Welcome to HOLIDAY Arran – Your Arran Holiday starts here

Vikings and Buddhist monks have all found peace on Holy Isle

Author Holiday Arran

LAMLASH is just three miles south of the ferry terminal at Brodick.

The village is situated in a sheltered bay protected from the elements by the Holy Island rising a thousand feet out of the sea. In 1263 before the Battle of Largs, the Norse king Haakon anchored his fleet in Lamlash Bay. On the Holy Island the cave of Saint Molaise, who lived and died here in 639AD after accepting 30 diseases at once to avoid purgatory, has runic inscriptions, which may have been made by Viking sailors at this time.

The natural harbour is a haven for boat users and fisherman alike. Underwater enthusiasts can visit the Derwent shipwreck in the bay, dating back to 1880. Lamlash is the site of the only secondary school on the island, Arran High School and the Police station. Here you will also find a number of good pubs and hotels as well as a smaller Co-op shop selling all groceries. Lamlash Golf Club is perched on a hill as you travel into the village.

This 18 hole golf course is another example of a fabulous golf course and well worth a visit.

The Holy island is now a Buddhist monk retreat and a small ferry leaves Lamlash pier for the island every hour between 10am and 5pm. Visitors can walk up the backbone of the island – However, do keep to the path! There are dangerous crevasses hidden in the heather. From here there is a wonderful view of Arran and the mainland. The Buddhist Monastery is at the southern end but it is not accessible to the public as it is used as a place of retreat. Monks stay there for three years and three months. However, the path, which runs along the shoreline, is dotted with Buddhist art and shrines.
Whiting Bay is situated just around the corner over the hill from Lamlash. The village overlooks the Ayrshire coast and the southern tip of Scotland tapering down towards the Mull of Galloway.

Whiting Bay is comprised of several districts- Kings Cross, Sandbraes, Auchencairn, Knockankelly, North, mid and South Kiscadale, Largiemhor, Largiemeanoch and Largiebeg. There is a lot of evidence of pre-historic habitation in the area; the Giants Graves are the best known. The Vikings left their dead in the burial mound at Kings Cross and an early visitor was Robert the Bruce who sailed from the Kings Cross to the mainland and to victory proving that there is nothing like a holiday on Arran to prepare you for the battles ahead.

LAMLASH is just three miles south of the ferry terminal at Brodick.

The village itself has grown little by little from clusters of cottages on the shore and on the braes to crofts, farms, houses and hotels. The road to Lamlash used to go by Auchencairn until 1843 when the main shore road was constructed.
Contact with the mainland happened very infrequently usually by rowing boat in calmer weather.
Locally owned smaller boats would bring cargoes into the mouths of the burns and rivers and unload the contents into carts.
Later, passengers were landed from steamers at Kings Cross and even after the pier at Whiting Bay was built they still called at Kings Cross.

Whiting Bay

Whiting Bay as it is today began to take shape around the end of the 18th century with the construction of the pier and the expansion of businesses and the tourist trade. The opening of the golf course, tennis courts, bowling and putting greens made Whiting Bay a magnet for tourists. The golf course and bowling green are still thriving today but unfortunately the tennis courts have gone.

The Village Hall was opened in 1926 and no-one was allowed to set foot on the new floor unless they were wearing soft shoes. Before that the school was used for entertainment purposes but the hall has been a focal point of the village ever since it was built. The beach at Whiting Bay is a mixture of pebbles, rock pools and sand and is an exciting play area for any child. There are also swans and many other sea birds to see.
Services in the village include a selection of grocery stores, craft studios and coffee shops. Bicycles and boats can be hired from here and there are trips over to the Holy Island too. The village shop is a bustling, well laid out deli with shelves of speciality food ranging from health food products to Arran preserves. The chill cabinet has fresh butcher’s meat from Miller in Lamlash, fish from Creelers in Brodick and a full range of Arran cheeses. Cooked meats and hams are cut to order and there baked quiches and pies.

The Village Hall was opened in 1926 and no-one was allowed to set foot on the new floor unless they were wearing soft shoes.

There is a great display of fresh fruit and vegetables including Arran grown seasonal produce (some from local gardens) such as leeks and peas and Kildonan potatoes. There is a wide range of organic produce among the natural foods including organic bread. The shop is open all year round. One of the favourite walks on the island is to the Glen Ashdale falls. It takes you past farms and fields, through forest paths edged with ferns, mosses and lichens and past the tumbled stones of prehistoric forts. Not a long walk but so much to see, to reflect upon and enjoy, like Arran.

There is a lot of evidence of pre-historic habitation in the area; the Giants Graves are the best known.