top of the hill, a little northward of the castle. The island is the property of the Earl of Eglinton, and is kept as a rabbit

warren.

Leaving these islands and the southern point of Bute behind us, we take our course towards

THE ISLAND OF ARRAN,*

the mountains of which, long before they are reached, are seen towering in the distance. Approaching closer to the shore we at length

"reach the hill,

Where, rising through the woodland green,

Old Brodick's Gothic towers are seen."

The picturesque beauty and remarkable geological features of this island render it an object of general attraction. From the rugged mountain to the cultivated plain, from the open valley, bleak and bare, to the densely wooded and contracted glen, Arran presents diversity of surface rarely found condensed into so small a compass.

The island is about 20 miles long and about 12 broad; the superficial area is 165 square miles, of which about 15,000 acres are cultivated; and with the exception of a few farms, it belongs wholly to the Duke of Hamilton. From its proximity to the principal places of interest, the tourist is recommended to take up his quarters at

BRODICK,+

where a large new hotel has recently been erected, about a mile from the village. From Brodick Bay, the elegant shape of Goatfell is seen to great advantage, towering above the

* Hotels at Brodick (12 m. S. W. of Bute) and Lamlash. The best hotel is that at Invercloy, a mile from Brodick.

If the tourist's time be limited, the following short routes are recommended from Brodick:-1st. Climb Goatfell. 2d. Walk up Glen Rosa. 3d. Drive or walk to Glen Sannox.

These may be combined in one excursion by ascending Goatfell from Glen Rosa, and descending it again through Glen Sannox, or vice versa.

The climb to the top of Goatfell and down again occupies between four and five hours. Ponies are charged 6d., cars 1s. per mile, and half fare returning.

battlements of Brodick Castle, a structure which in itself (thanks to the good taste of the noble proprietor) contributes in no small degree to the picturesque of the landscape. A considerable portion of the ancient fortress still remains unaltered, and after its model the modern residence was constructed in the year 1845.*

The mountains of Arran, with their picturesque and serrated outline, are composed of granite, rising into pinnacles and spires of the most grotesque forms, or extending downwards in smooth blocks of naked rock. Towards the summit they are either entirely destitute of vegetation, or invested with a slight covering of alpine plants and mosses.

sea.

Goatfell, the highest, which forms so prominent a feature in the aspect of the island, is 2877 feet above the level of the The ascent is easy, and is commenced at the back of the old inn of Brodick, where a footpath conducts the tourist for a considerable way upwards, by the east of Cnocan Burn, to a mill-dam. Having gained this point, without descending into the valley which runs along the bottom of the principal peak, and keeping well upon the ridge to the right, the remaining part of the climb requires no directions for its accomplishment. Wild though the mountain is, it may be easily scaled with the aid of a guide in the space of two hours, and the view on a clear day amply repays the labour. Stationed on the summit, the spectator finds himself surrounded by a sea of jagged peaks and massive boulders, while his eye may wander down into the vast hollows lying beneath his feet. Beyond the island there is an extensive view on every side, including Loch

* "At the time of the memorable interregnum, when Edward I. was endeavouring to crush the spirited efforts of Wallace and Bruce, this castle was taken by the English under Sir John Hastings. Their possession, however, was but short, for it was retaken by James Lord Douglas, and Sir Robert Boyd. They landed in the island privately, and having laid an ambush for the English governor, they surprised a considerable supply of arms and provisions, and nearly took the castle itself. When they were joined by Bruce, it seems probable that they had gained Brodick Castle. At least tradition says that from the battlements of the tower he saw the supposed signal fire on the Turnberry nook."-Note to Lord of the Isles.

The earldom of Arran was the marriage dowry of James I.'s eldest sister on her marriage to Sir Thomas Boyd, a court favourite. On the disgrace of the Boyds, Sir Thomas was divorced from his royal spouse, and the princess' hand, with her earldom of Arran, was bestowed upon Lord Hamilton, in whose family it has remained until this day.

Fine, the Firth of Clyde, the islands of Argyllshire, and the shores of Ireland.

The scenery in Glen Rosa, Glen Sannox, and Glen Cloy is also well worthy the attention of the tourist.

A favourite excursion from Brodick is to Loch Ranza, about 12 miles distant, famous for its wild and picturesque scenery. A few huts near the castle form

"the lone hamlet, which the inland bay And circling mountains sever from the world."

Lord of the Isles.

Upon a small peninsula near the entrance of the loch are the ruins of an old castle, which was enumerated in the year 1380 among the hunting seats of the Scottish sovereigns. The Convent of St. Bride, the lonely abode of the maid of Lorn, in the Lord of the Isles, occupied a site near the castle; but all traces of the place are swept away. To the back of the loch is "the steep Ben-Ghoil" and the two beautiful glens, Chalmadeal and Eeis na bearradh.

Six miles from Brodick is the village of

LAMLASH,

[Inns: Kennedy's; Bannatyne's.]

situated in the middle of a semicircular bay, sheltered by the Holy Island. This bay forms an excellent harbour for the accommodation of ships of all sizes. The Holy Isle (an irregular cone, 900 feet high) was once the site of an ancient cathedral, said to have been founded by St. Molios, a disciple of St. Columba; and the cave in which the saint resided is still to be seen on the sea-shore. In the interior there is a shelf of rock which formed his bed; and on the roof a Runic inscription, now obliterated, made known his name and office. spent the latter part of his life at Loch Ranza, where he died at the advanced age of 120 years, and his remains repose in the burying-ground of Clachan, a hamlet on the roadside from Brodick to Blackwaterfoot, about two miles before reaching the latter place. The tombstone has been cracked across the centre and is otherwise destroyed, but the figure of the saint is still visible.

He

GLENS ALASTER AND MENEADMAR.

447

At the head of Glens Alaster and Meneadmar, which extend behind the village of Lamlash, may be seen the remains of an ancient Druidical sepulchral cairn, measuring 200 feet in circumference, that is believed to cover the ashes of those who fell in a battle fought upon the spot, as on removing some of the stones several stone coffins were found buried underneath. At the southerly point of Lamlash Bay (three miles from Lamlash) is King's-cross Point, whence Robert Bruce is said to have embarked for the coast of Carrick.* On the other side of the point is Whiting Bay, and a mile from Learg-a-Beg is the Valley of Glen Ashdale, where there are two cascades, one above a hundred, the other above fifty feet high.

Arran possesses some specimens of rude sepulchral pillars, cairns, and circles, which mark the common origin of the Celtic tribes. The most remarkable of these are at Tormore, on the west shore of the island (straight across from Brodick). They are minutely described in Dr. Landsborough's interesting work. Besides several remains of circles, there are three upright columns, about fifteen feet above ground, and not less than half that, perhaps, under the surface. These gigantic obelisks are of old red sandstone, and must have been brought from a distance. A well-worn perforation in the side of one of them is pointed out as the hole through which the cord passed that bound the victim to the altar; others say it was used by Fingal to tie up his dog Bran. There is an erect monumental stone by the roadside at Brodick, and there are two others in a field not far distant.

* There are a number of places in this island traditionally connected with the romantic career of King Robert the Bruce. Among others is what still goes by the name of the King's Cave, said to have been the place of his abode on his first arrival in the island. This is situated about a mile from the road, at Blackwaterfoot, a little to the north of the basaltic promontory of Drumidoon, on the west coast of the island. On the wall at the entrance are inscribed the letters M. D. R. and at the southern extremity are still to be seen several rudely cut figures, said, though with little probability, to have been executed by the fugitive monarch, as a representation of his own condition when this lonely cavern was the place of his abode. The cave is 114 feet long, 44 broad, and 47 high. Some of the adjoining caves are equally large; one being called the King's Kitchen; another his cellar; a third his stable; while the hill above the caves is called the King's Hill. At the northern side of this hill, on the farm of Tormore, are the Druidical remains above referred to.

The greater part of the shores of this island may be considered as formed of red sandstone. This sandstone is tolerably continuous from Brodick to Kildonan Castle, where it is obscured or displaced by a body of trap, and it is found to reach to a considerable distance in the interior of the island.

The rocks which form the next most conspicuous tract on the shore, are of a schistose nature, and of various composition: they are found along the whole line from the Iorsa to Loch Ranza. To the north of this place they retire within the outer belt of sandstone, occupying a narrow space between that rock and the granite in some parts, and, in others, intruding into several of the valleys which descend from the high mountain group of the northern division of the island. But they are not found beyond Brodick on the eastern, nor the Iorsa on the western side; a tolerably decided mineralogical line being here drawn between the two divisions of the island; and the sandstone only, or latest stratified rock, being common to both.

The lofty summits of the northern division consist entirely of granite; which to whatever known depths it may extend, rarely occupies the valleys or lower skirts of these mountains, which are formed either of the schists, or of the sandstone strata already described.

In general character and aspect, it resembles in some places the well-known granite of Cornwall, with which it also corresponds occasionally in mineral structure. It is often disposed in prismatic and cuboidal forms, or rather may be considered as a solid and extended body split into masses of such configuration.

The fine-grained granite found on the western side of the granitic district, forms the entire mass of Ben-nuish, Benvearan, and some other hills, occupying, in consequence, the Glen of Catcol as well as the other neighbouring valleys. In the upper part of this valley the rock is occasionally prismatic, and on a much more minute scale than as it occurs under that form in Caime na caillich and other places on the eastern side of the mountains; since the prisms, which present a varying number of angles, frequently do not exceed a few inches in diameter.

It is difficult to give any accurate idea of the districts occupied by the several kinds of rock which constitute all that part of the southern division of the island which is not sandstone. The gently rounded forms or flat surfaces of these hills are so favourable to the accumulation of soil, and that soil is so concealed by deep tracts of peat and the luxuriant growth of heath and other moor plants, that the rocks are seldom accessible.