Thursday 24 July 2014

Adventures to Arran


A few weeks ago I went across the sea on the Waverly Paddle Steamer for a day on the Isle of Arran. The Waverly is the last sea going paddle steamer in the world and sets off from harbours up and down the country during summer months but can still be enjoyed on the Thames through to the end of October. You can check out here if there is a harbour near you. If you get the chance then I would recommend a sailing on it, except if you get sea sick very easily as it doesn't take much for the boat to rock back and forth. The day I went the sea was almost perfectly still which made for a very pleasant sailing across.

As the Waverly leaves right from Ayr Harbour which is very convenient for me as it is about about a 5 minute car ride for me. The sailing took just under two hours which goes by pretty quickly when your boyfriend is overexcited about being on a boat and taking a million photos of everything! The weather had been undecided on what to do but the minute we arrived at Brodick harbour it was warm and sunny even if there were some dark clouds lurking on occasion.


 We took the a rather bumpy open top bus to Brodick castle, where we stopped for lunch before looking around the gardens and inside the castle itself. You could wander the gardens for hours but as dark clouds appeared we decided to take cover inside. It didn't even rain in the end. There are alot of interesting things in the castle and I really liked how there were guides in each rooms should you have questions. I always feel I should ask intellectual questions but usually just end up asking "what's that?".



We decided to walk back into the centre of Brodick which should only take about half an hour. However I thought we should take the much more scenic route along the beach but ended up of a flat rock covered and slippery beach instead of the sandy beach  I thought it was. Seeing as I pretty much can't go anywhere without hurting myself I slipped on seaweed and went flying backwards landing on my right arm. Despite being incredibly painful I knew it wasn't broken as I could move my fingers and arm. A few days later movement became unbearable so off to A+E I went where after 5 x-rays I was told I had a badly sprained wrist/arm, hence why this post is belated. I had a sling to wear for a few days and painkillers to ease the pain. It's much better now but still can't do certain movements yet such as throwing the dog's ball with the ball launcher.

After almost breaking my wrist and arm we stopped off at Arran Aromatics and the cheese Factory Shop. It was a quick visit as funnily enough I wasn't in the browsing mood. We walked back the rest of the way and got chips to eat at the beach while we waited for the Waverly. The sailing back was even better as it was still warm, if you stayed at the front or top of the boat. We had a very snap happy time on the way back but these are just a couple of my favourite shots.



Have you ever been to Arran or on the Waverly?

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