Lochranza ( gd, Loch Raonasa) is a village located on the

Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; sco, Isle o Arran; gd, Eilean Arainn) 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 . Historically part of Butesh ...

in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. 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. Ferries run from here to

Claonaig Claonaig ( gd, 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 the locati ...

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

Torr Meadhonach Torr Meadhonach is a hill high at the northernmost part of the Isle of Arran in western Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland ...

Geology

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

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

James Hutton James Hutton (; 3 June O.S.172614 June 1726 New Style. – 26 March 1797) was a Scottish geologist, agriculturalist, chemical manufacturer, naturalist and physician. Often referred to as the father of modern geology, he played a key role i ...

found his first example of an angular unconformity 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, as the village is home to a healthy red deer population and, on the northern shore, grey seals are found year-round.

Otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which also includes wea ...

s and golden eagles 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. 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 and a D-Day veteran, with the intention of building a distillery on Arran. During t ...

. 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 with eleven holes.

Transport

Caledonian MacBrayne operate a regular ferry service to

on Kintyre between March and October, There are seven daily crossings to Claonaig which operates to roughly 90 minute frequency, and a once-daily service to Tarbert on Loch Fyne 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 ''Waverley'' and the ''Lord of the Glens'', a small cruise ship. Lochranza is on the 324 bus route between Brodick and Blackwaterfoot.

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:

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