My favourite UK island has some of the world’s best beaches and loads of hilariously rude destinations
ROLLING hills with rude names and hidden dinosaur footprints on beautiful beaches are just a couple of attractions of one UK island.
Dubbed ‘Scotland in miniature’ thanks to its different mountainous and rolling landscapes caused by sitting on the Highland Fault line, the Isle of Arran has something for everyone.
“It’s the best Scottish island,” claimed Andy McNamara, owner of outdoor tourism business Otter’s Tail that leads groups on adventures around Arran.
“Scottish islands all offer something special to do but we’re the best one,” he added.
One of the main draws of the island for Andy is the beaches, which he claims are some of the best in the world.
There’s Silver Sands Beach in Kildonan, for example, which is often named one of Arran’s most beautiful spots.
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“It’s ideal for kids as there are dinosaur footprints – specifically a five-fingered dinosaur – on the beach that you can look at,” Andy revealed.
While in Kildonan, Andy also recommends staying at The Boathouse.
“It’s an amazing little cottage which used to be the old Holy Isle ferry.
“They put it upside down, with walls underneath and made it into accommodation – right on the beach,” he explained.
Inside, guests will find room for two people, as well as a small kitchen area.
Those staying at The Boathouse have often spotted seals and dolphins, basking sharks – as well as resident otters – from the accommodation.
For the warmer months, there is also a table and chairs and barbeque outside.
He added: “Wild camping is very popular and we’ve got raised beaches right around the island.
“You’ll get spots where the sea has receded from a few thousand years ago and created a nice flat area just above the beach to camp on – which you can do for free as we have a right to roam in Scotland.”
Alternatively, adults wanting a bit of a different adventure could head to the nudist colony on the island which according to Andy has been there “for about 30 years”.
Funnily enough, this isn’t the only ‘nudity’ on the island.
Andy said: “Most hills are dubbed locally as being like breasts or penises.”
You could head to the peninsula of Kintyre for example, which is next to the island and is known for its penis-like shape.
And this isn’t the only unusually named place on the island – there’s also the Witch’s Step (or Coombe na Ceolach in Gaelic).
One of the adventures Andy runs is a day trip to the Holy Isle.
He said: “The Holy Isle is in Lamlash Bay – it’s two kilometres across the water and it’s a Buddhist island.
“The island has a herd of wild horses – about 40 of them wild – as well as a herd of goats and little brown sheep.
“On our Grand Tour experience, we’ll kayak across and round Holy Isle and then we’ll also walk to the summit of Holy Isle.
“Along the way we’ll walk by the Buddhist artwork and walk by St Molaise’s Cave – who was a saint from Ireland and lived on the island.”
Andy also runs other sea kayaking, gorge walking and scrambling adventures on the Isle of Arran.
More confident kayakers can even head with him to Ailsa Craig – the volcanic island where Olympic curling stones are made.
Speaking of the different kayaking adventures, Andy joked: “Husband and wife duos go on double kayaks sometimes, but that can be dangerous because they’re known as ‘divorce boats’.”
“With gorge walking on the other hand, we’re in full wetsuits and we’ll go into the river, see waterfalls and even climb up them or jump from the waterfall into the water below.
“There are a lot of natural slides – it’s a good fun, some of the pools are really beautiful,” he added.
When it comes to finding a place to tuck into some food or enjoy a tipple, Andy said: “The social scene in Arran is really good.
“There’s a lot of music, where a lot of the bars have open sessions for folk music.”
And getting to the island is pretty straightforward as well.
From Glasgow, head to Ardrossan port – which is about a 50-minute drive or half-hour train journey.
Once at Ardrossan port, you can hop on the ferry across to Arran, which takes about an hour.