Whasblog

Well I’m back from Arran and what an adventure it was.

The first day was spent travelling, what with it taking the best part of twelve hours to get there. We stopped at a lovely truck stop in Cumbria for lunch and ate chips and did some group socialising. However the real fun started on the Sunday. Our first stop was a waterfall, Glenashdale Falls. And a very big and pretty one it was too. It was here I had my first experience of leading a totally blind fellow up a rather treacherous steep path. The chap did very well though over the week, incredibly adventurous for someone sightfully impaired. After the waterfall it was off to church, would have seemed rude to opt out as they were providing us with lunch afterwards. It was a special service in which all the churches all over the island gathered together. Alas this didn’t prevent me doing nodding off a few times. After lunch we went for a seaside walk, specifically to look at seaweed. Perhaps more entertaining for the students who did biology related subjects, so I got my camera gear out and took some photos. Now one must understand that lenses do not enjoy rocks, or salt water, so as you can imagine dropping my lens in a rock pool was not a good way to exude professionalism.

The second day was spent in search of the Arran Whitebeam, a special kind of tree found only on the island. Again, lacking a keen interest in conservation or biology, I was mainly in it for the walk and promises of breathtaking landscapes. However this day the heavens opened and rain and sleet poured forth. Without waterproof trousers I was soaked to my b0x0rz before even getting halfway. We had to abandon the trip due to the weather as at places the footpath was a stream inches deep at the bottom of Glen Catacol. Snow fell on the hillsides and we all dried ourselves and our boots by the fire in a hotel, much to the disgruntlement of the staff. The image on the right shows the Glen, but doesn’t really show you just how soaking the whole place was. I never believed hills and mountains could shed quite so much water into valleys, water was cascading down the slopes in some places. On the way back we saw some red deer on the hillsides, but the snow and distance prevented me from getting any decent shots. They were mere specks on the hillside.

And so day three dawned, and with the dawn we were already out and about on our way to the ferry for Holy Island, a little island off Arran is owned by Buddhists, and thus there is a retreat there where Buddhists do live. We went for a walk around the edge of the island seeing the wild ponies and mountain goats. ‘Tis a beautiful place almost untouched by humans.

Then, still dripping from more rain, we were invited to take part in a meditation led by one of the monks staying on the island, which was rather good. As part of the trip we’d already been meditating every morning and evening, not serious proper meditation, just clearing your mind of thoughts and bringing yourself back to the present. I found this to be very beneficial for my photography, helping me to pay attention to what was going on around me. I think it was due to the meditation that I wasn’t so irritated about breaking my lens too. Anyway, the meditation with the monk, fine until he started chanting, then I almost got the giggles (giggle loop style), but managed to contain myself. Phew! There’s also a tiny retreat on Holy Island where female Buddhists shut themselves away for 3 years 3 months and 3 days. We couldn’t work out the significance of this, but if I was stuck there for that long I think I’d go quite mad. Almost as mad as the Saint who apparently lived in a cave on the island, and preached from a flat topped rock. I refrained from drinking out of the holy spring any more than a drop, wild animals roaming around hardly makes for a clean area to drink from. Call me unadventurous if you will.

Our last full day on the island started with a shore walk to find Hutton’s Unconformity. This is one of the places Hutton used as evidence that the Earth was millions of years old, where rocks of two slantings can be seen next to each other, sorry but I’m no geologist. Finally we went to see the standing stones at Machrie Moor. Whilst not as impressive as Stonehenge the landscape made up for it, with cloud whipping the top of Ard Bheinn up ahead.

That rather concludes what I have to say about the trip! In conclusion I would describe Arran as wet. Filled with natural beauty, but wet. And a good time was had by all. Hoorah. :happy: