<< Feature Articles >> Cycling on the Isle of Arran
Submitted by Andy B on Friday, 06 July 2018 Page Views: 6615
Neolithic and Bronze AgeCountry: Scotland County: Isle of ArranInternal Links:
Arran has 15 mountain bike routes and 9 road routes that target all levels from enduring hill climbs to easy flat coastal rides. Bikes are available to hire at a number of locations across the island, further information can be found at Visit Arran and Ayrshire Arran. Arran is perfect for casual cyclists as there are plenty of pleasant cafes dotted about for ‘refuelling’,
You can extend your reach by getting a ferry off the island for the day, or continuing a tour of Scotland south around Dumfries and Galloway. You can also use Arran as a stopover to get to the Kintyre Peninsula (famous for the Mull of Kintyre) and on to the islands of Islay and Jura. There are daily ferries from Lochranza on Arran to Claonaig on Kintyre, and from Brodick right down to Campelltown.
If you’re not on a cycling tour, the best way to get to Arran without a car is by train. The route from Glasgow Central Station to Ardrossan Harbour takes about 45 minutes, and this ties in with the ferries over from Ardrossan to Arran.
There’s no charge for taking bikes on the Caledonian MacBrayne ferries and the foot passenger rates are very reasonable. Calmac do say however that due to high demand they can't guarantee to accommodate all cycles on busy sailings, so do get there early. It’s also worth mentioning that Arran has a pretty good bus service around the island so that’s another good option for travelling without a car.
Having a robust bike that can travel semi-offroad on paths is a positive advantage, but watch your tyres of course - I swear by Scwalbe Marathon kevlar rimmed tyres, I’ve found these to be incredibly reliable and so worth the hassle of avoiding the otherwise inevitable punctures. Frame sizing is very important too of course, here's a guide to how to determine the right bike.
Here are a few sites on Arran to visit - firstly I have to mention Machrie Moor of course (see photo top of page), a collection of six stone circles very close together, and other interesting sites on the moor such as burial cairns. Not to be missed, allow a couple of days to fully explore all the monuments in this areaJust north of Machrie Moor, Auchagallon (photo right) is a curious site on a shelf of land overlooking Machrie Bay. It's a cross between a regular cairn and a stone circle and has not been excavated so still something of a mystery.
Auchencar (photo below) is an incredibly thin sliver of sandstone 5m high, again with views over Machrie Bay. It is very furry with lichen. A second very tall but broken stone lies nearby to the south. The two may have formed part of a setting, possibly circular.
The Giant’s Graves are a pair of lovely burial chambers (the remains of Clyde Cairns) right by a forestry track so travelling by bike allows you to avoid the hefty climb and go the longer but much less steep approach, either from Whiting Bay or off-road along a track from the south of the island. Check the map on the link above.Check out the links above for more about these sites, and our full guide to Arran for many more sites to visit, there are so many fascinating ones to visit. With thanks to Bikester for their support of this article, as well as to UKVegan and Energyman for their fantastic photos.
<< Standing stones and other ancient sites to visit in Prague
Smartphone and Tablet apps for Megalith Hunting - iPhone and Android >>
We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.