Day 131: Lochranza to Brodick

A change of plans. I intended to use the Glen Rosa campsite in Brodick as a base for the last few days, but the campsite is very basic and has a few bad reviews about rowdy campers, being unsupervised and popular for short boozy trips from Glasgow. It’s also prone to midges. In contrast, this is a beautiful campsite. There’s a good bus service, so I’ll hike to Brodick and catch a bus back. It also means I’ve a light load for a challenging day.

Two red squirrels are playing on a quiet road leading out of the village, surprised to see human activity at 5:30am. My first sighting in Scotland — a good omen for the day.

This is the finest section of Arran coastline, with sweeping views of sea, islands, and peninsulas. The trail is gorgeous, through lush vegetation, flanked by colourful sandstone cliffs and rock formations, including a giant clawed foot.

There are songbirds in the trees and buzzards flying overhead.

I’m scanning the foreshore for otters and the sea for dolphins, without success, only to turn to the cliffs and find a red deer stag, silently watching me. We stare at each other, motionless, sharing an empty landscape, before he turns and walks away over the ridge. My first stag in Scotland, despite walking the West Highland Way — a special moment. I took a photo using my digital zoom but it’s too fuzzy.

A cyclist is enjoying breakfast outside an abandoned house at Laggan. He slept there, though it looks pretty damp inside. How can he possibly cycle over some of the rocky sections where I had to scramble? He tells me he will head inland from the house along another path.

The path is easier now, as expected given the cyclist had come this way.

At Sannox Bay I get a rare chance to see what mountains look like against a blue sky — the majestic Devil’s Punchbowl.

Sadly the clouds are back by the time I reach High Corrie and turn inland to start the climb up Goatfell, the highest point on the island at 2,867 ft. There’s an alternative route along the coast but it’s closed for forestry work.

I’m not alone. There are two large school groups strung out up the mountain. A teacher descends with a white-faced boy, shortly followed by a second teacher accompanying two girls. Hope they have plenty of teachers given the drop-out rate! The ridge between Goatfell and North Goatfell is visible through the drifting cloud.

A cairn marks the junction between the coastal path down to Brodick and the summit. As I’m two thirds of the way up, I might as well continue to the top. It does not look far, but it’s brutal, with endless large steps. I’m struggling at the end and I’m not the only one. Thankfully I’m not carrying a full pack.

There’s nothing to see at the summit, just cloud and the howling wind.

The descent to Cladach is very pretty, ending in colourful heather and trees, although it seems endless when your tired. Some people are just starting the climb. They are not going to make it. One young woman is already in tears. A couple are in a familiar Mexican stand-off with their teenage son, who is sitting on a rock, refusing to move, as they leave him behind, hoping he will crack. He does not. That’s not going to end well.

Back at sea level, the Wineport pub is next to the bus stop. With an hour to kill before the bus back to Lochranza, it’s boots off, novel out, and a couple of ice-cold beers. I’m incredibly tired but it feels great. That was a tough day — 12 miles of strenuous coastal walking followed by a mountain summit.

Walk distance: 18 miles.

Total distance: 2,059 miles.