Stunning UK island that’s like Cornwall in 1970s heyday – with cheap pubs, no traffic & dolphins swimming offshore
IT evoked pleasant memories of idyllic childhood holidays in Cornwall, days spent simply in dramatically rocky seaside settings.
Yet we weren’t on the Lizard, where those unforgettable 1970s family trips took place, but 500-odd miles further north, on the island of Arran in Scotland.
Arran continually reminded me of the Cornwall I knew and loved.
And in many ways it ended up being more like the Seventies one I recall than Cornwall itself seems now.
Because the last few times I’ve been there, it’s seemed to have become a victim of its own success — overbooked, overcrowded, overpriced and consequently overly stressful to try to relax in.
It starts with traffic jams on the M5, and continues with overflowing car parks at popular destinations and eateries where you have to book weeks in advance then pay central London prices.
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That’s certainly not how I remember those carefree annual family trips of the Seventies.
And that’s what Arran took me back to — simpler days that were hassle-free.
Take getting there. Unlike going to the South West, the traffic problems decline the closer you get to your destination.
It’s also the most southerly of Scotland’s many islands so the easiest for us English to get to.
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The final part of the journey to Arran is the obligatory ferry ride to the island — and this will wipe your travel cares away as you enter this extraordinary landscape of big skies, seas and mountain-fringed islands at a leisurely, bobbing pace.
And once you come off the ferry at Brodick around an hour later, you can forget about traffic jams for the duration of your stay.
Along with parking charges and traffic wardens and that whole depressing culture.
There are only three roads on the island — one that goes right around it and two that bisect it.
So it’s very easily navigable and offers that delightful combination of wildness and user-friendly access.
We had rented cosy Westview cottage, featuring sea views, in the village of Pirnmill, the sort of thing we could never have afforded in high summer you know where.
And in the course of our week there I encountered golden eagles, porpoises, hares, red squirrels, red deer, seals, snakes and more.
At one point, looking out of the front room window, I saw a pod of five dolphins swim past not 100 metres away.
I caught a (for me) huge sea bass off the beach outside our place, and found a set of red deer antlers on the foothills of the mountain above it.
There were some fabulous walks: to visit some of the island’s many neolithic standing stones and circles; to the cave where Robert the Bruce reputedly watched the patient spider that inspired him to fight on to become King of Scotland; up the Goat Fell mountain which commands awesome views.
We also took a day trip over the water to the peninsula of Kintyre, which is actually part of the mainland, visiting magnificent, deserted beaches including the one where Paul McCartney and Wings shot the video for Mull Of Kintyre.
There were indeed, as promised, valleys of green and the sunset was on fire.
But there was no mist rolling in from the sea — the sky was blue, the view clear for miles.
And the ferry to take the car and us to this little paradise cost just £16 each way.
Which brings me back to the bills: these are not London prices.
The first pub round I bought in Scotland cost me half of what I pay down south.
We ate seafood at several places which were astonishingly good — notably Mara at Corrie on Arran and Skipness Seafood Cabin next to a castle on Kintyre — but entirely affordable, aided by the fact both allowed you to bring your own drinks, for no extra charge.
And parking is universally free.
We saw one temporary traffic light and — don’t tell anyone — we just drove through the red light.
Because no one was waiting at the other side. And no one noticed or cared.
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In fairness, what made our week particularly magical was that it was sunny every day, something that does not come as standard in Scotland — but then neither does it anywhere in the UK. It’s always a gamble.
But it was the closest I’ve yet come to recapturing that lost feeling of childhood holiday magic.
GO: Arran
GETTING THERE: A return sailing on the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry to Arran from Ardrossan is from £50 for a car and two passengers in October.
To book, see calmac.co.uk.
STAYING THERE: A week self-catering at the two-bed Westview Cottage in Pirnmill is from £575 in total in October, and from £420 in November.
See arran-clisham.co.uk.
MORE INFO: See visitarran.com.