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!