Lochranza

Loch Ranza

Perhaps the most scenically attractive of Arran's villages, Lochranza is located on the loch, Loch Ranza, from which it takes its name. Surrounded on three sides by hills and facing the imposing grey ruin of its castle placed dramatically on a shingle spit sticking into the Loch, a visit is an essential part of any Arran trip.

Lochranza from the Castle Ferry to Claonaig Lochranza Pier Mountain Scenery Near Lochranza

Yet, traditionally, Lochranza has been much less visited than the resort villages of Brodick, Lamlash, and Whiting Bay in the east and south east of the island.

Lochranza Castle

Isle of Arran Distillery

A number of factors are helping remedy this. The first is the popularity of the summer ferry route from Lochranza pier to Claonaig, on the Kintyre Peninsula south of Tarbert. This offers a range of options for those interested in incorporating Arran into a wider tour of Western Scotland.

The other major recent deveopment in Lochranza was the opening by the Queen in 1997 of the Visitor Centre for the Isle of Arran Distillery. The distillery itself had been opened in 1995 and was the first (legal) distillery on Arran for 150 years. It can be found in purpose built premises at the southern end of the village.

Lochranza is very much focused on one of its longer-lived attractions, Lochranza Castle. This is superbly located on a curved shingle spit that projects from the southern side of Loch Ranza. We have heard it claimed that Lochranza Castle has literary connections, being used as the basis for the castle in the Tintin adventure "The Black Island". Fans of Hergé will have to decide for themselves.

Lochranza Castle is normally open from April to September. The castle is L-shaped in plan. Much of what can be seen today is the result of rebuilding in the 16th Century, but there are remnants from the original castle built before 1261 for the MacSweens. In 1262 it was granted by Alexander III to Walter Stewart, the Earl of Menteith.

In 1306 it is said to have been the spot at which Robert the Bruce landed on his return from Ireland, and before his successful bid for the Scottish Crown. It was certainly in the possession of his grandson when he became King Robert II of Scotland in 1371.

It subsequently saw use as a royal hunting lodge. Several further changes of ownership followed, during which Lochranza Castle gradually became transformed into the tower house we see today: and gradually turned to face towards the village rather than the sea as it had before.

During the 1490s it was used as a base from which James IV could attack the Lords of the Isles. 1614 saw its occupation by James VI; and Cromwell occupied it in the 1650s. Then, following the foreclosure of a mortgage, it found its way in 1705 into the hands of the Hamiltons, like so much else in Arran. It has been disused since the end of the 18th Century.

Lochranza has a great deal to offer visitors looking to stay, including hotels, B&Bs, a youth hostel and a campsite.

And one final delight remains. Visitors who find their way to Lochranza via the traditional "clockwise" tour of the island, or via the ferry from Kintyre, will be amazed by the sight that greets them as the road crests the end of the glen south of Lochranza on the road to Brodick. Here you are confronted by some of the most jagged, brutal and stunningly impressive mountain scenery anywhere in Scotland. On a par with the Cuillin of Skye, but in many ways more impressive through being smaller and much closer to the road.