Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Blackwaterfoot. Pick up a timetable from the tourist office. An Arran Day Rider ticket
costs £4.90 and permits travel anywhere on the island for a day (buy it from the driver).
BRODICK & AROUND
Most visitors arrive in Brodick, the beating heart of the island, and congregate along the
coastal road to admire the town's long curving bay.
Sights
Many of Brodick's attractions are just out of town, off the main road that runs north to Lo-
chranza.
Brodick Castle & Park
(NTS;
www.nts.org.uk
; adult/child castle & park £11.50/8.50, park only £6.50/5.50;
castle 11am-4.30pm Apr-Oct, park 9.30am-sunset year-round)
Your first impression of
this estate 2.5 miles north of Brodick will be of an animal morgue - you enter via the
hunting gallery, which is wallpapered with prized deer heads. On the way to the formal
dining room (with its peculiar table furnishings), note the intricacy of the fireplace in the
library. The castle has more of a lived-in feel than some NTS properties, and only a small
portion of the building is open to visitors. The extensive grounds, now a country park with
various trails among the rhododendrons, justify the steep entry fee.
CASTLE
SOAP FACTORY
Arran Aromatics
(
01770-302595;
www.arranaromatics.com
; 9.30am-6pm)
In Duchess Court is this
popular visitor centre where you can purchase any number of scented items and watch the
production line at work. The same people also run
Soapworks
(soapmaking from £7.50;
10am-4pm)
, a fun little place where kids (and adults...) can experiment by making their
own soaps, combining colours and moulds to make weird and wonderful creations.
Isle of Arran Brewery
(
01770-302353;
www.arranbrewery.com
;
tour £4; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat, 12.30-5pm
Sun Apr-Sep, 10am-3.30pm Mon & Wed-Sat Oct-Mar)
At the Cladach centre, this brew-
ery produces the excellent quality Arran beers. Warning: Arran Dark is highly addictive.
Tours run daily: call for times as they vary by season. There's a good
outdoors shop
here
too, if you're heading up Goatfell.
BREWERY
