The path that I'd seen on Wednesday, cut into the hillside at Glenashdale, to allow access up to the Giant's Graves, just had to be cycled. Before we had to leave to get the ferry home, I set off first thing in the morning for a bit of a spin before breakfast.....
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Arran day 6: the west Glenrosa horseshoe
Our last day here saw us heading back into the hills, back up into Glen Rosa, but this time heading west at the Allt Garbh and around a magnificent horseshoe of peaks. The mist was back again and it was very warm and still as we made our way up the main climb to 800m. As we rounded the centre of the horseshoe, the cloud blew off the notorious A; Chir ridge leading to Cir Mhor, opening up some wonderful views.
The cans of Coke that we’d left weighted down in the river at the junction with the Glen Rosa path tasted better than the most expensive champagne…..
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| From Arran 2010: Friday |
The cans of Coke that we’d left weighted down in the river at the junction with the Glen Rosa path tasted better than the most expensive champagne…..
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Arran day 5: Lochranza and the King's Cave
We’d done quite a bit of high level walking and cycling, but nothing around the coast. Today dawned very calm and still but misty, so we thought this would be a good day to prowl around the coast. We did two walks – the first around Newton Point at Lochranza, the second down to the King’s Cave (allegedly visited by Robert the Bruce) on the west coast of the island near Blackwaterfoot.
Deer patrolling around the village in Lochranza:
King's Cave:
Deer patrolling around the village in Lochranza:
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| From Arran 2010: Thurs |
King's Cave:
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| From Arran 2010: Thurs |
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Arran day 4: rest day (sort of)
Time for a bit of rest day today, so we did the tourist thing and went shopping. We managed a short five mile walk up and around Glenashdale Falls near Whiting Bay. Coming down via the Giant’s Graves (Neolithic burial grounds) we found a wonderful track cut into the hillside that simply has to be cycled (see Saturday’s post).
The biggest find of the day was Coast – a new restaurant on the seafront that served us a slice of carrot cake so large that it could probably be seen from space…..
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| From Arran 2010: Wed |
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Arran Day 3: Brodick, the hard way
After a long walk yesterday, my legs let me know that they would appreciate a gentler day today. Well, they sort of got that ....
Detours seem a great idea at the time, and on the map. We thought we'd warm up with a gentle roll along the bay at Lamlash to see what lay further to the north of the main strip of houses and shops. Part way down, we saw an inviting sign for a footpath to Brodick that was too much to resist. Problem was, it really was a footpath, and not really suited to the bikes, as there were fields to cross, stiles to clamber over etc.
We made it up to join the red MTB route up above Corriegills and then decided to take the hard route over the summit of Clauchland Hills. Bits of the ascent (...and the descent!) were completely unrideable, but we puffed and struggled along feeling like complete amateurs. The descent down to the Cnoc Na Dial car park was great though, weaving through the forest.
From here, we headed on the blue graded route through the grounds of Brodick Castle. It's all on very rideable tracks and forest roads, but there are some steep climbs up but also some great descents, particularly the one down into the lower reaches of Glen Rosa: a narrow sheep track of a path, plunging down towards the river.
From here, we headed back to Cnoc through Glen Cloy and then took the easy option home, along the main road to Lamlash (and even with a strong headwind, I still managed to get a speed warning from the windmill-thingy at the entrance to the 30mph zone...)
Not bad for an easy day...
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| From Arran 2010: Tues |
Detours seem a great idea at the time, and on the map. We thought we'd warm up with a gentle roll along the bay at Lamlash to see what lay further to the north of the main strip of houses and shops. Part way down, we saw an inviting sign for a footpath to Brodick that was too much to resist. Problem was, it really was a footpath, and not really suited to the bikes, as there were fields to cross, stiles to clamber over etc.
We made it up to join the red MTB route up above Corriegills and then decided to take the hard route over the summit of Clauchland Hills. Bits of the ascent (...and the descent!) were completely unrideable, but we puffed and struggled along feeling like complete amateurs. The descent down to the Cnoc Na Dial car park was great though, weaving through the forest.
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| From Arran 2010: Tues |
From here, we headed on the blue graded route through the grounds of Brodick Castle. It's all on very rideable tracks and forest roads, but there are some steep climbs up but also some great descents, particularly the one down into the lower reaches of Glen Rosa: a narrow sheep track of a path, plunging down towards the river.
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| From Arran 2010: Tues |
From here, we headed back to Cnoc through Glen Cloy and then took the easy option home, along the main road to Lamlash (and even with a strong headwind, I still managed to get a speed warning from the windmill-thingy at the entrance to the 30mph zone...)
Not bad for an easy day...
Arran Day 2: Goatfell
I am always amazed at how some people think all Scotland's best walks and climbs have to reach over the magic 3000 ft to be any good. There is nothing on Arran higher than about 2800ft, but what a place for walking...!
We followed the popular path up Goatfell from the Cladach car park, through the grounds of Brodick castle and out onto the open fell. The last couple of hundred metres of ascent was tough going up a path that increasingly needed hands and feet, but at the top, the view of the ridges to the north and west were just stunning. The photos never do it justice...
From the summit of Goatfell we descended the ridge to North Goatfell and then up to the rocky prominence of Mullach Buidhe, before coming back down to the Saddle and looking in awe up at the forbidding eastern face of Cir Mhor.
From the Saddle, it is a long and steady descent down into the beautiful Glen Rosa which eventually joins the cart track that emerges a few hundred meters up the string road. It was a full 8 hours out but we'd only really scratched at the surface of what you can do up here.....
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| From Arran 2010: Mon |
We followed the popular path up Goatfell from the Cladach car park, through the grounds of Brodick castle and out onto the open fell. The last couple of hundred metres of ascent was tough going up a path that increasingly needed hands and feet, but at the top, the view of the ridges to the north and west were just stunning. The photos never do it justice...
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| From Arran 2010: Mon |
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| From Arran 2010: Mon |
From the summit of Goatfell we descended the ridge to North Goatfell and then up to the rocky prominence of Mullach Buidhe, before coming back down to the Saddle and looking in awe up at the forbidding eastern face of Cir Mhor.
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| From Arran 2010: Mon |
From the Saddle, it is a long and steady descent down into the beautiful Glen Rosa which eventually joins the cart track that emerges a few hundred meters up the string road. It was a full 8 hours out but we'd only really scratched at the surface of what you can do up here.....
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Arran Day 1: the Ross road (and a bit of Red
I have a new toy: a Garmin Forerunner 305 gizmo that records gps location, points, heck even heart rate if I want. It's an (early) birthday present, so I took it away with us for a week's walking and cycling on Arran.
First day saw us head out on the bikes from the place we were staying (that's it above - the fantastic Tim's Barn) near Lamlash and tackle the Ross Road. It rises to 950ft in 2.5 miles so it is quite a pull up, with great views back down towards the bay and Holy Island.
The route back from the south-west coast saw us tackle the forest road, which is...rather unsurprisingly a road, which goes through a forest. the downhills on the loose surface were tricky, especially at speed!
After this, I'd decided I'd not had enough, so set out to explore the red graded trail that forms a figure of 8 through Lamlash and Brodick. It is definitely red in places, and I managed to lose the track on the way home which meant a slight retracing of steps to get back to the centre of the figure of 8.
The road down into Lamlash is a screamer of a hill, and the sign at the entrance to the village flashed to tell me I was exceeding the 30mph limit.... nice.
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| From Arran 2010: Sat / Sun |
First day saw us head out on the bikes from the place we were staying (that's it above - the fantastic Tim's Barn) near Lamlash and tackle the Ross Road. It rises to 950ft in 2.5 miles so it is quite a pull up, with great views back down towards the bay and Holy Island.
The route back from the south-west coast saw us tackle the forest road, which is...rather unsurprisingly a road, which goes through a forest. the downhills on the loose surface were tricky, especially at speed!
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| From Arran 2010: Sat / Sun |
After this, I'd decided I'd not had enough, so set out to explore the red graded trail that forms a figure of 8 through Lamlash and Brodick. It is definitely red in places, and I managed to lose the track on the way home which meant a slight retracing of steps to get back to the centre of the figure of 8.
The road down into Lamlash is a screamer of a hill, and the sign at the entrance to the village flashed to tell me I was exceeding the 30mph limit.... nice.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
To the Dod
We had been wanting to do this loop for a while, ever since we walked up over Dabshead Hill. Today, we got the chance on a bright but cold spring day. Our route took us from Lauder, through Blythe and on to Briadshawrigg, before climbing up to the highest point at the summit of the Dod and then turning back past Bermuda and returning to Lauder.
The route involved several stream crossings; too deep to cycle and so we resorted to a series of increasingly rickety bridges (presumably used for beaters and stalkers on foot over the grouse moor).
View The Dod in a larger map
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| From The Dod |
The route involved several stream crossings; too deep to cycle and so we resorted to a series of increasingly rickety bridges (presumably used for beaters and stalkers on foot over the grouse moor).
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| From The Dod |
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| From The Dod |
View The Dod in a larger map
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