When 14 were let loose on Arran!

Today we were split into three groups and were let loose around three sections of Arran; Lochranza in the North, Lamlash in the South-East and Blackwaterfoot in the West.

The group sent to Lochranza, first paid a visit to the castle by the sea. it was a 12th century building that had been modified in the 16th century, making it more defensible and with more features on the inside. we then explored the church, which had been modified several times over its history between 1560 and 1918. One such building had the remains of its dead buried within the walls of the church itself which was interesting to learn. We then climbed the hill on the west side and walked past the oldest craft shop in Lockranza called The Stoneman, then continued on to look for Huttons Unconformity, a geological structure that at the time of its discovery, significantly changed our understanding about the true age of the earth. We saw a variety of wildlife including wildflowers, birds and insects such as butterfly's before we had to run back to catch our bus.


In Lamlash, we first saw the Clearances memorial, which was put there to remember the clearances which occurred between 1829 and 1840 where many people were forcibly removed from their homes to make room for livestock. As a result of this, many people emigrated to Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. We then visited Hamilton Terrace, Lamlash Church of Scotland and then went to the beach to look at flowers. We then explored the pier and Lamlash Bay, looking over to the Holy Isle. Lamlash Bay is Scotland's first "No Take Zone" meaning that it is a marine area protected from human disturbance. After that, we went to the cemetery and visited the Chapel Ruins, before coming back to catch our bus back to Shore Lodge.

After taking the bus from Brodick Ferry Terminal Station, we walked along the beach at Blackwaterfoot and saw either a female or a juvenile otter! After this, we walked through the golf course and into a field of noisy sheep. We then joined the beach once more and found some natural arches and a bit further on was the King's Cave which has carvings inside which date back to the 5th or 6th century. Outside the cave were Buddhist meditation pebble towers as there is a large Buddhist population here on Arran. We traced back our steps and went through a jungle of ferns to try to find an iron age natural fort. We didn't realise, but we in fact walked all over it! After this, we walked back along the beach and as we walked quicker than expected, we stopped off in the Harbour Shop with Maureen and Ethel and got an ice-cream before heading back on the bus to Shore Lodge.




Later in the evening, we went for a walk around the grounds of Brodick Castle and discussed the different types of foliage the geology around the castle. We even saw the barn owl that nests in a tree on the grounds.