Rough Draft Itinerary Arran, Glasgow, Edinburgh

If you switch Thursday and Friday around Paisley Abbey do Guided Tours at 2pm on a Tuesday and Thursday for £5

We going to Scotland and Isle of Arran in a week. There's now a second distillery on Arran at Lagg on the southern end of the island

Leonard, that’s awesome! I’m looking forward to hearing about your trip.

Stuart, thanks for the heads up. I was thinking of staying in Glasgow on our last night so we’d have more time in Edinburgh for a longer day on Thursday. We usually get squared away for packing to go home after dinner (sometimes going back out for a quick drink, goodbye stroll), so I thought we’d be losing time in Edinburgh if we went there on Friday (train back, etc).

I’m flexible, though!

When you are in Lochranza on Arran, stop at The Sandwich Station, which is a little shack selling the most wonderful sandwiches made with local Arran bread. I ordered a ham sandwich and it was so good! It's right across from the ferry port—you can't miss it. https://thesandwichstation.weebly.com/ They're not open year round but are open through the end of September.

Here's a fun article written about it as well: https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/why-this-special-sandwich-bar-is-scottish-islands-best-kept-secret-4703371

There's now a second distillery on Arran at Lagg on the southern end of the island.

Yeah, it's been there a few years now and it's a nice one. I'm pretty sure the busses run down to Lagg. You can also get a meal at the Lagg Hotel. That's where I stayed in 2023, and enjoyed the food a lot. The husband (it's owned by a couple) is a chef and cooks all the meals. He was very funny and wanted me to try the burger one night so I could tell him whether it ranked up there with American burgers, lol! I assured him it did! :-)

Also, there are a lot of good restaurants near the Kelvingrove that would be a good place for lunch. I stopped at an Indian restaurant called Mother of India’s Café. The food was a tad spicier than what I’m used to but delicious (especially the enormous garlic naan) and went down well with a beer.

Thanks for the restaurant suggestions mardee. Making note of both.

I was looking at the stagecoach website, and added the app today. Just looking at the bus ticket prices, it would seem that with the three of us, the Group Arran Day rider is the best option? Covers all travel over the island £20/ per day. Or should we just do Tap and pay single trips? I didn’t see a multi day option. We will be there Sat through Tues.

There is an Arran 7 day Megarider for £23.50 each.

Ok, I missed that one. Thanks Stuart! I was looking at the Ayrshire one and didn’t think it covered all parts of Arran. This one you sent does. The price will be a bit higher when we go, £25, but I think since that is the only way we will be traveling for our three and half days it will work well.

In starting to plot out our days and how to get where we want to be, I was looking into a short hike on our first arrival day. I saw one called the Kilmory Beach Circular Walk that is a bit under 2 miles. It originates from the Lagg Hotel. The 323 bus looks like an option to get to and fro back to Brodick. If that doesn’t work, can we opt for calling a taxi to get us there? I wasn’t sure with the size of Arran if taxis were plentiful and I could call on the spur of the moment or if I should reserve ahead?

The bus certainly works. There is a taxi rank outside the ferry terminal.

Mustlovedogs

You're going to love Scotland!

In Edinburgh, we all enjoyed the Secrets of Edinburgh's Royal Mile Tour with Mercat Tours . The guide had a great sense of humor and kept everyone engaged.

Happy planning!

Thanks for the suggestion jean. I’m trying to determine how to best go about seeing as much of Edinburgh as we can with only a full day from this trip. I saw the company you referenced has a shorter (without the Castle’s interior tour). The longer one is 2:15, shorter version 1:30. With all we want to see in a compressed amount of time, might that be the option to take? Or is the interior of the Castle just not to be missed?

The Sandwich Station on Arran was the best food. I had the smoked haddock. It was to die for. It tasted like bacon. This is 2 km from the Lochranza Distillery.

Glad you are using the bus on the Island. We had a car and most roads were just under 2 lanes wide with no shoulders, particularly the South and West sides of Arran.

The Machrie Moor stones were wonderful. We were there in the evening with wonderful lighting. It was great to view the circles and Standing Stones in relation to one another. Archeologists have identified at least 12 of these at this location, so keep a lookout for some not signed. On the mainland, we saw other standing stones that were next to buildings and seemed so out of context.

If you do go around the South route of the Island, a short hike we enjoyed was at Eas Mor Ecology Center. There's a waterfall, cafe, and log cabin library. With great views of off-shore islands and the Firth of Clyde.

Or is the interior of the Castle just not to be missed?

If you're talking about Edinburgh Castle, the interior can definitely be missed. I wasn't that impressed with it. I loved Stirling Castle and would definitely argue for seeing the inside there, but not Edinburgh Castle. The outside is very impressive, but the only real advantage (imo) to going inside is for the views, and you can easily get similar (or maybe even better) views by walking up Calton Hill or Arthur's Seat. If it were free, I'd suggest visiting inside for a quick look but I definitely would not pay the price of the ticket.

On Arran, the Auchrannie 's Brambles restaurant/bistro does very good food in a lovely dining room.
I've always preferred Edinburgh to Stirling Castle although the Stirling Heads are very interesting.Overall, I've never liked the replica decoration in Stirling, poorly done I think.
But everyone tends to have their own opinion on either castle and which they find best.
Check whether Lagg distillery is doing food..we were super impressed with its fab location and interior last year.
Glen Sannox also makes for a really lovely walk amidst great mountain scenery.

Meant to add, Scotland's beautiful Crown Jewels are on display in Edinburgh Castle but it's better to head for them first if you do visit as a huge queue soon builds and it can take an age to see them.

Thank you all for the additional input. I’ve made notes on the sandwich shop, brambles seafood and will check into Lagg Distillery for food options. That might be a good place to head to on our arrival day.

I think we have decided that we will skip the inside of Edinburgh castle, for this trip anyway. I’m still interested in knowing about a few spits to eat in Glasgow on our last night (would be a Friday). Would love to hear any live music, especially Celtic if there is a special spot.

Thanks again everyone!

Would love to hear any live music, especially Celtic if there is a special spot.

Check out Sandy Bell's, which is near Greyfriars, one of my favorite spots in Edinburgh (especially if you go in the evening). But I'm a Harry Potter fan, which is one reason why I liked exploring the cemetery, seeing JKR's inspiration for Hogwarts behind the back fence and finding the "real" Thomas Riddle's grave. :-) And also seeing the memorial to "Bobby," the loyal dog.

But I digress. Sandy Bell's is a local pub that has live music most nights (mostly folk/Celtic). It's small so be prepared to stand but the back room is where you'll find the music if it's happening. But eat beforehand (or after) as they have bar snacks (including Scotch eggs) but it's definitely not a food place.

And if there's nothing going on, you can stop for gelato at the little place right up the street.