Elite walking group. North Sannox to Lochranza. August 2011

Children's pony trekking

Fallen Stones

Laggan Cottage

Now we started to climb.

Typical Arran view with the mountains as a backdrop.

Double click to view the distillery.

This deer was on the golf course.

This was the local football park!

Today's Elite walking group.(plus me behind the camera)

Today the "Elite Walking Group" travelled once again to the lovely Island of Arran situated in the Firth of Clyde on Scotland's west coast.7 of us caught the 9.45AM ferry to Brodick and then took the bus to North Sannox which was our starting point on this 8 mile grade "B" walk.The first part of the path took us along the shore through a wooded area towards the fallen rocks. One assumes this was all created by nature as the sheer weight of the rocks would make them impossible to move.When we arrived at Laggan Cottage our leader informed us that this was the home of Paul Storey an author who must be very trustworthy as he had left a copy of his latest novel on the doorstep and all he asks is that if you enjoy it please send him a cheque to cover his costs.This cottage is on the shore with no electricity , running water or vehicle access so I suppose if you want a place away from it all to write a book this was the spot.Our colour co-ordinator decided to take the book and will let us know on our next outing whether she enjoyed it or not. At this point we were very lucky to spot two basking sharks and a seal very close to the water's edge which was my first sighting of sharks this year. We now started to climb up a pass between Torr Meadonach and Creag Ghlas Cuithe which was not particularly difficult but afforded us  a panoramic view of Bute over to the mainland.Once we were on the summit of the path we had a lunch stop before descending down to the village of Lochranza. A hen harrier was spotted by our rambling twitcher as well as a large herd of deer. In the village we walked to the distillery to await the bus back to Brodick. This was the third walk the group has completed on the island so our thanks must go to the chemist whose idea it was to work out the various routes.Our next outing may be to Dunoon but it is only in the very early planning stages at present so watch this space for developments. Could be a bus pass possibility for the pensioners amongst us .