Arran in Hello.

I’m lying in my cosy bed in our holiday lodge, just outside Lamlash on Arran. We’re surrounded by trees and it’s so quiet.
The trip here was easy and uneventful. I was aware that the roads around Glasgow were tricky, and I was nervous about taking the wrong turnoff and ending up in Glasgow itself, like I did last time I drove to Arran, a mere week after passing my driving test. Lanes split off willy nilly and my satnav tends to tell me with like half a mile to spare to “be in either of the two right hand lanes”, which isn’t fun when it’s incredibly busy!
Driving on Arran is mad too. Don’t get me wrong, I’m used to driving on country lanes. The other day I drove the entire length of The Ross, a single track twisty road up and over a mountain. I encountered one other car on the trip and loved every second! But coming back we drove on the main road round the island, which is still narrow and twisty, especially around the south of the island, but (obviously) full of holiday makers who don’t know how to drive on country roads! At one point I was approaching a hill, which is very twisty and very steep, with a blind bit at the top and bottom. Thankfully a lorry driver saw me coming up and stopped at the top, only three cars obviously thought he’d just stopped for fun and overtook! The first car managed to just squeeze by, the other two were just getting past the lorry as I got there and had to reverse back up the hill, a white van included! Shook me up a bit, but I got satisfaction from making a white van driver back down, haha! (White van, usually company vans, drivers have a bad reputation in the UK for not observing traffic laws and just generally driving however they like.)

We’ve been to Brodick Castle, Eas Mor waterfall and the Machrie Moor stone circles, today I think we’re taking a boat trip to Holy Isle. I’ve been to Arran a few times now, but never to Holy Isle. I’m looking forward to it, it’s supposed to be very peaceful. I’m hoping we can buy some organic veg from the Buddhist retreat gardens.

Last updated August 29, 2018