Ayr; Saturday, 04 May, 2013

After the awful weather the previous day, the most noticeable thing when I drew the curtains was not only the blue sky, but the visible presence of Arran out in the Firth of Clyde which has simply been shrouded in weather the previous day.

Having had an early breakfast I walked down to the station hopped on a train to Kilwinning and then changed there onto the train to Ardrossan harbour and the ferry to Arran.

From the ferry terminal I caught the bus that ran round the southern half of the island to take in the stunning views. In theory this bus connected in Blackwaterfoot with the bus doing the northern half of the island, but as to be expected with public transport in the UK the bus was late, the connection didn’t wait and I had 40 minutes to wait in Blackwaterfoot for the next bus going anywhere.

After a brief picnic lunch on the sea front the next bus arrived which was taking the direct route back to the capital, Brodick, across the centre of the island over the main road – The String. Whilst it wasn’t what I had been originally planning I was very quickly happy I had been forced to take this bus as the views as it climbed into the mountains of the centre of the island were stunning.

Back in Brodick I had a quick wander around town, before catching another bus out to the visitors centre at Cladach to have a look around the Isle of Arran Brewery.

From the brewery I wandered over to the castle to have a look around there, before it was time to catch the bus back into Brodick and make my way back to the mainland and Ayr.