Isle of Arran

Where to base yourself on Arran usually comes down to whether you have a car and what you want the island to revolve around. Brodick, as the ferry port, is the easiest option for visitors arriving on foot, putting shops, a golf course and the castle grounds within walking distance and leaving the island's bus network on your doorstep for day trips further afield. It also has the widest spread of accommodation, from a large employee-owned resort with pools and spa facilities to boutique hotels a few minutes from the pier and long-established guest houses on quiet side streets.

Further round the coast, Lamlash offers a calmer alternative with sea views towards Holy Isle and a strong choice of places to eat, while Lochranza in the north suits anyone building a trip around the distillery, the castle ruins and the red deer that graze the golf course each evening. The west and south coasts, around Blackwaterfoot and Kilmory, are quieter again and better suited to golfers, families after a beach base, and visitors touring by car who don't need to be near the ferry. Wherever you choose, distances on Arran are short enough that no location puts the rest of the island far out of reach, so it is worth picking a base on character and view rather than worrying too much about central position.

Arran packs a surprising range of things to do into a small area, from castles and distilleries to some of the best hillwalking in the Firth of Clyde.

• Brodick Castle and Country Park is the island's grandest building, a red sandstone pile set in gardens and woodland above Brodick Bay, cared for by the National Trust for Scotland and well worth a couple of hours even for visitors who usually skip historic houses.
• Goatfell is Arran's highest peak at 874 metres, a demanding but non-technical walk from Brodick or Corrie that rewards a clear day with views stretching to the Ayrshire coast, Ben Lomond and, on the best days, Ireland.
• Isle of Arran Distillery at Lochranza was the island's first legal distillery in almost 160 years when it opened in the 1990s, and its tours and tastings sit beside the ruined castle at the head of the loch.
• Lagg Distillery in the south of the island is the newer, sister operation producing a heavily peated single malt, with its own visitor centre and café at Kilmory.
• Machrie Moor Standing Stones is a Bronze Age site on the west coast where several stone circles survive in open moorland, reached by an easy walk across farmland.
• The Arran Coastal Way circles the entire island at sea level, and walkers can pick off any stretch of it for an afternoon without committing to the full 65-mile route.
• Kildonan and Blackwaterfoot beaches give the island its sandy shoreline, with Kildonan in particular known for seal sightings on the rocks just offshore and views to Pladda lighthouse and Ailsa Craig.
• Whiting Bay and Holy Isle pair a pleasant beach village with boat trips across to Holy Isle, home to a Buddhist retreat centre and free-roaming Eriskay ponies and Soay sheep.

Arran has built a food and drink reputation well beyond its size, anchored by two working distilleries, Isle of Arran at Lochranza and Lagg at Kilmory, both offering tours and tastings alongside their visitor cafés. The island also has a long-standing cheese-making tradition at the Island Cheese Company near Brodick, whose cheddars flavoured with whisky, garlic and herbs turn up on menus across Scotland, and a smokehouse producing smoked salmon and kippers using traditional methods.

Seafood is the obvious specialism given the surrounding waters, with local langoustines, scallops and crab appearing on menus from harbourside pubs to hotel restaurants, and the Kildonan Hotel in particular known locally for its fish and chips. Brodick's shops and the island's farmers' markets sell Arran oatcakes, preserves and honey, while Wooley's of Arran bakes shortbread and biscuits on the island that have become one of its best-known exports.

For a casual meal, harbour villages such as Lamlash and Whiting Bay have a good spread of cafés and pubs serving locally landed seafood and Arran beef, while Brodick's bars and hotel restaurants offer the widest evening choice for visitors staying near the ferry.

Arran's terrain makes for varied camping, from level, sheltered pitches close to sandy beaches in the south to more exposed sites in the shadow of the northern hills. Ground tends to be well drained but can turn soft after heavy rain, and the island's Atlantic-facing coast means wind off the sea is a bigger factor for tent campers than in more sheltered inland spots, so a sturdy tent and secure pegging matter more here than on a typical Lowland site. Scotland's right to roam extends to wild camping on open hill and moorland, and it is legally permitted across most of Arran away from the small exclusion zone around Lochranza and Brodick introduced to manage popular spots such as Glen Rosa, provided campers follow the Scottish Outdoor Access Code on group size, fires and waste.

For those after a proper pitch rather than a wild one, the island has a small number of established sites offering electric hook-up, showers and, in some cases, glamping alternatives for anyone put off by the forecast. May, June and September tend to bring the most settled weather and the best combination of long daylight and manageable midge numbers, while July and August are busiest and warmest but also the peak season for midges in still, humid conditions inland. Winter camping on Arran is possible but limited, since several sites close over the off-season and the exposed northern half of the island can see genuinely severe weather rolling in off the Firth of Clyde.