I had never set foot on Arran before, which is shameful considering I live in Glasgow, but I have always heard it is good for walking and climbing. My friend, who has been on Arran several times, heard about the mountain festival and saw there was a guided walk along the A'Chir ridge which he had bypassed on previous walks and thought it would be a great chance to walk it.
We just made it to the outdoor centre in time to get a quick instruction on how to put our slings on, which is when I thought it was going to be more extreme than any scrambling I had done before.
The walk started in Glen Rosa and the weather was perfect, warm morning sun and blue skies. The group walked up Glen Rosa at an easy pace giving the group the chance to get to know one another and hear the guides point out places of interest and tell some stories about the area. We stopped for some lunch just below Cir Mhor where we were told that if we didn't fancy the ridge we could turn back.
A short climb took us to the the start of the rock climbing section where the guides set about putting a safety rope up. It was just as well they did, I was the second person to go along the section and had a wee slip but managed to get to the end of the section safely. There were plenty of other moments where the ropes were in use and I think the group was thankful for that especially at the bad step on the ridge. This was only a gap of half a metre which had to be jumped, but with vertical drops on each side the exposure was something else.
By the time we had reached the top I was a lot more tired out than what I would have expected, mostly from using muscles that aren't usually put to the test. But the wonderful views from the top made it worthwhile and I quickly forgot about my aches and pains. We could see Jura and even all the way over to the Antrim coast.
After the top it there was one more section which required the rope then it was a steady walk back down to Glen Rosa to catch our lift.
Having lacked any previous rock climbing experience i knew this was going to be an exhilarating, challenging and at times apprehensive walk. But with the guides always there to reassure you and advise you along the way everyone got passed the trickiest sections with no problems. I will certainly be back to Arran to walk the rest of the hills and ridges after this.
I must say a big thanks to the guides, Ali and Mick. They were full of knowledge and stories of the area and their times on the hills and you felt in very safe hands with them helping you along the hardest sections of the walk.
Gregor
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