends to be a straightforward affair, with no requirement to book in advance. And it is cheap too. Current prices are £8 return for foot passengers, with bikes travelling free!
Having taken the obligatory pre-ride photos with our ship as a backdrop we made our way on board, tied our bikes securely in the car deck, joining a whole host of fellow cyclists already on board, and headed up to the flight deck to wait for departure. Time for a second breakfast, at last. It had already been a long morning and we were starving so the first port of call was the on-board café. The 55 minute crossing soon passed and before long the mountains of Arran were looming on the starboard bow, Goat Fell looking resplendent as it always does, a thin layer of cloud resting on the summit. Before we knew it we were docking in Brodick and it was time to rejoin our vehicles ready for disembarkation. Let our ride begin!
Brodick is the capital of Arran, if there is such a thing, although strangely it is not the most populated village (that accolade belongs to Lamlash). Brodick is certainly the major commercial centre on an island of under 5000 people, with most of the services which are available on the island. Posing for the camera in front of our ferry we were full of smiles at what lay ahead. From previous visits Helen and I were familiar with the scenery and we were certainly looking forward to the chance to savour the sights once again.
It was late morning so our strategy was to head away and ride the main mountain road before finding somewhere for lunch. Rolling north through Brodick we found ourselves on Sustrans NCN route 73, heading for Lochranza, the other ferry terminus on the island. As we rolled along we found ourselves enjoying stunning views across the bay to Goat Fell and the mountain massif. Our way led into those mountains, but first threaded a course along the coast road to Sannox. The sun was shining and it was a fine day for riding 
our bikes. We passed the imposing Brodick Castle as we left town, a splendid building in a lovely setting with Goat Fell towering high above. The road undulated gently along the sea edge as we passed through Corrie and finally, after some 12km we rolled into Sannox. This is where the hard work begins as the road takes a decidedly upward tilt and heads up North Glen Sannox and over to Lochranza. As official photographer for the trip my role involved getting out front and waiting for the others to grab some action shots as they toiled up the slopes, something they would thank me for later but which they seemed less than happy with in the moment as I captured that look of pain etched on their faces on the steeper sections. In fairness, the team played their part and flashed some smiles for the camera as they rode past. Once at the top of the climb Phil insisted that I should drop back down and ride the last section with Helen so he could return the compliment! All the while the views back down the sinewy tarmac whence we had come was a spectacular sight, all the more so considering we had just ground our way up here.
From the col the next 4 kilometres or so was pure unbridled joy, even with a road surface which lacked the niceties of smooth tarmac. The descent down Glen Chalmadale to Lochranza is as spectacular as the climb which went before, and with little in the way of technical sections was pretty quick too. All too soon we rounded the final corner and swept past the Lochranza distillery and the long straight road to lunch. Helen and I had camped here a couple of years previously, in the campsite opposite the distillery, nestling by the burn which flows down to the sea, a lovely location, quiet and peaceful when we were there. We had spent three days hiking in the hills, now it was the turn of the bikes as we explored the island anew.
Lunch was at the quite splendid Lochranza Hotel, situated opposite the now ruined castle which is pretty much on the beach at the mouth of the river. The hotel wasn't overly busy and they were quick to serve us some fine scran and a welcome, cheeky beer. Suitably refreshed we were ready for the next section of our north Arran circuit, a long relatively flat road down the west coast to Blackwaterfoot. Despite it being mid August the weather hadn't, so far, quite lived up to expectations (we were all togged up in cool weather gear), but it was bright and had (so far) remained dry. This section along the meandering coast road is delightful, part of the Arran Coastal Way path, with views out over the Firth of Clyde to the Kintyre Peninsula, seemingly just a stone's throw away. The roads here are quiet, even in August, and we were able to enjoy the solitude of the place. After the little village of Pirnmill we rode past Imachar Point, the westernmost point on the island and found probably the only steep bit of road on this stretch, thankfully downhill. We soon came to Auchencar, and saw signs to Café Thyme, part of the Old Byre craft complex (I use the word complex very loosely). Lunch now seemed a while away and we felt in need of some refreshment, a coffee and, perhaps, some cake would be just the ticket. We sat in the recently modernised tearoom with far reaching views over the fields and waters of Kilbrannan Sound and reflected on a splendid day – so far! Next up, however, was the String.
Roads across the island, heading east-west, are few and far between and the String is one of only two, bisecting the northern mountainous and the southern rolling halves almost symmetrically. It is a renowned climb, one which I recalled with some relish from that trip here with Dave back in 2011. The team would be tested before suppertime! Once back on the road we soon reached the village of Machrie and our route now took us away from the coast as we headed up past the golf course and joined the main road between Blackwaterfoot and Brodick, the lower flanks of the notorious String climb. At a little over 5km from where we joined the road it is a longer climb than our morning effort and rises to 234 metres, so is a worthy candidate for the biggest, best climb on the island. The road is good, and still we were not harried by traffic, making it an enjoyable 16 minutes as I shook off the mantle and stretched my legs in a push for the summit of the climb. At the top we regrouped for the final descent to Brodick and our accommodation for the night. The downhill section here is blessed with distracting views of Brodick Bay as you descend quickly, perhaps not the best thing, but we all made it down safely into town and cruised along the main drag to find our B and B, the nicely appointed Dunvegan House, but not before popping into Fiddlers Bistro just up the road to book a table for an evening meal and some entertainment (they were putting on live music from a local folk combo by the name of Arran Brew later that evening).
The evening was a perfect end to a grand first day of our Arran cycling tour, with some fine food, some very fine beer and equally enjoyable music. We ambled slowly back to Dunvegan House assured of a good night's sleep ahead of day 2.
Day 2: The Lowlands (67km, 1033m of ascent)
The next morning dawned bright and sunny, quite different from our first day on Arran. It wasn't what you might call proper summer (the temperature was probably 7 or 8 degrees lower than might be expected in August) but, what the heck, it would do. And, in any case, we would soon be warm enough – we were heading back up the String!
The Brodick seafront was colourful in the summer sunshine, with flower beds adding to the picture as we gazed across the bay to Goat Fell, looking quite splendid this morning. Today would be a day for the camera. Having reloaded our bikes (as with all our touring trips we were travelling light, so it didn't take too much effort) we pedalled our way back to the turn off for the String, the team trying to look confident at what lay ahead. The eastern aspect of the String is shorter and decidedly steeper than the climb from the west we had ridden last evening. Once again I was given free rein and, off the leash I raced up to the saddle, enjoying the spectacle as the views of the northern mountains unfolded higher on the climb. Once at the top I parked and grabbed my camera to capture some of the scenery for posterity and to await the rest of the team as they laboured up the unforgiving slopes, grabbing some photos of their efforts before we posed for some triumphant team shots, gasping at the achievement. Of course, what goes up... And the descent from the String is fast, smooth and very enjoyable as we glided down the glen and took the turn off back to Machrie to rejoin our Arran coast road ride from yesterday. Kilbrannan Sound was a vibrant shade of blue under clear skies and Kintyre was a picture, as were the mountains, set off by the glorious colour of the heather. It was a good day to ride a bike!
We now turned south and renewed our acquaintance with the coast road, heading for Blackwaterfoot and our first coffee stop of the day in a pub there. Along the way we were constantly distracted by stunning views and the odd bird of prey floating on the thermals. From Blackwaterfoot we continued south along the coast road which starts to undulate from here as the coast gets decidedly more craggy. It was becoming clear that, although yesterday had been the day in the mountains, today was turning out to be decidedly tougher on the legs. The roads were good though and we continued to enjoy ourselves, stopping periodically for photos and regrouping, the nature of the parcours causing a splintering of the team on the short sharp drags. Despite this, it was all 
smiles in the sunshine as we veered round eastwards at the southern end of the island, now looking out towards the distinctive shape of Ailsa Craig, some 20 kilometres out into the open waters off the Ayrshire coast. After countless uphills and downhills we rolled into Kilmory, now roughly halfway through today's ride, but probably too early for lunch yet. In any case I had done some research and we were headed for a pub in Kildonan down on the coast, a few more kilometres to the east. Onward we rode.
Some twenty minutes later a small road off to the right signposted Kildonan looked like it was going our way, so we headed down and rode alongside the beach into the village and the very welcome sight of the Kildonan Hotel, a 17th century establishment in a glorious location at the southernmost tip of Arran and overlooking the sea and the tiny island of Pladda just offshore. The sun was still shining too. Perfect for lunch. So we did.
Suitably refreshed (again) we were ready for the last leg and the ride north up to Brodick. A climb back to the main road didn't dampen our spirits and we were soon cruising round into Whiting Bay with its colourful sailing boats full of floral displays and colourfully decorated bus stops, then on to Lamlash which overlooks the dramatic crags of Holy Island.
From Lamlash there is just one more climb, over Meall Buidhe with some fine views of Goat Fell from the top, and then it was a final flying descent into Brodick, our journey's end. There was still time to find a café and enjoy one last brew before our ferry sailed, so we sat on the terrace overlooking Brodick Bay with a welcome coffee and reflected on what had been a thoroughly enjoyable couple of days on the bikes, sampling everything that Arran had to offer – wonderful company, sumptuous scenery, fine food, glorious cake, good ale and even a cultural evening thrown in for good measure. It is hard to think of a better way to spend two days. I feel sure we will be back. Soon.
As a footnote I am indebted to our companions, Phil and Barb, for contributing not only to the holiday but also helping me out with some of the photos