Leaving

In the past, the days I've been harking back to, leaving Arran - or rather, leaving Brodick, where we've been staying, in the high season - involved crowds of people lining the pier to see the ferry off, and the chucking of toilet rolls which, as they unravelled in flight, formed great streamers tying the departing ship to the pier in a symbolic "don't go" gesture. Really. I'm not making it up, though looking back it does seem completely bonkers.  

Our departure today was much less dramatic. We left, after an insanely big breakfast, at 11am, stopped at the Arran Cheese Shop to buy some ... well, cheese ... and headed on over the north part of the island to Lochranza, which is the subject of my main photo, there to get on the drive-up-and-go ferry to Claonaig on the Argyll mainland. We stopped briefly at another favourite spot, North Glen Sannox, which is geologically fascinating and significant, having the Highland Boundary Fault line pass through it. It is also rather lovely, and a walk we would have done had we had another day of holiday in which to do it.

Lochranza is picturesque with its castle, which looks like a classic Scottish L-plan tower house of the 1500s, but has actually been redeveloped from a much earlier medieval hall-house. In my infancy  it was rendered more interesting for me by the presence on the grass of a large wooden see-saw, but it seems to have vanished. We had time for a walk to the castle and back, and I made extra time to paddle before we had to board the MV Catriona for the half-hour crossing.

The drive north and round Loch Fyne was pretty speedy and more tiring than I remember - I hate the way age affects perfectly ordinary things. Our neighbour-but-one had taken in our wine box, delivered while we were away; the Argyll Rally had been passing our houses last evening and not today, as I had feared, and the rose Josephine Bruce had flowered and was filling the garden with its perfume. We've more or less unpacked and I've washed and dried the first little collection before the rains come.

Extra photo of North Glen Sannox.