Arran really is such a wonderful place and I am totally kicking myself that it took so long to visit!
We visited for three nights in March which is technically off-season, but there was still a lot to see a do. First up, you get to Arran by ferry - you can either take a car (about £50 for a normal-sized car and two passengers) or you can get the train from Glasgow Central to Ardrossan Harbour station which matches up with the ferry departure, which is handy if you don't have a car. We took our car - Ardrossan is about an hour's drive from Glasgow and it's all well signposted and easy to find. You need to be there at least 30 minutes before the sailing and there's a terminal building to wait in if you don't want to sit in the car.
The ferry ride is about an hour, there's hot food and drinks available and it's all very comfortable and pleasant. I'll write more about that in my CalMac review!
We were staying at the Douglas Hotel which is pretty much opposite the ferry terminal. We used our first day to explore Brodick which is the main town on Arran. It's a very small town with a supermarket, a few pubs and shops. It's really peaceful and lovely to walk around - just don't expect too many options by way of food and drink! We visited a few of the pubs - there's a bar in the Douglas Hotel which is really nice (and outside seating if the weather is nice enough), the Brodick Bar is also worth a visit and the Fiddlers is great for the view over Brodick Bay. There's another bar, the Ormidale which we didn't get a chance to visit, and the Auchrannie resort. You can walk from the main part of Brodick to the castle where there's more shop and another restaurant (the Wineport) which is worth doing even in the off-season when the castle is closed. There's beautiful views over the bay.
We also spent some time driving around the island and I'd highly recommend exploring by car, or there's regular buses that go around the island if you didn't take a car. Lochranza is really beautiful and the castle is just gorgeous in the middle of the bay, and there's a very welcoming pub at the Lochranza Hotel. There's also a restaurant at the golf course called the Stags Pavillion which is very popular with the locals for good reason!
We explored the lower half of the island on our third day and recommend The Drift Inn in Lamlash - a lot of people told me about this pub and it was probably some of the best food we ate on the island. Machrie is worth a visit as you can walk to the standing stones and King's Cave (we'll do these on a future visit) and a lovely tea room at the golf course.
I really enjoyed Arran and found it incredibly peaceful and relaxing. Everyone is so friendly and helpful, and even if the weather isn't great, it's a beautiful place. We were lucky enough to get amazing weather on our last day so spent most of it sitting outside the Douglas Hotel gazing over Brodick Bay.
Quick tips:
- There isn't great mobile reception on the island, but most pubs have free wifi.
- Some roads are a little bumpy/worn out but there was lots of roadworks happening while were there so they're obviously in the process of resurfacing the worst ones
- Prices are a bit more expensive than you'd expect in Glasgow but it's all local produce so it's worth the few £ extra
- Even if you're not into hillwalking, climbing or outdoorsy stuff, it's a really relaxing place to visit and there's a bookshop if you need to stock up on reading material! read more
