Isle of Arran
The Isle of Arran or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at. Historically part of Buteshire, it is in the unitary council area of North Ayrshire. In the 2022 census it had a resident population of 4,618. Though culturally and physically similar to the Hebrides, it is separated from them by the Kintyre peninsula. Often referred to as "Scotland in Miniature", the Island is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault and has been described as a "geologist's paradise".
Arran has been continuously inhabited since the early Neolithic period. Numerous prehistoric remains have been found. From the 6th century onwards, Goidelic-speaking peoples from Ireland colonised it and it became a centre of religious activity. In the troubled Viking Age, Arran became the property of the Norwegian crown, until formally absorbed by the kingdom of Scotland in the 13th century. The 19th-century "clearances" led to significant depopulation and the end of the Gaelic language and way of life. The economy and population have recovered in recent years, the main industry being tourism. However, the increase in tourism and people buying holiday homes on the Island, the second highest rate of such homes in the UK, has led to a shortage of affordable homes on the Island. There is a diversity of wildlife, including three species of tree endemic to the area.
The Island includes miles of coastal pathways, numerous hills and mountains, forested areas, rivers, small lochs and beaches. Its main beaches are at Brodick, Whiting Bay, Kildonan, Sannox and Blackwaterfoot.
Etymology
Most of the islands of Scotland have been occupied consecutively by speakers of at least four languages since the Iron Age. Therefore, the names of many islands have more than one possible origin, including Arran. Mac an Tàilleir says the name "is said to be unrelated" to those of Arranmore or the Aran Islands in Ireland, which come from Irish Árainn meaning "kidney-shaped", though he does not rule out this derivation.Unusually for a Scottish island, Haswell-Smith and William Cook Mackenzie offer a Brythonic derivation and a meaning of "high place" which at least corresponds with the geography – Arran is significantly loftier than all the land that immediately surrounds it along the shores of the Firth of Clyde.
Any other Brythonic place-names that may have existed, save perhaps for Mayish, were later replaced on Arran as the Goidelic-speaking Gaels spread from Ireland, via their adjacent kingdom of Dál Riata.
During the Viking Age it became, along with most Scottish islands, the property of the Norwegian crown, at which time it may have been known as Herrey or Hersey. As a result of Norse influence, many current place-names on Arran are of Viking origin.
Geography
The island lies in the Firth of Clyde between Ayr and Ardrossan, and Kintyre. The profile of the north Arran hills as seen from the Ayrshire coast is referred to as the "Sleeping Warrior", due to its resemblance to a resting human figure. The highest of these hills is Goat Fell at. There are three other Corbetts, all in the north east: Caisteal Abhail, Cìr Mhòr and Beinn Tarsuinn. Beinn Bharrain is the highest peak in the north west at.The largest glen on the island is Glen Iorsa to the west, whilst narrow Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa to the east surround Goat Fell. The terrain to the south is less mountainous, although a considerable portion of the interior lies above, and A' Chruach reaches at its summit. There are two other Marilyns in the south, Tighvein and Mullach Mòr.
Villages
Arran has several villages, mainly around the shoreline. Brodick is the site of the ferry terminal, several hotels, and the majority of shops. Brodick Castle is a seat of the Dukes of Hamilton. Lamlash, however, is the largest village on the island and in 2001 had a population of 1,010 compared to 621 for Brodick. Other villages include Lochranza and Catacol in the north, Corrie in the north east, Blackwaterfoot and Kilmory in the south west, Kildonan in the south and Whiting Bay in the south east.Surrounding islands
Arran has three smaller satellite islands: Holy Island lies to the east opposite Lamlash, Pladda is located off Arran's south coast and tiny Hamilton Isle lies just off Clauchlands Point north of Holy Island. Eilean na h-Àirde Bàine off the south west of Arran at Corriecravie is a skerry connected to Arran at low tide. Ailsa Craig is situated south east of Arran and on a clear day is visible from most of Arran's south coast.Other islands in the Firth of Clyde include Bute, Great Cumbrae and Inchmarnock.
Geology
The division between the "Highland" and "Lowland" areas of Arran is marked by the Highland Boundary Fault which runs north east to south west across Scotland. Arran is a popular destination for geologists, who come to see intrusive igneous landforms such as sills and dykes, and sedimentary and meta-sedimentary rocks ranging in age from Precambrian to Mesozoic.Most of the interior of the northern half of the island is taken up by a large granite batholith that was created by substantial magmatic activity around 58 million years ago in the Paleogene period. This comprises an outer ring of coarse granite and an inner core of finer grained granite, which was intruded later. This granite was intruded into the Late Proterozoic to Cambrian metasediments of the Dalradian Supergroup. Other Paleogene igneous rocks on Arran include extensive felsic and composite sills in the south of the island, and the central ring complex, an eroded caldera system surrounded by a near-continuous ring of granitic rocks.
Sedimentary rocks dominate the southern half of the island, especially Old and New Red Sandstone. Some of these sandstones contain fulgurites – pitted marks that may have been created by Permian lightning strikes. Large aeolian sand dunes are preserved in Permian sandstones near Brodick, showing the presence of an ancient desert. Within the central complex are subsided blocks of Triassic sandstone and marl, Jurassic shale, and even a rare example of Cretaceous chalk. During the 19th century barytes was mined near Sannox. First discovered in 1840, nearly 5,000 tons were produced between 1853 and 1862. The mine was closed by the 11th Duke of Hamilton on the grounds that it "spoiled the solemn grandeur of the scene" but was reopened after the First World War and operated until 1938 when the vein ran out.
Visiting in 1787, the geologist James Hutton found his first example of an unconformity to the north of Newton Point near Lochranza, which provided evidence for his Plutonist theories of uniformitarianism and about the age of the Earth. This spot is one of the most famous places in the study of geology.
The Pleistocene glaciations almost entirely covered Scotland in ice, and Arran's highest peaks may have been nunataks at this time. After the last retreat of the ice at the close of the Pleistocene epoch sea levels were up to lower than at present and it is likely that circa 14,000 BP the island was connected to mainland Scotland. Sea level changes and the isostatic rise of land makes charting post-glacial coastlines a complex task, but it is evident that the island is ringed by post glacial raised beaches. King's Cave on the south west coast is an example of an emergent landform on such a raised beach. This cave, which is over long and up to high, lies well above the present day sea level. There are tall sea cliffs to the north east including large rock slides under the heights of Torr Reamhar, Torr Meadhonach and at Scriden at the far north end of the island.
The island has the highest concentration of pitchstone sources in the United Kingdom, with approximately 100 documented sources of it on the island.
Climate
The influence of the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf Stream create a mild oceanic climate. Temperatures are generally cool, averaging about in January and in July at sea level. The southern half of the island, being less mountainous, has a more favourable climate than the north, and the east coast is more sheltered from the prevailing winds than the west and south.Snow seldom lies at sea level and frosts are less frequent than on the mainland. As in most islands of the west coast of Scotland, annual rainfall is generally high at between in the south and west and in the north and east. The mountains are wetter still with the summits receiving over annually. May and June are the sunniest months, with upwards of 200 hours of bright sunshine being recorded on average.
History
Prehistory
Arran has a particular concentration of early Neolithic Clyde Cairns, a form of Gallery grave. The typical style of these is a rectangular or trapezoidal stone and earth mound that encloses a chamber lined with larger stone slabs. Pottery and bone fragments found inside them suggest they were used for interment and some have forecourts, which may have been an area for public display or ritual. There are two good examples in Monamore Glen west of the village of Lamlash, and similar structures called the Giants' Graves above Whiting Bay. There are numerous standing stones dating from prehistoric times, including six stone circles on Machrie Moor.Pitchstone deposits on the island were used locally to make various items in the Mesolithic era. In the Neolithic and the Early Bronze Age pitchstone from the Isle of Arran or items made from it were transported around Britain. It is thought to be the source of most, it not all, pitchstone artefacts found in the United Kingdom. There are more than 100 document sources of the material on the island that prehistoric people could have collected/mined from.
Several Bronze Age sites have been excavated, including Ossian's Mound near Clachaig and a cairn near Blackwaterfoot that produced a bronze dagger and a gold fillet. Torr a' Chaisteal Dun in the south west near Sliddery is the ruin of an Iron Age fortified structure dating from about AD 200. The original walls would have been or more thick and enclosed a circular area about in diameter.
In 2019, a Lidar survey revealed 1,000 ancient sites in Arran including a cursus near Drumadoon. Excavation began in 2023. This is believed to be the only complete example in Britain.