More Arran Trip

On Tuesday we went to the Balmichael Centre which was just up the road from where we were staying in Shiskine. Ellie loved feeding the ducks with a special bag of duck food that we bought at the cafe. Josh was more into the go-karting which he thought was great fun especially as you had to steer them by using your body weight to lean in the direction you want it to go. Not as easy as it looks let me tell you!

Ellie and Chloe found these chairs and tables which were caved from tree stumps.

In the afternoon Gayle and Richie took the girls back to Brodick Castle to help a Princess look for her lost treasures. Mum and I headed out with Josh to Clauchlands Point to see if we could see some Submarines. Unfortunately we didn't see any but we got a great view of Holy Island...

... and we spotted a seal or he spotted us I'm not sure which!

Wednesday was a bit of a wash out. It rained all morning and the girls pony trekking session was cancelled and re-scheduled for Friday morning instead. Richie and I went to the little fishing shop in Blackwaterfoot and bought some emergency activity packs for the girls and a make your own wind powered racer for Josh which kept them all occupied while the rain came down in bucket fulls.

Thursday was much better and while Richie and Gayle went off to do Quad biking at the Balmichael Centre first thing, Mum and I kept the kids amused with games of enormous Connect 4 and a Frisbee in the garden of the cottage we were staying in. I wish my back garden had that view!!!

This is our little cottage. It doesn't look much from the outside but it was lovely inside and the view from our bedroom window was stunning.

Richie and Gayle came back just before lunch and we all headed off to King's Caves. These are the caves that Robert the Bruce is said to have stayed in and learned a valuable lesson from Elspeth the spider about trying again and not giving up.

I took this from http://www.mysteriousbritain.co.uk/scotland/arran/legends/kings-caves.html "According to legend Bruce was dejected, and on the verge of giving up trying to gain independence for Scotland from the English. While hiding out in a cave he observed a spider on one of the cave walls. The spider span a web only to have it collapse from the slippery stone.

Again and again the spider built its home, never giving up no matter how many times it failed, and eventually the web held. Bruce was said to have been inspired to try and try again against his foes and finally led the Scots to victory at Bannockburn."

King's Caves are actually the ones at the back with the gate on it which they have to lock up to stop vandals going in and graffiting it. I did take a photo in there but it didn't turn out well enough to put on here so this is the girls in the cave next door.

We had a picnic lunch in one of the caves. It was very windy and rather chilly and Ellie got a bit cold so she ended up wearing Josh's fleece jacket which is why it comes down to her knees but at least she was a bit warmer in it!

We had a look in some of the rock pools there and Richie found a crab which Ellie and Chloe both held on their hands. Ellie had had enough by then and was still feeling cold so we headed off back up the cliff back to the car park.

Ellie got very tired walking up the steep cliff side so we found a rock to rest on for a while and mum took the opportunity to take a photo of us all. I had to cut me off it though because it's not a very good photo of me.

As we got to the top of the cliff the view was fabulous. It really is a beautiful place to visit.

Friday was our last full day. In the morning Ellie and Chloe were booked in for pony trekking at Blackwaterfoot. However even the smallest pony was too big for Ellie. She was supposed to be riding on this little brown horse called Peanut but when they went to lift her on she got scared that it was too high up and she didn't like it. So while Chloe, Mum, Gayle and Richie went off on the pony trek to the beach, me and the kids jumped in the car and drove to a little craft shop just up the road from Machrie golf course to buy some souvenirs.

We all met back at the cottage for lunch then Richie, Gayle and Chloe went off to do a walk to some waterfalls at Whiting Bay. Mum, Josh, Ellie and I went to do some shopping at the craft shops scattered around the island but first we thought we'd call in at the Arran Heritage Museum. It doesn't look like much from the outside but we spent ages in there. It was really interesting and there were some hands on exhibits for the children which they loved.

Ellie's favourite thing was the old telephone exchange where she pretended to be a telephone operator for ages.

While Ellie was busy there, Josh and Grandma got to work in the old Post Office.

and just to prove the sun does shine on Arran sometimes...

... here's Josh and Ellie both enjoying playing on the tractor in the sunshine before we left.