Isle of Arran
| Isle of Arran | |
|---|---|
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| Waters | Firth of Clyde |
| Geographical location | 55 ° 34 ′ N , 5 ° 15 ′ W |
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| surface | 430 km² |
| Highest elevation |
Goat fur 874 m |
| Residents | 4626 (2011) 11 inhabitants / km² |
| main place | Brodick |
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The Isle of Arran ( Scottish Gaelic : Eilean Arainn , short: Arran ) is an island belonging to the Scottish Council Area North Ayrshire . It lies in the Firth of Clyde in western Scotland and is separated from the Kintyre peninsula by Kilbrennan Sound .
It should not be confused with the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland in County Galway or Aran Island also off the west coast of Ireland (County Donegal ).
geography
Arran is sometimes referred to as a miniature version of Scotland as the island shows different landscapes to the north and south. Favored by the Gulf Stream , it has a mild climate that even allows palm trees to flourish. The interior of the 32 km long and 16 km wide island (430 km 2 ) is not accessible by roads, especially in the strongly rugged, mountainous, boggy northern part and is a popular hiking and geological area. Here is the 874 meter high Goat Fell , the highest mountain on the island. Glen Iorsa , the largest valley on the island, begins about six kilometers northwest of Goat Fell . It runs for 13.5 km in a south-westerly direction to Dougarie on Kilbrannan Sound . In 2011 there were 4626 people on the island, 848 of them in the port of Brodick . Other ports are in Lamlash and Lochranza .
Only 31 inhabitants (2011 census), the 95 one hectare large neighboring island Holy Iceland about 600 meters east of the King Cross Point , the easternmost point of Arran, on the island of Arran Holy St. Las lived. Today the island belongs to Buddhists who run a monastery and a training center there (as of 2010). The uninhabited island of Pladda, only around 15 hectares in size, is 1,100 meters south of Arran.
The island is divided into the Civil Parishes Kilmore (east, with Holy Island) and Kilbride (west, with Pladda).
geology
Neolithic artifacts of pitchstone , a high quality volcanic glass, found at Ballygalley in County Antrim in Northern Ireland and mainland Scotland are clearly from the Corriegills-Clauchland area in southeast Arran. Similar stone qualities also occur at Eigg , Mull and Raasay as well as at Ardnamurchan on the Scottish mainland.
Early history
In addition to the prehistoric monuments, a Scandinavian grave with weapons from before 750 was found on the island .
Attractions
On Arran are found
- Brodick Castle and Lochranza Castle
- the Cairns or Clyde tombs and stone boxes from:
- the duns
- Kilpatrick
- Caisteal Torr (or Torr a'Caistel)
- Machrie Moor with stone boxes and menhirs
- Glen Cloy, near Brodick, is a roundhouse excavated in 2001 with a complex basement from the 2nd or 1st century BC. Chr.
- Aucheleffan , a stone circle
Many of the sights can be explored on a circular hike on the Arran Coastal Way .
Economy and Transport
On Arran there is the Arran whiskey distillery and a brewery.
The main road on the coast runs completely around the island; in the south there are also some cross connections. Public buses run in both directions from Brodick.
The following ferry lines connect Arran with mainland Scotland:
- Ardrossan (Ayrshire) –Brodick (Arran), travel time around 55 minutes
- Lochranza (Arran) - Claonaig (Kintyre Peninsula), travel time around 30 minutes
- Isle of Arran
Auchagallion Cairn
Blackwaterfoot
Ferry coming from Claonaig
Lochranza Castle and Village
literature
- Paddy Dillon: Walking in the Isle of Arran. 2nd edition. Cicerone, Milnthorpe 2006, ISBN 1-85284-478-7 .
- Stephen Whitehorne: The Southern Hebrides and Arran. Illustrations by Hamish Haswell-Smith. Birlinn, Edinburgh 2002, ISBN 1-84158-212-3 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gleniorsa. In: Francis H. Groome: Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical. Volume 3: (Edr - Har). Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh et al. 1885, p. 187.
- ↑ 2011 census data
- ^ Anton W. Brøgger : Den norske bosetningen på Shetland-Orknøyene. Study og resultater (= Norske Videnskaps-Akademi i Oslo - Historisk-Filosofisk Klasse. Skrifter. 1930, 3, ISSN 0546-370X ). Dybwad (on commission), Oslo 1930, p. 205.