Arran - 1st Bikepack

[petemaz]

Well, last night was my first (hopefully of many) bikepacking adventures over on the Isle of Arran. I've backpacked and hill-walked for years, so it was strange having to leave a fair amount of gear at home due to limited 'luggage' space. I chose Arran as I've visited it many times before and was aware of some decent bike trails, indeed the latest issue of mountain bike UK lists Arran as a hidden gem of a destination. The Arran bike club http://www.arranbikeclub.com/cycling.htm gives some good routes and advice on where to go, but as this was my first trip and really just a tester for how my existing gear coped and also how I coped with my new 29er bike, i chose the easier grade circular route behind Brodick Castle. I got the later ferry over to Arran on Saturday and arrived about 4:15pm, this gave me a few hours to find my route and explore the trails. After a couple of hours of easy foresty/bike trails I ended up on the path to the island's highest hill, Goatfell (874m). I figured if I cycled/walked up the path beyond the tree line I should hopefully find a decent flat pitch for the tent. I tried to time it so most walkers should be coming off the hill at that point, and sure enough I only encountered a few weary walkers returning to the main town on the island, Brodick. Eventually, at a height of around 350m (a fair distance after the tree line and just below the snowline) I found a dry but not particularly flat spot to camp (Arran's like a big sponge, it' can be nightmare trying to find a decent camp spot). Byt his time, it was getting on a bit and i figured there was only another 30mins or so of light left so quickly up with the tent and get dinner on. The night was pretty cold, my sleeping bag seems to have lost a bit of down recently plus I just didn't have enough warm clothes with me due to lack of space, however I managed a fair sleep and woke about 6:30 to the sun streaming in the tent. I was up and away about an hour later and with an 11:05am ferry to catch, had some fun on the trails and forestry tracks (note to self - need new tyres, the kenda's that came with the bike really struggled in the mud and snow). I was back in Brodick for about 10am with just a shortish wait for the ferry back to the mainland.

I'd really recommend Arran for anyone who wants something a little different. The hour long ferry makes the journey feel a bit 'exotic' lol, and the island has that general wilderness feel that the Highlands have.

Anyway, I'm struggling to work out how to post pics on this site, so here's half a dozen of the better ones I took during the trip:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9247320@N0 ... otostream/

[Mike]

good effort sounds like there could be a potential trip there sometime followed by a few of the other isles to :D

[Ray Young]

Looks good, might be up for a visit myself.

To post pictures from flickr left click on share, right click over the text that appears, left click on copy, in a seperate tab have the bear bones site open on the post you want to put a picture in, with the flashing cursor to the left of the page right click next to it and left click paste, check in preview and you should have a picture.

[ScotRoutes]

Nice one - and a great idea for a destination. A couple of days on Arran would be pretty much ideal.

[petemaz]

cheers folks, and thanks Ray for the Flickr advice!

Arran is a great place and you could either stay there for a couple of days doing different levels of trail, or you could jump on a ferry and head off to the other islands. i think you get cheap island-hopper tickets and bikes usually go for free.

I'll maybe post something up later in the year to see if anyone fancies a trip out there, with the optional extra to visit other islands...