Arran Coastal Way (3 ed)

The Arran Coastal Way is perhaps Scotland's finest circular long-distance trail, running 65 miles (105 km) around the Isle of Arran in a memorable week-long hike from Brodick. It's accessible from near Glasgow by the Ardrossan ferry. Famous as`Scotland in miniature', Arran is rich in scenery, castles, caves and standing stones. The walking is varied, from mountain paths to deserted beaches, from minor road-walking to boulder-hopping, and in places it is refreshingly rugged. Arran's wildlife is uniquely approachable, and its residents welcoming.  Both text and photos have been thoroughly updated after route changes and extra options created by the Coastal Communities Fund project. This third edition has mapping at 1:55,000 and 125 colour photos. Its predecessor was Highly Commended by the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild in 2018. This edition has more pages but is lighter and more rainproof than before. This guidebook contains all you need to plan and enjoy your Arran Coastal Way walk, including a Foreword by wilderness walker Cameron McNeish: detailed description of the route, updated for 2021 background on geology, pre-history and history whisky-making, wildlife and habitats boat trip to the Holy Isle revised mapping of the entire route (1:55,000) information about public transport and travel lavishly illustrated, with 125 colour photographs on rainproof paper.

About the Author :
After a long career in education, information technology and academic publishing, Jacquetta became interested in long-distance walking and trekking. After completing the West Highland Way, her first long walk, in 1998 she progressed to Mount Kilimanjaro, which she has since summited four times by different routes. She is a member of the Outdoor Writers and Photographers Guild and in 2018 the previous edition was Highly Commended in its Awards for Excellence. She has a passion for Arran and its wildlife and has walked around the island many times.

Review :
This book is a gem … it feels like it has been written as a labour of love. It’s obvious from her enthusiasm and detail that the author knows Arran at first hand, and the information is up to date at time of publication. Apart from doing a bit of website searching for travel timetables and accommodation bookings, I’d say that this book has all the other information you need. Excellent design and photography and crips, easy-to-follow directions with Rucksack Readers’ usual large-scale mapping make this the only guide you’ll need to explore Arran’s glorious coastline, from castle-crowned Locharanza in the the north to the cliffs of Bennan Head and the Black Cave in the south. Rucksack Readers has long represented the gold standard for long distance walking guides. Their guides have always been bright, attractive, light, waterproof and comprehensive, containing between their covers pretty much everything you really need to tackle the walk in question: from excellent mapping to route descriptions to background features to sources of additional information. … The third edition of “Arran Coastal Way” by Jacquetta Megarry is fully revised. It provides an “all you need” guide to the 65 mile or 105 kilometre Arran Coastal Way, though as most of the island’s settlements are on the coast and most of its roads run round the coast, this is also … an excellent guide to the Isle of Arran more generally.