Lochranza
Encyclopedia
Isle of Arran
Arran or the Isle of Arran is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland, and with an area of is the seventh largest Scottish island. It is in the unitary council area of North Ayrshire and the 2001 census had a resident population of 5,058...
in the Firth of Clyde
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. The population, somewhat in decline, is around 200 people.
Lochranza is the most northernly sited of Arran's villages and is located in the north-western corner of the island. The village is set on the shore of Loch Ranza, a small sea loch. Ferries run from here to Claonaig
Claonaig
Claonaig is a small village on the east coast of the Kintyre peninsula in western Scotland, linked to Lochranza on the Isle of Arran by ferry .From Claonaig, Tarbert is 10 miles away via the minor B8001 road and the A83...
on the mainland.
The area around Lochranza castle is a favoured spot to observe red deer
Red Deer
The red deer is one of the largest deer species. Depending on taxonomy, the red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Asia Minor, parts of western Asia, and central Asia. It also inhabits the Atlas Mountains region between Morocco and Tunisia in northwestern Africa, being...
, as the village is home to a healthy red deer population and, on the northern shore, grey seal
Grey Seal
The grey seal is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is a large seal of the family Phocidae or "true seals". It is the only species classified in the genus Halichoerus...
s are found year-round. Otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
s and golden eagle
Golden Eagle
The Golden Eagle is one of the best known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Once widespread across the Holarctic, it has disappeared from many of the more heavily populated areas...
s are also spotted in the area.
A new pier was constructed in 2003, allowing larger vessels easier access with the possibility to disembark passengers for a short tour of the village. Regular vessels which use the pier include the paddle steamer
Paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...
Waverley
PS Waverley
PS Waverley is the last seagoing passenger carrying paddle steamer in the world. Built in 1946, she sailed from Craigendoran on the Firth of Clyde to Arrochar on Loch Long until 1973...
and the "Lord of the Glens", a small cruise ship.
Lochranza is the site of the Arran Distillery, built in 1995 and producing the Arran Single Malt
Arran Single Malt
Arran Single Malt is a Single Malt Scotch whisky distilled by the Arran Distillery, Lochranza, Scotland, the only distillery on the Isle of Arran. Arran Distillery was founded in 1995 and is the first legal distillery built on the Isle of Arran in over 150 years...
. The distillery is one of the major industries of the island.
Lochranza Castle
Lochranza Castle
Lochranza Castle is an L-plan tower house situated on a promontory in the middle of Lochranza, on the North of the Isle of Arran in Scotland. Most of the present castle today was built in the sixteenth century....
is a fine ruin of a 16th century L-plan castle, across the road from the Lochranza youth hostel. There is also a field study centre, where schools from all over the UK come to study the locality's interesting geology
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
and the nearby Hutton's Unconformity
Hutton's Unconformity
Hutton's Unconformity is any of various famous geological sites in Scotland. These are places identified by 18th-century Scottish geologist James Hutton as an unconformity, which provided evidence for his Plutonist theories of uniformitarianism and about the age of the Earth.-Theory of rock...
to the north of Newton Point, where the "father of modern geology" James Hutton
James Hutton
James Hutton was a Scottish physician, geologist, naturalist, chemical manufacturer and experimental agriculturalist. He is considered the father of modern geology...
found his first example of an angular unconformity
Unconformity
An unconformity is a buried erosion surface separating two rock masses or strata of different ages, indicating that sediment deposition was not continuous. In general, the older layer was exposed to erosion for an interval of time before deposition of the younger, but the term is used to describe...
during a visit in 1787.
Lochranza is reputed to have the least hours of sunshine of any village in the United Kingdom, since it lies in a north-facing valley on an island with a particularly high level of rainfall.
Despite this, the village is celebrated in verse: