Author Topic: Arran  (Read 1408 times)

Skinny Walker

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Arran
« on: 12:41:58, 09/09/08 »
Well, I had my heart set on hiring a cottage in Inverie and using it as a base to explore Knoydart, but the owners have sold up and the other cottages in the area are very verycostly!!! :( So that plan is out of the window!

I have therefore cast my eye toward the Isle of Arran.  Any advice, comments, opinions??

(I still intend to do a week in knoydart next year, maybe walking in from Mallaig or similar.)
You need special shoes for hiking - and a bit of a special soul as well.  ~Emme Woodhull-Bäche

mike knipe

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Re: Arran
« Reply #1 on: 14:19:25, 09/09/08 »
Arran's a great place Chubby - You'll enjoy it. I believe there's a Paddy Dillon/Cicerone press guidebook which covers the place.
Its got  some craggy granite mountains in the North - and some moorland areas in the South, a rather fab coastal path and lots of inter-village paths which are relatively new.
There seems to be quite a good bus service around the island, too if you want to do linear walks....
And its a great place for midgies too!

Its a long walk from mallaig to Knoydart by the way!   (But you can get Bruce Watt's ferry - leaves about 10:00 ish each day from Mallaig)
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

See the blog!  www.northernpies.blogspot.com

Skinny Walker

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Re: Arran
« Reply #2 on: 17:53:06, 09/09/08 »
Thanks for the info Mike, I'll look up that guidebook. Sounds perfect to us, I have heard it described as a good intermediate between the lakes / wales and the Highland Big Boys...

When you say good for midgies - Good as in few midgies (and they are fat and slow) or good as in there are loads (and they're hungry)...?? :-\ :-\


The knoydart plan is to take 9 days, 3 days of wild camping followed by a couple of days relaxing (and getting clean) in Inverie, then 3 days back out again (maybe to a different location and then train back to Mallaig...
You need special shoes for hiking - and a bit of a special soul as well.  ~Emme Woodhull-Bäche

mike knipe

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Re: Arran
« Reply #3 on: 20:49:56, 09/09/08 »
I mean the midgies do very well on Arran! There's loads of them...  once had a very unsuccessful game of crazy golf whilst waiting for the calmac ferry...... (The supermarket at Ardrossan does good breakies by the way - if you're on the morning ferry, although there's some danger in having two breakfasts - one on the ferry and one in Tescos (or is it asda?).... not that I would... obviously..... I mean that would just be greedy innit?....

Anyway - the Knoydart trip sounds like a good plan for a week's hols....    For a remote wilderness, though, I found it quite crowded - seems that everybody wanted a bit of solitude - they were queuing up for it...!  fab country, though - which is probably what evrybody else thought.....
Some kind of happiness is measured out in miles

See the blog!  www.northernpies.blogspot.com

Skinny Walker

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Re: Arran
« Reply #4 on: 13:41:45, 10/09/08 »
Thanks for the Migie info Mike, I'll be bathing in DEET then!!  ;D ;D

Surely breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so how better to start a day than with two of them!!  ;D ;D
You need special shoes for hiking - and a bit of a special soul as well.  ~Emme Woodhull-Bäche

 

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