Overview of Arran

Sheltered from the Atlantic by the Kintyre Peninsula and separated from mainland Scotland by the Firth of Clyde to the east and the Sound of Bute to the north, the mountainous island of Arran has a circumference of 55 miles (92 km) and rises to a height of 874m (2866 feet) at the summit of Goatfell. There are ferry links from Ardrossan to Brodick and, during the summer, from Claonaig on the Mull of Kintyre to Lochranza. The island's principal settlements include Brodick, Lamlash, Whiting Bay, Blackwaterfoot, Pirnmill and Lochranza and amongst its historic attractions are Brodick Castle and Gardens, Arran Heritage Museum, the stone circles on Machrie Moor, Auchagallon stone circle, Kilpatrick Dun, Torr a' Chaisteil Fort, Torrylin Cairn and Lochranza Castle.

A road completes the circumference of the island which is traversed from east to west through mountain glens by the String Road, built by Thomas Telford in 1817, and to the south the Ross Road. A mecca for geologists, Arran lies on the great Highland Boundary Fault and has examples of rock formations from many periods. It was frequently visited by the 18th-century geologist James Hutton (1726-97) whose discovery of an unconformity here helped consolidate his theories of igneous geology. Tourism, farming, forestry and the production of dairy products and whisky are the chief industries on the island.

The population has risen from 3700 in 1961, through 3564 (1971), 3845 (1981), 4475 (1991) to 5058 (2001).