Whiting Bay & Glenashdale Falls

We’ve almost completed our circumnavigation of the Isle of Arran now. There’s just Whiting Bay and Lamlash left to discover. Today we’ll take a look at Whiting Bay, its attractions and environs.

Whiting Bay (Gaelic: Eadar Dhà Rubha) The name Whiting Bay is thought to originate from "Viking" Bay. It is approximately 3 miles south of the village of Lamlash. Whiting Bay is the third largest village on the island (after Lamlash and Brodick) and was once the site of the longest pier in Scotland.
Clearance of Arran's inland crofting areas from the 1830s produced a demand for more accommodation on the coast, here and elsewhere on the island. But of all Arran's villages, Whiting Bay seems to have attracted the most upmarket clientele, and the result was a succession of fine villas being built along the landward side of the road running behind the bay. Meanwhile, a golf course was established in 1895, as were tennis courts, a bowling club and a putting green. The building of a new pier in 1901, which allowed steamers to land passengers directly rather than via flit boats, only confirmed the growth of the village. A village hall was added in 1926.
Whiting Bay retains much of the quiet gentility of an earlier era. The grand villas remain, with many - especially towards the north end of the village - having been converted to hotels, guest houses and restaurants. The result is that Whiting Bay offers a significant proportion of the accommodation available on Arran. The Whiting Bay Golf Club continues to thrive, while, for those with more limited golfing aspirations, the putting green established on the seaward side of the main road near the centre of the village also remains open for business.Whiting Bay shore has a mixture of beautiful sandy beaches and interesting rock formations, lots of seabirds and a particularly large swan population.

Whiting Bay beach looking southwards

Swans on the beach at Whiting Bay

In Whiting Bay there is quite a diversity of shops, which line the beach side of the main road.

Here you will find Bay News which (obviously) sells papers, as well as toys, ice creams, games and fishing tackle.

Bay Stores – a grocers & newsagents which also rents DVD’s and sells hot and cold food, with a petrol station next door.

Belford Mill – a browse around warehouse selling household goods, electrical goods, tools, clothes, suitcases etc. Crafts of Arran - selling crafts, small art works and gifts. Kirkend Nursery selling flowers plants and all garden requirements. MBS Building and Timber supplies - selling DIY goods, household goods and petrol. The Pillar Box – the Post Office selling cards, pet food and stationery.

The Village Shop selling grocery, health food and nutritional products as well as the Pharmacy which also sells cosmetics and baby food in addition to prescription supplies.
There are also six or seven establishments where meals, snacks, etc. can be purchased.

One of the favourite walks is to Glen Ashdale Falls. A walk past farms and fields, along forest paths edged with ferns, mosses and lichens, and past the tumbled stones of pre-historic forts. Not a long walk but so much to see, to reflect on and to enjoy.

One of Arran’s most beautiful landmarks is the spectacular Glenashdale Falls, on a 2.5 mile walk.There are two starting points to the path to the Falls, both in Whiting Bay taking the walker along a path through the woods, which runs alongside the Glenashdale Burn.

The walk to Glenashdale Falls itself is fairly easy. The views you get of the falls themselves are quite spectacular, particularly after heavy rain.

Along the way, depending on which route you’ve taken, is the sign for the Giants Graves - a series of strange stones set high on the hill in a forest clearing. They are, in fact, chambered cairns from the Neolithic period, and rather than being the final resting place of giants, as the legend says, they contained the bones of several people. Getting to the stones requires something of a climb up a series of steps cut into the hillside.

To the north of the village at Kings Cross Point between Lamlash and Whiting Bay is another Iron Age fort known locally as the "Viking Fort". According to local legend, this is the site where Robert the Bruce mistook farmers' fires on the mainland as the signal to launch his campaign. This site was also the location of a Viking ship burial excavated in the earlier 20th century.

The Iron Age Fort at Kings Cross Point