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Sundae · 01-13-2011, 08:09 AM

Limey explained that Scotland is split into the craggy and breathtaking Highlands and the rolling and pastoral Lowlands by a geological fault. The same fault runs across Arran, making it Scotland in miniature, and a wonderfully diverse landscape within a thirty mile length. Honestly, I have never seen so many different vistas in such a short distance - it's like a theme park, every corner you turn a different view with a different mood. Except this is real and natural and people live here.

We took the coast road clockwise from the harbour.
We drove through many strung out little villages, some no more than hamlets. The general building is low-level, single storey, many white painted or stone built with slate roofs. There are long stretches of coast-hugging road with no habitation in sight. And few of the villages have facilities, certainly to the North of the Island. Limey pointed out the tiny village schools - something they are lucky to still have compared to England. But precious few shops or pubs.

The road climbed up into the craggy landscape to the North taking up us away from the sea and into what felt like mountains to this Bucks-reared Southerner. They were amazing, like another world compared to the coast. Snow topped peaks, rushing burns, the whole countryside roughened by the shaggy pelt of dead vegetation it wears in winter.

And deer!
Lots of them after Limey showed me how to identify the shape of a head-down-grazing doe. We saw at least one stag. Gardens often have deer fences - not great to look at, but the gardens beyond are splendidly manicured.

They also have golden eagles, red squirrels, seals and basking sharks. But it would have been terribly greedy to expect those too.

01-13-2011, 08:09 AM	#146
Sundae polaroid of perfection Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 24,185	Limey explained that Scotland is split into the craggy and breathtaking Highlands and the rolling and pastoral Lowlands by a geological fault. The same fault runs across Arran, making it Scotland in miniature, and a wonderfully diverse landscape within a thirty mile length. Honestly, I have never seen so many different vistas in such a short distance - it's like a theme park, every corner you turn a different view with a different mood. Except this is real and natural and people live here. We took the coast road clockwise from the harbour. We drove through many strung out little villages, some no more than hamlets. The general building is low-level, single storey, many white painted or stone built with slate roofs. There are long stretches of coast-hugging road with no habitation in sight. And few of the villages have facilities, certainly to the North of the Island. Limey pointed out the tiny village schools - something they are lucky to still have compared to England. But precious few shops or pubs. The road climbed up into the craggy landscape to the North taking up us away from the sea and into what felt like mountains to this Bucks-reared Southerner. They were amazing, like another world compared to the coast. Snow topped peaks, rushing burns, the whole countryside roughened by the shaggy pelt of dead vegetation it wears in winter. And deer! Lots of them after Limey showed me how to identify the shape of a head-down-grazing doe. We saw at least one stag. Gardens often have deer fences - not great to look at, but the gardens beyond are splendidly manicured. They also have golden eagles, red squirrels, seals and basking sharks. But it would have been terribly greedy to expect those too. __________________ Life's hard you know, so strike a pose on a Cadillac Last edited by Sundae; 01-13-2011 at 09:45 AM.