Although it was still off-season and some places were closed, Arran showed true signs of spring with daffodils and jonquils growing in clumps along every roadside and in every garden. We appreciated the lack of tourists and the two-for-one pizza deal at Eilean Mor, both of which would not be available in the summer.
The weather was mostly foggy and cloudy, but not a drop of rain, allowing us to take advantage of all the outdoors Arran had to offer.
Here's the garden of our hotel -- you can't tell, but it overlooked a beautiful harbor and Holy Isle which is home to the Centre for World Peace and Health.
We were all excited to see Lochranza Castle, since it was the inspiration for the castle in The Black Island, a Tintin adventure where he chases counterfeiters to an island off Scotland. At one point in the story, Tintin is almost killed by a gorilla, who is kept by the bad guys in an old castle (see below) as a guard-animal. The castle was just an empty hulk, padlocked, so you couldn't explore inside. But it was located in another lovely harbor!
Brodick Castle, on the other hand, is more restored and part of it is still occupied at times. Although the castle itself does not open until April 1, we walked around the gardens, mostly in solitude (an advantage of visiting off-season).
Although a lot of the garden was not in bloom, there were MANY more daffodils and some lovely, flowering shrubs.
Cormac and Declan made good use of the playground!
Although a lot of the garden was not in bloom, there were MANY more daffodils and some lovely, flowering shrubs.
All in all, we were most impressed by our weekend journey -- loved the ferry ride, where I saw dolphins which always remind me of my Aunt Cindy; felt rejuvenated by the sea air and negative ions from the moving water; and just savored the relaxed pace and chance to be with the family and MeMe!
My mom and I stayed at a B&B there years ago and loved it! It was so peaceful.
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