Cicerone Walking on Arran

Cicerone - Walking on Arran

This guidebook describes 45 walks on the popular and accessible Isle of Arran. The routes are between 3 and 19 miles (5-31km) in length, ranging in difficulty from easy, waymarked forest trails to more arduous mountain walks, exposed ridge routes and scrambles. The book includes both linear and circular walks, and there are opportunities to link routes together and create longer walks across the length and breadth of the island. Also included is a summary of the 110km Arran Coastal Way. Highlights include Goatfell, Beinn Nuis, Beinn Tarsuinn, the Sannox Horseshoe, Glen Rosa, the Cock of Arran and nearby Holy Isle. All the routes are clearly described and illustrated with OS 1:50,000 mapping, with extra notes revealing the archaeology, history and natural wonders of the island. The guide includes background information on travel to Arran, public transport, and a Gaelic/English glossary. There's something here to suit walkers of all fitness levels and abilities. Often described as 'Scotland in miniature', Arran boasts a rich variety of landscapes, with mountains, coast, moorland and forest, and the walks have been chosen to showcase this diversity. For an island, travel to and from Arran is remarkably easy: it is not far from Glasgow, from where onward connections are swift and frequent.

Activities
Walking; trekking; scrambling; local food and drink; wildlife and birdwatching; geology

Seasons
Arran is good for walking year-round: be aware that the island's population triples in the peak summer period, and deer stalking occurs mid-August to mid-October.

Centres
Brodick; Lamlash; Lochranza

Difficulty
This guidebook include a few easy, waymarked forest trails or low-level walks and a dozen or so moderate glen or hill walks. The rest require more effort, involving higher mountains, sometimes with hands-on scrambling. There are roads and forest tracks, hill tracks or paths, but many routes also cross pathless slopes and traverse rocky mountain ridges.

Must See
Goatfell, Holy Isle, Beinn Nuis, Beinn Tarsuinn, the Sannox Horseshoe, Glen Rosa and the Cock of Arran