Surrounding Area
Lochranza is an unspoilt small village in the mountainous north of Arran, lying around the island’s only sea loch, with its ancient castle standing on a grassy spit near the cottage. It is 14 miles from the ferry terminal at Brodick whilst the ferry to Claonaig on Kintyre, a gateway to the west coast, is about 100 yards from the garden gate. Regular round the island bus services connect with this and the Brodick ferry.
Basic supplies can be obtained from the butcher and the campsite shop. There is an hotel serving bar meals. The village has the island’s only distillery and one of the seven golf courses; both serve refreshments.Lochranza has a church and doctor’s surgery. There is a general store and Post Office in Pirnmill, about 3 miles away. The Village Hall has regular family ceilidhs throughout the summer, as well as occasional concerts; there are twice weekly coffee mornings and a visiting Post Office throughout the year. A mobile cinema brings the latest films to Brodick.
The local newspapers, the Arran Banner and the Voice, have details of “What’s On” as does the Tourist Information Centre located opposite the Brodick ferry terminal.
The area around the cottage offers wonderful walking opportunities without the need to use a car, from gentle shoreline strolls to more strenuous hill walks and mountain climbs. The wildlife is abundant : red squirrels in the garden, otters, seals and a variety of seabirds on the coast, with red deer, buzzards, golden eagle and maybe a hen harrier in the hills.
The panorama from higher up is magnificent; Jura and the Inner Hebridies to the West, the mountains of Argyll to the North, coming Eastwards towards the Kyles of Bute, Cumbrae and the Firth of Clyde.