Arran

“ Opposite that weird glen, of evil omen, we turn northward, and steam past the Fallen Rocks, and round the north point of Arran into Kilbrannan Sound, our purpose being to sail round Arran and to anchor for the night in Lamlash Bay. We have a pleasant glimpse, in passing, of Loch Ranza and its rugged keep, and of the valleys and ‘cols’ that lead over to Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa. The west coast of Arran, however, is distinctly tame, and gives few tokens of cultivation and industry, until we approach the south end of the island. ”

“ Each day an angel comes there to join in its services.' And then he goes on to describe his 'dear cell,' and the holy happy hours which he had spent there, 'with the wind whistling through the loose stones, and the sea spray hanging on his hair.' Arran is no better than a wild rock. ”

“ When Vyner went to sleep that night, it was to dream of all that the last few days had presented before him. The wild and rocky Arran, with its ruined Abbey and its lonely occupant; the bright-eyed but over-thoughtful-looking boy, with all the freshness of childhood and all the contemplative temperament of a man; then the iron-bound shore and the semi-savage natives; and last of all the mountain region where he then was, with that fairy figure more deeply impressed than he had drawn her, and whom he now fancied to be tripping lightly before him up the rocky sides of Strathmore. ”

“ Ten minutes after his entrance into the city by the Kirk-o'-field Porte, saw him in the presence of Arran, in the old Tower of Holyrood, along the shadowy corridors and past the tall windows of which lights were seen to flicker, and the glitter of armed figures, with helmets and partisans, flitting to and fro, like spectres, half seen and half lost in gloom, as gentlemen and men-at-arms betook them to their harness with soldier-like alacrity. ”

“ The geology of Arran has attracted much attention, as furnishing within a comparatively narrow space distinct sections of the great geological formations; while the botany possesses almost equal interest, both in the variety and the rarity of many of its plants. Among objects of interest are relics of Danish forts, standing stones, cairns, &c. Lamlash and Brodick are villages. The island is a favourite resort of summer visitors, and is reached by steamer from Ardrossan. ”

“ But strangely enough a saviour now appeared to Arran in the person of the master of Gray, who, either because he had become doubtful of Elizabeth's regard for himself or wished to conceal his intrigues with her, arranged with the king, on the receipt of certain bribes from Arran, that Arran should be sent to nominal confinement in Kinneil. Nevertheless, the master knew that he could not trust Arran, and immediately set on foot a new plot for his overthrow by the recall of the banished lords. ”

“ More healthy are the true hunting songs. Many of these are in praise of the Isle of Arran, in the Clyde, a favourite resort during the sporting-season both for the Scottish and Irish huntsman. In the poem we have called "The Isle of Arran," from the "Colloquy of the Ancient Men," the charm of the Isle is well described. We have in it the same pure joy in natural scenery that we find in the poems of the religious hermits, but the tone is manlier and more emphatic. ”

“ Féile, kilt, in North Argyll éile, is eibhle (bh sounded v) in Arran; Shaw gives ebhladh, and the Highland Society’s Dictionary has éibhleadh from Gillies. Éibhleag, live coal, is eilbheag, and earball, tail, generally urball, but sometimes ulabar, all in Arran. Diordaoin, Thursday, is Di-daoirn in Arran, Islay, and Jura. Aonghas, Angus, is Naoghas in Arran, Kintyre, Islay, and Skye, and seangan, an ant, is sneaghan in Arran, Kintyre (pronounced ‘sneagan’ in those two districts) , Islay, Perth, and West Ross, snioghan in Badenoch, and snioghag in Sutherland. ”

“ On all sides, except to the north, it is bounded by hills. Those at the southern end are very lofty, the tallest of which is Arran, which lifts its head to the clouds like a huge loaf. As I wandered on the strand I thought of a certain British prince and poet, who in the very old time sought a refuge in the vicinity of the lake from the rage of the Saxons. His name was Llewarch Hen, of whom I will now say a few words. ”

“ Until the arrival of Albany in May 1515, the young king remained in the hands of Angus and the queen-dowager. Arran supported Albany in the proceedings which led to the flight of Angus and the queen-dowager to England, and when Lord Home, one of the few nobles who supported Angus, was taken prisoner, he was committed by Albany to the custody of Arran in Edinburgh Castle. Home now flattered Arran with the hope that Angus and the queen-dowager would support his claims to the regency. ”

“ Another very interesting island visited that autumn was Arran, where the Duchess of Hamilton and her daughter were established in a shooting-box, which literally was a sort of sportsman’s paradise. Every officer in the ship who could be spared from duty was provided with some sort of sport. One party went after grouse. ”

“ Like a mountain of emerald rising out of a sapphire sea, stood the land whose9 name and color, in sentiment and in reality, is Nature’s favorite, earth’s best counterpart to the sky.
After seeing the Giant’s Causeway, meeting the paddle-wheel steamer from Londonderry, and passing Rathlin Island,—refuge once of Robert the Bruce,—we sight the real land of our quest when we discern the larger isle of Arran, which rises like a minaret out of the sea. In law and geography, as well as the outpost of history, it is recognized as an integral part of Scotland. ”

“ Sweet the air is in the doorway, and peaceful is the hour! The sun is just setting beyond the Cantyre hills, and out there, over the water, the lonely peaks of Arran are purple in the evening light. Scarcely a cloud lingers in the clear green sky, and the calm sea stirs but at intervals with the incoming of the tide. The tan-brown sails of111 the fishing-boats that came out of Loch Ranza an hour ago have hardly moved a mile yet up Kilbrannan Sound. The rooks have gone home to the Mount Stuart woods; the whirr of the reaping-machine in the corn-field over there has ceased; all the air is still. ”

“ After wandering over the greater part of Scotland for several weeks, I became weary of enjoyment, and turned our horses' heads homewards by the coast of Ayrshire, with a view to visit the Island of Arran, and then cross the country to Stirling, by Loch Lomond. We had reached [Pg 220] Largs, on the coast of Ayrshire, and saw the Isle of Bute, the Cumbraes, and the lofty summits of Arran, rise out of the Firth of Clyde, in beautiful succession. ”

“ Arrenig Vawr, (or great) , which is nearly as lofty as Arran Fowddwy, and rises upon the N.W. side of the Llyn, has also a lake, containing trout of a large size, which are noted for rejecting the artificial fly; but, about half way up the Arrenig Vâch, (or little) is a lake, which when a light breeze sweeps along its surface, will amply reward the angler for his trouble, in reaching it. ”

“ This kind of gipsying expedition to the sea in summer would hardly suit the form of European, or at least British civilisation; but we do not see why, in the one continent more than in the other, one's country lodgings should be required to resemble a town-house. In the Clyde, which we have mentioned as a resort for summer loiterers, there is one exceptional place—the island of Arran. ”

“ The man at the helm turns the wheel, the compass is set due west, the island of Arran is doubled, the steamer turns the peninsula of Kintyre, and, ascending the western coast, enters the Gigha Pass, then through the Sound, between the islands of Islay and Jura, she arrives at the wide entrance of the Frith of Lorn, which narrows, until it is quite closed, a little above Oban. ”

“ Of that group of islands off the north-west coast of Ireland called the Arrans, Innishmore is a striking instance of this neglect and desolation. Probably within the wide sweep of the British islands there could not be found a spot more irretrievably given up to poverty and barbarism. Some circular mud hovels, shaped like beehives, and with a central aperture for the escape of the smoke, are the dwellings of an almost naked, famine-stricken people, whose looks, language, and gestures mark them out for foreigners if they chance to come over to the mainland. ”

“ As regent of Scotland, all honour must, after our young queen, flow from you."
Arran gave a cold smile, and replied,
"This is well-timed flattery, and proves that you have not spent seven years, as I have heard, with the Duchess Anne of Albany without benefit."
Fawside bowed, and presented the letter of Henry II.
"What spots are these on the cover?" exclaimed Arran. "Blood! You have been fighting, sir—been wounded! Where was this? And you have delayed——"
"Three swords in one's body are likely enough to cause delay ”

“ Thair is twa Iles that pertenis to thir saids four Iles named Arran and Boyd (Bute) . Arran is 24 miles lang, 12 and 8 miles in sum pairtis braid, and is 300 merk land, perteining to my Lord Hamiltoun, quhairin is twa castells. Arran will raise 100 men. Boyd is aucht mile lang, four mile braid, quhairin stands ane great Burrowstown callit Rosa. It will raise 300 men, and is of na less commoditie and profit nor Arran.
Thir haill Iles abovewritten, gif thai were on ane end, are fourteen score and twelve mile of lenth and miles of breid. ”

“ They are almost free from snow, and of richly varied tints, chiefly lilacs and browns, glowing in the sunshine.
The general character of the mountain-ranges at this point, and indeed along the entrances to the fiords of the east coast, as far as Seydisfiord, resembles Goatfell and the Holy Island in Arran—firth of Clyde—only it is higher, wilder, even more serrated, and, in addition, exhibits 199many curious fantastic pointed rocks or drongs. ”

“ There the gate was open; no guard or warder was there now. The town-house of the Regent Arran, which stood in this steep, ancient, and narrow street (now known as the College Wynd) , was deserted and dark; but as they proceeded further into the city, the effects of that day's defeat became everywhere painfully apparent. The bells in the numerous churches, oratories, and monasteries, were being tolled mournfully; and at every altar were people praying for the dead. ”

“ To gaze on their colossal dimensions and barbaric rudeness seems to carry us back almost to the beginning of time, when the earth was inhabited by beings unlike ourselves. But however old the forts in Arran may be, it is evident that they were the strongholds of a seafaring people; for the whole products of the barren islands on which they stand would not be worth the labour of erecting such gigantic fortresses for their protection. These islands support a good many people now, thanks to the potato ”

“ The tourist who has visited any of our granitic districts, such as the south-western parts of Cornwall, the rugged scenery of Arran, or the hills of the Aberdeenshire Highlands, must be familiar with some of the forms of waste which the rocks of these regions display. ”

“ Our early Christianity came from Ireland, and the route was by the Firth of Clyde, where Kintyre, Arran, Cumbrae, Bute, Kilmun, Dumbarton, Luss, and Balquhidder were all already provided with places of worship. The Vale of Leven and Loch Lomond were the natural approaches from the west to the upper end of Loch Earn and Strathearn. Another route connecting Perthshire with Iona was by Loch Etive, Dalmally, Tyndrum, and Glendochart. ”

“ All must have courage to submit to their own destiny.
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Preparations for going away for the summer were hurried on, and there seemed more visitors than usual. I was pleased at the idea of going to the Island of Arran, which had many attractions for visitors, I longed to see the place, having heard so much about its hills and mountains. Miss Heslip, a young friend of Miss Mouncey's, was with them for the summer. From that day things were pleasing and mirthful. One evening, while I was passing the cake-basket in the drawing-room, I held the cake to a tall and dark gentleman. ”

“ It was a remote and savage story, which began in the island of Arran, fifty years ago: a small farm of stone in the mountain above Kilmory Water, dreaming above a waste of sea in which, at night, the lighthouse on the Isle of Pladda shows the only token of life. But by day all the mouth of the firth to Ailsa Craig would be streaked with the smoke of steamers making for the p. ”

“ The association of the change to ia with the open sound è is thus very close. The tendency, apparently, when the vowel happens to be left undiphthongised in the north, is to sound it é, and further the vowel is apt in such cases to be é also in Arran and Islay, but è in Perth, Strathspey and Sutherland. Beurla, e.g. is béurla in Arran, Islay, North Argyll, part of Skye, North Inverness and West Ross, but bèurla in Perth and Sutherland, and geug is géug in Arran, Islay, part of Skye, and Lewis, but gèug in Perth, Strathspey and Sutherland. ”

“ The village is overhung on the north by the mountains of the Arran range, from which it is separated by the murmuring Dyfi. To the south for many miles the country is not mountainous, but presents a pleasant variety of hill and dale.
After leaving the village a little way behind me I turned round to take a last view of the wonderful region from which I had emerged on the previous evening. Forming the two sides of the pass down which comes “the royal river” stood the Dinas mountain and Cefn Coch, the first on the left, and the other on the right. ”

“ The soil along the shore is almost pure sand, and dries rapidly after rain. The climate is extremely mild, high hills sheltering the whole region from north and east winds, and the Arran mountains, intervening some sixteen miles over the sea to the west, collect much of the rain. ”