On our second night at the Isle of Arran, I forgave the kids for soaking their only pair of shoes and let them go to Lochranza Castle to see the sun set. The castle was closed (though there wasn’t much of it left to see if it had been open), so we sat against the 13th century walls and watched the sun disappear into the horizon. The tide was out, so John spent most of the time picking up smooth rocks and skipping them across the surface of the sea, which was quite still. Emma and I watched a herd of deer make their way down the road (there was no traffic…not even cyclists…at this point in the evening) and two sheep cross the road to graze along the front yard of the hostel. Once the sun had set and it began to get dark (almost 10:00 pm by this time) we went into the hostel for the night.
The next morning we got up early (though still three and a half hours after sunrise!) and checked out, then drove down to Brodick to the Arran Adventure company for a morning of sea kayaking. We met Collum, our guide (wasn’t that the name of the little hobbit in Lord of the Rings?) for the morning, who helped us suit up in meters of neoprene. We hopped into his van and drove down the coast for about five miles to the bay of Lamlash, which is home to Scotland’s first “no take” zone (meaning no fishing or seafloor dredging is allowed in the bay) and, as a result, features amazingly clear blue water. Collum helped us to put our kayaks in the water and showed the kids how to turn the kayaks and hold the paddles correctly, and then off we went. He led us around the pier and along the coast, stopping every 10 minutes to check in on the kids and make sure they were holding up. At first, they were, but after about an hour they both started to tire, and Collum was left floating in his boat backwards, waiting for us and gazing down at the crystal-clear water (was he looking for a golden ring down there, maybe?). I think that neither of the kids
were too comfortable in their neck-to-toes wetsuit and they both started to look pretty miserable. David and I were having a grand time, though our kayaks were quite long and very hard to turn, especially against the waves. But after another half-hour, I noticed some tears sneaking out of the corners of John’s eyes as he sunk further and further into his kayak. I went over to him and tried to fasten his kayak to mine, but Collum noticed and used a rope to give John a tow. Twenty minutes later, as we continued down the coast, Emma started to fall behind, so he added her to his tow rope as well. When John started to get even more upset, I tried to lash his kayak to mine, which made it absolutely impossible to turn. We both floundered at the shoreline for a while, until Collum came to rescue us, and suggested that we might want to turn around and head back to the pier. At
this suggestion, the kids sat up straight and started to paddle again in earnest. When we finally got out of the kayaks on dry land, Emma waved me over and whispered to me, “That was the worst thing I have ever done…” And as we loaded the kayaks in the trailer again and headed back up the coast, we spotted another group headed out to sea. “Oh look,” I said, “there goes some more kayakers!” Emma remained expressionless, and muttered, “My condolences…”
After that fiasco, I tried to make it up to the kids by taking them to the Auchrannie Resort, which is a spa and hotel in the interior of the island that has a luxury indoor pool with a section for kids. The hotels with indoor pools in Scotland often operate as leisure centers, meaning that for about £10 a family of four can swim in them for the afternoon. For a guest at the resort that is paying top dollar, this must be a bit of a bummer, but for those of us who have just emerged, post-hostel stay, from a sea kayaking session, it’s quite a nice perk! We got to the pool around noon, so most of the resort guests were gone anyway, and the kids had the pool pretty much to themselves. David and I took turns using the steam room (I had never been in one before, and was quite impressed, though sitting in one is a bit like visiting Louisiana in August!) and watching the kids swim in the bathwater-temp pool under the various fountains. After two hours, we were all starving, so reluctantly changed out of our swimsuits and headed to the car for a quick drive to the beach in Brodick and a picnic. After we ate, we drove to the Isle of Arran cheese shop for some cheese samples (the isle is famous for its cheese, especially those that are smoked with the wood shavings from whisky barrels and sold by the “truckle” or barrel-shaped block) and some ice cream that was made at the island’s Torylinn creamery with milk from the Freisian cows. The kids chose mint ice cream and David had Arran Gold, which is made with whisky, and is simply delicious. Even David said it was fabulous—among the best ice creams he has had, and if anyone knows his ice cream, it’s David Dudrick! Then we drove back down the main street in Brodick, popped in to the cooperative grocery store to assemble another picnic dinner, then drove to the pier to eat in the car while queuing for the ferry ride home!
No comments:
Post a Comment