8 minute read
Wild Isle
Deer, red squirrels, eagles, otters, and seals can all be seen on and around the Isle of Arran, as Robin McKelvie and his children discover
“Will we see all the Big Five daddy?”, asks my youngest as we roll off the ferry under the brooding hulk of Arran’s hills.
We’re here for a week, so I’m cautiously optimistic, with Arran the only isle to boast red deer, otters, red squirrels, golden eagles, and harbour seals. It doesn’t end there, with sea eagles, basking sharks and even whales – not to mention Scotland’s rst all-island snorkel trail – thriving around Scotland’s wildlife isle.
Scotland’s seventh largest island, and the largest island in the Firth of Clyde, is often eulogised as ‘Scotland in Miniature’, which metaphorically it certainly is.
The Highland Boundary Fault sears right through Arran’s heart, gnarling the north into a wildscape of soaring mountains, tumbling glens, and gushing burns. The south is gentler: rolling hills, thick forests and spirit-soaring stretches of sand. Arran sports a brace of whisky distilleries and breweries (gin too), castles, stone circles, and its own Highland Games: it’s the nation in microcosm.
Scotland in miniature’s wildlife is writ large too, the whole island hailed and protected as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Just a few minutes after leaving the ferry we shake off the island’s largest village of Brodick in search of one of Scotland’s few red squirrel hides.
Arran is the only isle in Scotland with a red squirrel population, thanks to the absence of invasive greys. We don’t even make it to the hide. We must slow to let one of these gorgeously bushy tailed charmers amble across the road. Then another. Both my daughters yelp. Minutes later in the hide we have to be deadly quiet, though. We’re rewarded
too, the whole island hailed and protected as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Just a few minutes after leaving the ferry we shake off the island’s largest village of Brodick in search of one of
Arran is the only isle in Scotland with a red squirrel population, thanks to the absence of invasive greys. We don’t
CLOCKWISE,
FROM RIGHT: A wild otter poses for the camera; Brodick Castle and Gardens has its own red squirrel hide; a red squirrel enjoys some supper on the Isle of Arran as a trio of squirrels break cover in the thick forest to grab a snack right in front of us.
We try to push north, but around the next bay we’re stopped by a colony of seals, another of the Big Five. A dozen seals have dragged themselves up on to the rocks by the road at Merkland Point to bask in the sun’s rays.
A local man cycling pauses to see why we’ve stopped. Then he just smiles and continues when he realises it’s ‘only’ seals. On Arran day-to-day interactions with wildlife are the glorious norm, not the exception.
Easing across the Highland Boundary Fault the land rises and the big hills unfurl like a cinema curtain pulling back. Pure, glorious technicolour nature.
It feels like a David Attenborough BBC documentary as we scan for wildlife.
Craggy Alpine-sharp peaks and ridges tear across the skyline, but we’re drawn to something in the foreground. There he is. The monarch of the glen: the mighty red deer, the largest land mammal in the UK. He stands stoic in a whisp of mist, antlers warning any rivals off his patch. There is no doubting this is his glen. Then comes a moment that would have us struggling to contain the excitement of Attenborough were he truly in the back seat narrating.
As we turn away from the stag, we catch sight of a golden eagle rising high into the thermals in the crags. This close there is no mistaking this elegant giant for a buzzard.
By the time we descend off the hills to the Highland village of Lochranza we’ve only one of the Big Five to go. We gather our thoughts in the café at Lochranza Distillery, where local venison is on the menu – it’s Scotland’s more sustainable and healthier red meat I assure the girls.
Afterwards we find a few hinds nosing around our car, then another stag mooching up the fifth fairway at the local golf course. Just as thoughts turn to a coffee on the beach, in the shadow of Lochranza Castle, there they are – two otters busying their way along the shore. We watch them flip in and out of the water – my girls reckon they’re playing rather than fishing; it looks like it. So Big Five ‘done’ before sunset on our first day! Very Arran.
My daughters are thrilled at seeing all the Big Five so quickly. Daddy is mildly disappointed, as now I must think up more things to spot, though this too turns out to be a joy.
My thoughts drift back to when I brought a London friend around the Firth of Clyde on a small ship cruise with Majestic Line. Sailing into Lochranza he was delighted at the seal colony we visited on the tender ashore, speechless at the basking shark that spent a couple of hours circling our ship in languorous loops and then tripped over a stag leaving the pub – quite a first evening on Arran.
We’re out of the car and immersing ourselves in nature now. Literally. Marine Arran is a wonderland I’d never explored before in over a dozen visits to Arran. Our timing
PLAN YOUR VISIT
ARRAN ALPACAS
An Alpaca trek on Arran is a novel but beautiful way to enjoy the natural environment of Arran. arranalpacas.co.uk
ARRAN SNORKEL TRAIL
Take a closer look at marine life above and below the water on a snorkelling tour along Arran’s coastline. scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/things-to-do/ snorkel-trails/
BELLEVUE FARM
Meet the animals and buy fresh milk and delicious cheeses at this lovely farm. bellevue-arran.co.uk
GETTING THERE
There are two Caledonian MacBrayne ferries you can take to Arran – from Ardrossan to Brodick, or from Claonaig on the Kintyre peninsula to Lochranza in the north of the isle. calmac.co.uk
TOURIST INFORMATION
Visit Arran is a font of inspiration of where to go and what to do on the isle. visitarran.com
CLOCKWISE,
FROM LEFT: Glen Rosa in the spring; the 13th-century Lochranza Castle; seals bask in the morning sunshine
is good as local maritime body Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST) have just helped set up half a dozen snorkel trails. We’re the first people ever to test out the new trail at Whiting Bay. Don a snorkel mask and Arran is transformed. The hills are swapped for billowing sea grass alive with scuttling crabs and darting sand fish. Bright anemones remind me of the Great Barrier Reef and with wet suits on it’s no struggle snorkelling here. We’re in the water for over an hour; it feels like five minutes, and I literally have to haul the girls out. Three times over the week we don our masks and explore more sites below again. Cutting inland we leave the more touristy east coast behind in search of the Shiskine Valley. I always end up here on Arran, drawn to what is today the island’s only inland community – before the Clearances most people lived inland – by the fact my family hail from a wee steading here at Kilpatrick. I’d never really searched for wildlife, but co-owner of Arran Alpacas, Tom Jessop, introduces me to the myriad local birds of prey and smaller birds, too. We take the well cared for alpacas for a walk and then stargaze in the perfectly clear sky outside our posh glamping pod. The soundtrack? The resident local owl. My last stop is at Bellevue Farm. A farm may seem a strange place to end a wildlife pilgrimage. But this one shows what can be done by farmers with a genuine passion and affection for their animals and their role in the environment. They also appreciate what can be the positive power of tourism.
We meet pigs, cows, and lambs, helping look after the animals both in the fields and the impressive new byre they’ve built for visitors. You can buy Arran milk and farm fresh meat to take away. We enjoy them in one of their cosy cottages as the girls join the dots between what we see and what we choose to eat.
Bellevue Farm is famous amongst foodies. Milk from the Shiskine Valley – famously creamy, from cows grazing on the lush local grass – is at the heart of Bellevue Creamery, which conjures up superb brie and camembert, plus multi awardwinning Arran Blue.
I meet the owner, Calum Chaplin, who introduces me to his new creation, a Swiss hard cheese, White Stag. It’s named after the elusive Arran white stag. I’ve never seen him. The girls are desperate to. We resolve to come back to Scotland’s wildlife isle to find him, alongside myriad creatures on the isle that may be famous for its Big Five, but which offers so much more. S
