Hello,
My son and I plan to take advantage of the fact that we will both be in Europe mid August and meet up in Glasgow before returning to the States. Unfortunately, we will only have 2 nights and 3 days. We prefer outdoors and nature type activities over cities. We will not be renting a car.
I am considering one of the following options, based on recommendations I've read on this forum and the fact that they will be relatively less crowded compared to Skye etc. Thinking of heading there from Glasgow day 1 (will arrive the night before), spending 2 nights there and returning to Glasgow before dinner on Day 3. Fly back to the US the following morning. Accommodations are available at these places for my dates and I'm aware I should book ASAP.
(1) Isle of Arran
(2) Isle of Mull. Will probably not go to Staff since it seems that the chances seem reasonably high that we will not be able to actually get on the island
If you could only do one or the other, which one would you pick and why? Would really appreciate any guidance you can provide to help us make the most of this very short visit.
Thank you!
Posted by
Sidney, BC, Canada
993 posts
My choice would be Arran as it is a shorter and quicker journey from Glasgow. It’s a good choice for a short stay. For visitors there are castles, distilleries, archaeological sites, hiking, beaches and lots of scenery. A visit to Holy Island, just offshore, is an option if time and weather permitted.
Posted by
Lake District, England
8131 posts
That is a very hard choice. For me, in this scenario, either would be choices 4 or 5.
My first 3 choices, in order, would be the Isle of Gigha (a bit of my heart is there), Islay (and not especially for the Whisky), and Cumbrae (a traditional Glasgow holiday isle, still a bit steeped in it's past Victorian glory- I love it as a day trip and would like to overnight there- a small enough island to explore by foot).
But to return to your choices, for you it would be Arran.
The reasons are-
1. You have to get back to Glasgow on a certain day. Although very unlikely in August it is possible to get stranded on Mull by weather events (at least if using public transport, less likely by car).
On Arran there are 3 possible mainland ports, all with public transport to Glasgow- Troon, Ardrossan and Claonaig. And, as happened last week, CalMac are also still willing to divert to Gourock in place of Ardrossan in bad weather (I thought Troon was now the bad weather port so that was a surprise). So, while not 100% it is as near as certain as possible that I will get off the island.
At the moment I personally would choose to arrive via Troon and leave via Claonaig. In bad weather the boats from Lochranza divert to Tarbert (Loch Fyne) in place of Claonaig- same bus route.
- Arran essentially only has 2 roads- the round island and the cross island (or string) road. So the whole road network is served by bus, on a basic 2 hourly headway. Thus I can get to anywhere I want to get to pretty efficiently. And there are good value day rover tickets.
On Mull there are places I (personally) want to get to which are either not bus served, or by very rare bus services- such as Calgary and Ulva (both very infrequent bus), Lochbuie (no bus) and the back road from Calgary to Salen (no bus). Craignure to Tobermory is a frequent bus, but on to Fionphort for Iona is only 3 a day.
So with only 2 days on Mull I would struggle to use my time efficiently. It is also going to take me most of Day 1 to reach Mull by not overly frequent bus or train. Arran is 2 and a bit hours from Glasgow, by far more frequent train to Ardrossan and Troon or bus to Troon and Claonaig.
Posted by
Lake District, England
8131 posts
PS- I write the above, then look at my CalMac notifications. This morning the ferry to Troon is cancelled due to a technical problem, and the one to Ardrossan is cancelled due to weather- on amber warning for later in the day.
So as I write Lochranza to Claonaig is the only way on and off the Island, and this is July!
Just shows the need to be flexible when going to any island in Scotland, whichever you choose.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you Lesley and isn31c for your detailed feedback. I was already leading towards Arran for many of the reasons you cited and you have added additional ones regarding why it is the better choice given our parameters. I will add Holy Island to my list of possible activities in Arran and make note of the other places you mentioned with the hope of visiting in the future. Will also have a clear idea of Glasgow-Arran-Glasgow transportation options in case the chosen one is impacted and a high level plan in case we are unable to get to Arran and have to remain on the mainland. After that, go with the flow. I'm sure we'll have a great time no matter what we end up doing. Thanks again!!!