West of Scotland - Isle of Arran

Our B&B was just a short 20 minute drive to the small port of Cloanaig, so it was a relaxing start with a hearty breakfast. The sun was shining and the sea was calm ready for our second ferry crossing of the trip and a day on the Island of Arran. At the ferry terminal we joined the queue of one and waited for our ferry to arrive. After boarding we sat up on the open deck in glorious morning sunshine and enjoyed the 35 minute crossing to Lochranza located at the north of the Island.

Arran Island Lifeboat Station

Driving down the spectacular eastern coastline we arrived at the small town of Lamlash, the location of the Arran Lifeboat Station. After parking up we made our way to the station where we were warmly welcomed by Andrew the LPO and Shore Crew.

We had a long chat with Andrew and learnt about his fascinating journey to the Island and becoming crew. He invited us up on to the Atlantic 85, B-876 Rachael Hedderwick. This boat has been on station since 2014 and was funded by the bequest of the late Miss Rachel Antoinette Hedderwick of East Saltoun, granddaughter of Sir Henry Duncan Littlejohn, a Scottish Surgeon and Forensic Scientist.

The lifeboat station was established at Kildonan on the southern tip of Arran in 1870 until 1902. The current location was established for inshore lifeboats in 1970 housing D-Class boats until 1997 when the first Atlantic class was introduced. The outlook across the Firth of Clyde towards Troon was beautiful with the imposing Holy Isle sheltering Lamlash Bay from the worst of the weather.

Andrew showed us around the rest of the station and gave us a pin badge for our collection, we popped the money into the collection tin. Whilst we were chatting a few people passed by and popped their heads in the door, making a donation before they left.

Andrew took some photos for their social media pages and we took our evidence photos with the bears. He also told us about a crew member, Tim, who worked on the CalMac Ferry we had come over on. He gave a good description and we promised to say hello on the return journey.

After saying farewell we headed south with good intention of driving around the Island back to Lochranza. Unfortunately a few miles around the coast, the road was closed and so we had to turn back and head back the way we came. After a lovely light lunch at the Arran Distillery we headed back to the ferry terminal for the sail home. We identified Tim quite easily and once boarded and on our way he came and had a lovely chat with us.

On our return we made the most of the warm evening to drive down to Campbeltown on the east side of the peninsula along narrow twisty roads. In Campbeltown we popped to the lifeboat station and took a quick photo of the Severn Class moored in the Marina. We would be back the following morning for our official visit. We then took a drive along even narrower roads to try and visit the Mull of Kintyre Lighthouse. Along the way we saw plenty of Fallow Deer who seemed unbothered by us taking photos from the car  window. However, as we got to the top of the headland the cloud had moved in and we could only see a few metres in front of us. Abandoning the lighthouse visit we headed back to our B&B, this time up the west coast. What a glorious day with spectacular scenery and warm sunshine. That rounded our visits to 170.