Goatfell

[colinwatson]

A trip over the water to Arran to climb Goatfell. Caught the 9.45 ferry from Ardrossan and had an excellent bacon and black pudding roll on the boat. We had a major panic on board when we discovered that the pieces had been left in the fridge at home! A return visit to the cafeteria to buy lunch supplies.

The boat arrived in Brodick on time and we caught the bus to the Castle. By the time everyone got on board and the bus stopped a few times en route, I don't think we actually saved any time by doing this. Walked through the Castle grounds and picked up the path.

The initial climb through the forrest was quite muggy and we were glad to leave the trees behind and get to the fresher air higher up.

Goatfell from above the forrest

The next section was easy going and the path was clear to follow. As we gained height the views to the south began to open out.

Brodick Bay with Holy Isle behind

Once we got to the summit ridge, we found a perfect two seater stone to have lunch at.

The ridge from just before our lunch stop

A sharp pull up to the summit - where the spectacular views of the Arran hills (and beyond) opened out.

Cir Mhor and Casteal Abhail

Looking south from the summit

Looking west to Islay and Jura

We were lucky with the views today, being able to see as far west as Ben More on Mull.

A straightforward descent - back the way we had come up.

Bit of impromptu art work on the descent

Bit of a longer walk on the way down as we had to go all the way back to Brodick, but the short cut over the golf course saves quite a bit. The thought of a pint of Arran Blonde was all the motivation we needed to get back to the pier!

The ferry home

Cloud setting in on the way home

A pleasant sail back over to Ardrossan.

Back on the mainland

After that, it was just the short drive home to round off a lovely day....