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Lochranza

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Lochranza
  • Loch Raonasa [1]
Population250 [2]
• Densityn/a
OS grid referenceNR930506
• Edinburgh96 miles
• London443 miles
Civil parish
Council area
Lieutenancy area
  • Ayrshire and Arran
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townBRODICK
Postcode districtKA27
Dialling code01770
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament
WebsiteNorth Ayrshire
List of places
UK
Scotland
Lochranza.
Countryside near Lochranza
MV Loch Tarbert at Lochranza slipway

Lochranza (Gaelic: Loch Raonasa) is a village located on the Isle of Arran in the Firth of Clyde, Scotland. The population, somewhat in decline, is around 200 people.

Lochranza is the most northernly sited of Arran's villages and is located in the north-western corner of the island. The village is set on the shore of Loch Ranza, a small sea loch. Ferries run from here to Claonaig on the mainland.[4]

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. Otters and golden eagles are also spotted in the area.

A new pier was constructed in 2003,[5] 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 the site of the Arran Distillery, built in 1995 and producing the Arran Single Malt.[6] The distillery is one of the major industries of the island.

Lochranza Castle[7] is a fine ruin of a 16th century L-plan castle, across the road from the Lochranza youth hostel. There is also 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 to the north of Newton Point, where the "father of modern geology" James Hutton found his first example of an angular unconformity during a visit in 1787.[8]

Lochranza is reputed to have the least hours of sunshine of any village in the United Kingdom,[citation needed] since it lies in a north-facing valley on an island with a particularly high level of rainfall.

Despite this, the village is celebrated in verse:

On fair Lochranza streamed the early day,
Thin wreaths of cottage smoke are upward curl'd
From the lone hamlet, which her inland bay
And circling mountains sever from the world

— Sir Walter Scott, The Lord of the Isle

Notes

  1. ^ Ainmean-Àite na h-Alba ~ Gaelic Place-names of Scotland
  2. ^ "Committee reports and agendas". North Ayrshire Council. 2003. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
  3. ^ "Kilbride". UK & Ireland Genealogy. 2002, quoting gazetteer of 1882. Retrieved 2007-07-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Caledonian MacBrayne
  5. ^ Peters, Derek (2003). "Opening Lochranza Pier". Retrieved 2007-07-24. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  6. ^ "Distillery: "the true spirit of nature"". Isle of Arran Distillers. Archived from the original on 2007-06-24. Retrieved 2007-07-24.
  7. ^ Garner, C. (1999). "Lochranza Castle". Retrieved 2007-07-24. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  8. ^ "Hutton's Unconformity - Lochranza, Isle of Arran, UK - Places of Geologic Significance on Waymarking.com". Retrieved 2008-10-20.
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