A varied 4-day backpack in the NE of Arran including superb glens, the wild and deserted Loch Tanna, a section of the Isle of Arran Coastal Way and finally Goatfell with its excellent view of the nearby rugged mountains.
This was a backpack of contrasts in other ways too: the wind was so strong on the first night that we feared for the integrity of the tent poles and it felt bitterly cold in the morning, yet by the third day it was very warm, there was hardly a breath of wind and the first midges were in evidence.
The terrain and walking was generally very easy, but in the wild deserted Glen Iorsa it was arduous and difficult especially against the wind, making the trackless progress very slow on the second day.
If this visit to Arran was typical, the walkers seem to be concentrated even more than elsewhere: while the obvious peaks of the Goatfell group form the inevitable and justifiably popular magnet, the entire region around Glen Iorsa and Loch Tanna was completely deserted and almost pathless despite its great beauty.
8 Comments
Nice report. I like the look of the place. Windy night there you had. Adds to the adventure nights like that. Some of those glens look wild and make for good backpacking.
Definitely a sense of adventure in that wind, although we used some different words at the time!. A terrific backpacking region, I’m already looking at the map for a return visit or two.
Some friends were car camping on Arran about the same time as you were there. They said it was a great place - I can see that from your photos.
A very good place, there is something for everyone - walks at low level, mid-level and the very rugged high mountains.
Hi Geoff - what a lovely place Arran is, we’ve never visited any of the Scottish Islands yet, but that will change in a couple of weeks as we are heading up to Skye next month! Thanks for sharing the photo’s, enjoyed them loads.
Gary …
That was our first visit to the Scottish Islands too, Arran has so much to offer in so small an area - terrific.Enjoy your trip to Skye.
Arran has been on my wish list of places to visit for years - since I picked up an old book called ‘Tramping in Arran’ in a second-hand bookshop. Now I’m even more keen to go.
Mark,
You’ll find excellent walking there. I think the extra journey leg on the ferry might have pushed Arran out of our minds before compared to a straight drive-up, but it’s as easy as hopping on a bus or train, and it’s also south of the great barrier (the Glasgow-Edinburgh line!). We’ll dfeinitely be back.