Lochranza () is a village located on the

Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; ) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Counties of Scotland, Historically part of Buteshire, it is in the ...

in the

Firth of Clyde The Firth of Clyde, is the estuary of the River Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The Firth has some of the deepest coastal waters of the British Isles. The Firth is sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre, Kintyre Peninsula. The ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. The population, somewhat in decline, is around 200 people.

Geography

Lochranza is the northernmost of Arran's villages and is located in the northwestern corner of the island. The village is set on the shore of Loch Ranza, a small

sea loch ''Loch'' ( ) is a word meaning "lake" or "inlet, sea inlet" in Scottish Gaelic, Scottish and Irish Gaelic, subsequently borrowed into English. In Irish contexts, it often appears in the anglicized form "lough". A small loch is sometimes calle ...

. Ferries run from here to

Claonaig Claonaig (, ) is a hamlet on the east coast of the Kintyre peninsula in western Scotland, linked to Lochranza on the Isle of Arran by the CalMac ferry in the summer months. Claonaig is a hamlet south of Skipness, and is the location of the ...

on the mainland. The village is flanked to the northeast by the landmark hill Torr Meadhonach.

Geology

Lochranza has a field study centre, where schools from all over the UK come to study the locality's interesting

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

and the nearby

Hutton's Unconformity Hutton's Unconformity is a name given to various notable geological sites in Scotland identified by the 18th-century Scottish geologist James Hutton as places where the junction between two types of rock formations can be seen. This geological phe ...

to the north of Newton Point, where the "father of modern geology"

James Hutton James Hutton (; 3 June Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. 1726 – 26 March 1797) was a Scottish geologist, Agricultural science, agriculturalist, chemist, chemical manufacturer, Natural history, naturalist and physician. Often referred to a ...

found his first example of an

angular unconformity An unconformity is a buried erosional or non-depositional 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 ...

during a visit in 1787.

Climate

Lochranza is reputed to have the fewest hours of sunshine of any village in the United Kingdom, and is the most shaded village in the entire world according to world climate experts , since it lies in a north-facing glen on an island with a particularly high level of rainfall. The streets do not have any street lights so it can be dark in the winter months.

Wildlife

The area around Lochranza Castle is a favoured spot to observe

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

, as the village is home to a healthy red deer population and, on the northern shore,

grey seal The grey seal (''Halichoerus grypus'') is a large seal of the family Phocidae, which are commonly referred to as "true seals" or "earless seals". The only species classified in the genus ''Halichoerus'', it is found on both shores of the Nort ...

s are found year-round.

Otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...

s and

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of pr ...

s are also spotted in the area.

Economy

Formerly a herring fishing port, the village economy is now geared more towards tourism after the reopening of the pier in 2003. Lochranza Castle is a fine ruin of a 16th-century L-plan castle, across the road from the Lochranza

youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory sleeping 4–20 people, with shared use of a lounge and usually a kitchen. Rooms can be private or shared - mixe ...

. Lochranza is the site of the Arran Distillery, built in 1995 and producing the

Arran Single Malt Arran distillery is a whisky distillery in Lochranza, Scotland, Isle of Arran. In 1994 Arran Distillers was founded by Harold Currie, former director of Chivas Regal, Chivas and a D-Day veteran, with the intention of building a distillery on Ar ...

. The distillery is one of the major industries of the island. The bar of the Lochranza Hotel, to the north of the distillery, has one of the largest collections of Scotch whisky available by the measure in the country: over 350 different Scotch whiskies are available. Lochranza has a

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

with eleven holes.

Transport

Caledonian MacBrayne Caledonian MacBrayne (), in short form CalMac, is the trade name of CalMac Ferries Ltd, the major operator of passenger and vehicle ferries to the west coast of Scotland, serving ports on the mainland and 22 of the major islands. It is a subsid ...

operates a regular ferry service to

Kintyre Kintyre (, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East Loch Tarbert, Argyll, East and West Loch Tarbert, Argyll, West Loch Tarbert in t ...

between March and October. There are seven daily crossings to Claonaig which operates at a roughly 90-minute frequency, and a once-daily service to Tarbert on

Loch Fyne Loch Fyne (, ; meaning "Loch of the Vine/Wine"), is a sea loch off the Firth of Clyde and forms part of the coast of the Cowal, Cowal Peninsula. Located on the west coast of Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. It extends inland from the Sound o ...

during the winter departing at 1345 daily from October to March. The usual vessel on this route is the , which replaced the in September 2016. 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 A paddle steamer is a steamship or steamboat powered by a steam engine driving paddle wheels to propel the craft through the water. In antiquity, paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, whereby the first uses were wh ...

''Waverley'' and the ''Lord of the Glens'', a small cruise ship. Lochranza is on the 324 bus route between

Brodick Brodick ( , ("Castle Beach") or ''Breadhaig'') is the main village on the Isle of Arran, in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. It is halfway along the east coast of the island, in Brodick Bay below Goat Fell, the tallest mountain on Arran. The name ...

and

Blackwaterfoot Blackwaterfoot ( ) is a village on the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. The village is within the parish of Kilmory. It is located in the Shiskine valley in the south-west of the island. It is one of the smaller villages of Arran ...

Culture

It is said that a local midwife once had an encounter with the Queen of the Fairies at Lochranza. The village is also celebrated in verse: The actress Katharine O'Donnelly was raised in the village. Northend Thistle Football Club are based in Lochranza. They were once labelled "the worst football team in Europe", with a winless streak of 19 years, and featured on ESPN Asia,

Soccer Saturday ''Gillette Labs Soccer Saturday'' is a British football-focused programme broadcast on Sky Sports. It delivers live score updates and commentary on football matches across various leagues, particularly the Premier League and English Football Le ...

and BBC Sport Scotland. Northend Thistle play at the Ewe Camp, voted one of the top grounds to visit in the country.

Notes

External links

Aerial photograph of the bay Youth Hostel
{{Arran Ports and harbours of Scotland Villages in the Isle of Arran Firth of Clyde Parishes in the County of Bute