Dreaming Big: The Arran Coastal Way comes of age.

I awoke this morning to sad news of the death of Doug Tompkins, the founder of The North Face and a conservationist who committed much of his vast wealth to founding National Parks in Patagonia. I only recently became fully aware of Doug's work, when a friend pointed me at a beautiful film: 180° South. I've included the link to the Youtube version below- it's a fairly long film, but worth the effort, so after reading this blog maybe make yourself another cuppa and get some popcorn.... 

Anyway, only this morning I learned (via Twitter from Alan Halewood) that Doug was also instrumental in gaining a big donation from The North Face for restoring the Allt a'Mhuilinn path to Ben Nevis. A path that has profoundly improved my personal experience of the walk in to climb on the beloved Ben.  

It was with Doug's legacy in mind that I headed out of my house to attend the opening of a new monument to mark the start and finish of the Arran Coastal Way, a 65 mile circular route around the island. We'd hoped a few of hillwalking's great and good would be able to make it to the island, but with the ferries on Amber Alert today, it was just locals who attended- but what a crowd came out and braved the weather!  It was heartening to see so many familiar faces and good friends at the event. The monument itself is a beautiful, tactile sculpture made by a collaboration local artists (design and metal work by Simon Horne, woodwork and carving by Tom Buchan and Sam Easson, plus stonework by the Coastal Way Team).  I'm going to love showing it to clients and friends who visit our isle.

The new monument, designed by Simon Horne

After the ribbon was cut, we retired to the Douglas Hotel to hear about the latest developments in the Coastal Way project. My work takes me to all corners of the island and together with my clients I'm often to be found watching wildlife on parts of the Coastal Way. The superb footpath through the boulder field at An Scriodan has vastly improved the experience of walkers around the Cock of Arran.  A similarly ambitious path has recently been put in place across the rough scree under the fluted cliffs of Drumadoon Point. Project Officer Rachel Sedman and her team of dedicated pathworkers (Scott, Stu and David) have done an extraordinary job of uprgading and improving access in a number of tricky spots. We now hear that another big grant award will enable to project to continue for a year longer than originally planned- with more improvements to come.

A new path takes Coastal Way walkers under Drumadoon Cliffs

It's important to put these developments in to context.  The Arran Coastal Way was the dream and brainchild of two local men, Hugh McKerrell and Dick Sim. Sadly both men have now passed away, but I was lucky enough to know Dick for a few years.  A quiet man with an elvish air, he was passionate about access on Arran and although he had climbed and mountaineered all over Scotland, pioneering new routes as he went, he was sure that there was nowhere more special and attractive than his little island. In 2003 Cameron McNeish opened the new trail, although from the start it was always a work in progress.  It wasn't without controversy either: Dick's enthusiastic waymarking with yellow paint prompted a few heated discussions in the letters page of the Arran Banner! The yellow paint has all but completely faded, but Dick's legacy lives on.  Everyone would agree that together with Hugh McKerrell, it was his energy and enthusiasm that was the spark needed to create a world class long distance walk. The trail and its beautiful new monument are testament to the power of individuals who dream big.

Like Dick, Doug Tompkins didn't make everyone happy all of the time. His money enabled him to purchase millions of acres of wilderness plus adjacent land, via the Conservation Land Trust. This was often to the alarm of the Chilean and Argentinian governments, and against the wishes of local ranchers. His vision was vast, and its effects powerfully felt on all sides. The land he bought has been or is in the process of being gifted back to the Patagonian people in the form of National Parks such as the 800,000 acre Pumalin Park in Chile.

Dick did not have Doug's money, but he had his vision, and in his own way was able to bring lasting positive change to the landscape that he loved. The money brought by visiting walkers helps keep this little island economy afloat, and the new paths protect fragile shoreline habitats from erosion.  I know that thousands of people will enjoy the Arran Coastal Way in coming years.  I'm sure that they will fall in love with the wild and rugged coastline, with it's windswept beaches and friendly villages, and appreciate it just as we who live here do.

Abigail, the first snows, and Cock Farm

We've avoided the worst of Storm Abigail here on Arran, with the strongest winds passing to the north although as I type, a rolling thunderstorm is chuntering overhead. Wally and I headed out in to the weather this morning, but avoided the worst of it with a circular walk from Lochranza over to the east coast. It was pretty wild, but apart from some sideways snow on the Narachan (it is settling in the mountains... woop!), and ferocious hail around Fairy Glen, we stayed dry. It was a gloomy day though so I enjoyed tinkering with the mono settings on my camera. We avoided Laggan Cottage for a change, and cut down through the historic ruins of Cock Farm, ancestral home of Harold Macmillan, partially deserted during the clearances, and finally abandoned in the early 20th century.

 

Laggan: Lost World

Yesterday Ian and Sandra braved a poor weather forecast to join me on a circular walk from Lochranza, around the Cock of Arran, and back over the moor from Laggan Cottage.  The walk takes in some very remote coastline, rough boulders on the beach, and passes through the lost hamlet of Laggan, where some 100+ crofters made their living from subsistence farming and salt panning for the salt herring market.  Sadly in the late 18th Century, more "modern" farming strategies prompted wholesale clearing of tenant crofters on Arran to make way for ranch style pastoralism. It is a poignant walk through ruins and empty hollows, and a reminder of how harsh life was for the crofter in days gone by.

Today, this walk is also a stunning journey with magnificent views of Bute and the Arrochar Alps.  There is abundant wildlife including red deer, otters and birds of prey, rare flowers and world famous geology to be enjoyed on route.

 Ragged Robin heavy with raindrops on the Northern Shore beyond An Scriodan ("The Scree"). An Scriodan is a rough boulder field that bars the way between Lochranza and Laggan, best negotiated at low tide. 

 A sheltered natural harbour close to the old salt panning village on the shore.  Here the villagers mined a rough seam of coal to heat their salt pans. On the southern wall of this harbour it is possible to see the fossil footprints of the giant Centipede Arthropleura who trundled this way around 300 million years ago.

 Laggan Cottage, all that remains of the small hamlet and network of farms in the area. 

 View from the top of the Narachan track down to Lochranza, a moorland pony road that linked the two villages.  Lochranza was where the inhabitants of Laggan went to school and to church.

Dreich

The online Urban Dictionary defines the Scots word dreich as: "A combination of dull, overcast, drizzly, cold, misty and miserable weather. At least 4 of the above adjectives must apply before the weather is truly dreich...."  I'd say that all of the above applied today, and I'd throw in windy and wild for good measure. Anne and I had hoped for a walk in the mountains but with the burns full and gales roaring across the tops we opted for a low level walk from Lochranza around the Cock of Arran. I've blogged about this route before, but I've never done it in such appalling weather! Nevertheless, we had a fantastic day, enjoyed some great views, and set the world to rights. Thanks Anne for a great day out. Hope you've dried off by now!
Today we chose to do it in an anticlockwise direction, aiming to hit the rough scramble of An Scriodan as the tide was dropping.  We set off up the good Narachan track, and before long we were treated to views of red deer on the golf course below.

Enjoying the sweet grass on the golf course. 

The track climbs above the village and heads to the open moor between Lochranza and the sea. Even in the wet weather, the delicious gorse scent from the whins was heavenly.

We dropped down the other side of the moor, and peeked in at Laggan Cottage before heading along the coast to the ruined mining village where we stopped to grab some lunch in a sheltered bay.

Shades of grey....

After lunch we had a pleasant walk along side the sea, where we saw seals and red breasted mergansers, and found plenty of otter signs, before the final scramble around An Scriodan back to Lochranza.

The massive boulders at the north tip of the island were great for sheltering amongst!

(Basking) Shark!

One of the best coastal walks on Arran follows the shore from Sannox, around the Cock of Arran to Lochranza. Its about 15km of remote coastline, ancient villages, caves and wildlife. This week Iain and Joy joined me for the day to view wildlife and explore the coast. The picture below shows the remote Laggan Cottage, only accessible on foot, and the view north towards Kintyre.

As we walked along the shore, buzzards circled overhead, and gannets dived dramatically into the sea on our right. If we looked carefully out to sea we could make out the dancing shapes of manx shearwaters skimming across the whitecaps.

The highpoint of the day however was without doubt a basking shark, feeding on plankton in the sheltered waters close to the shore. These giants of the sea are harmless to humans, but sadly increasingly rare. At about 12 foot long this one was not large- they can grow to be 25 feet plus! If you are lucky enough to spot a basking shark you can record your sighting on the Marine Conservation Society website. Very little is known about these gentle giants and every reported sighting adds to the knowledge.

Finally, a gratuitous wildflower shot!  Grass of Parnassus is in bloom on the boggy coastlines of Arran at the moment, and is absolutely beautiful. You can see it right now on the Sannox to Lochranza walk, and also along the shore near Kings caves. It is a pale fleshy flower, with grey veins, about 2-3 cm in diameter.  The leaves are round and found near the base of a single stem.