Great fun on Goat Fell

[rob munbett]

I wasn't going to bother writing this report since I've been over the Arran hills more times that I care to remember but since I did this walk with a friend who is not at all a hill-walker - we do one hill outing a year - I thought I would write it up for him. The weather was set to be very warm so we sailed over on the 7a.m. ferry to avoid having to approach the steeper sections in the heat. Having disembarked, we set off along the 'front' at Brodick and then followed the Fisherman's Walk through the golf course and along the beach to Cladach.

Goat Fell from the 'Fisherman's walk'

From here we just followed the usual 'tourist route' up to the summit - up through the woods, through the deer fence on to the moorland track and, finally, up the steep east ridge to the summit.

Goat Fell from the moorland track

Summit view

This was only my friend's 2nd hill (last year, we walked up Ben Lomond in terrible weather) and he thoroughly enjoyed the views from the summit, where we sat for ages in the sun enjoying our lunch and the 360' views. We set off down the hill and enjoyed chatting to the many groups who had been on the later ferry and it was then that we appreciated the fact we had climbed the hill when it was still relatively cool - many of these afternoon walkers were really not enjoying the baking heat.

A view over Brodick Bay - better hurry to catch the ferry!

Back in Brodick, we had time for a sit on a bench in the sun waiting for the ferry. All in all, an excellent day out and one to remember. I wonder what next year's hill will be?

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