A cottage on the Isle of Arran

The Isle of Arran’s magic has put a spell on me, pulling me back again as I always want to see and experience more.

It feels like a world far away from home, but it’s only across the Firth of Clyde close to where I live on the Ayrshire mainland. Going back every year is familiar and comfortable, I know I’m going to enjoy my time there and I jokingly say that I travel overseas every year. 😂

It was June 2024, and I was excited to visit the island again as I booked a cosy cottage for seven days! Staying for a full week meant we could truly relax and enjoy quieter days, rather than rushing around trying to squeeze in multiple walks every day over a shorter stay.

I’ve had many short stays that have been wonderful, filled with beautiful memories, but I often found them exhausting as I put too much pressure on us both to explore too much in a limited amount of time. We’ve only ever stayed on the island for over a week when we were married in 2017, and also walked the Arran Coastal Way, so I thought it was about time we extended our stay.

I booked a cottage in Sannox, a peaceful village north of Brodick with mountains and the beach within walking distance from the cottage.

We planned to revisit the beautiful Glen Sannox, but this time we wanted to go further into the glen, hike up to The Saddle, then down Glen Rosa to Brodick. I knew this long walk and hike would take us all day, so being based in Sannox was the perfect starting point. Staying on the island for longer also gave us a choice to pick the best day weather wise as we wouldn’t attempt this hike in bad weather.

My long outdoor walks were lacking for most of 2024, so I wasn’t sure how I would manage this week. I was determined to give it my best shot though.

We arrived at Brodick with around three hours to wait before we could check in to the cottage, so we popped into the Co-op for supplies, the island’s main supermarket. It’s also known as the ‘Big Co-op’, and there’s also a ‘Wee Co-op’ further along the road.

We also visited the Arran Active shop for a browse, the go to place for all the outdoor gear you’ll ever need, but it also sells local produce, gifts and many other items. As I wandered upstairs, I was in awe of the view across Brodick Bay to Goat Fell and the other Arran mountains.

Today in particular, it felt like a real-life advert to buy outdoor gear from the shop and get out there and explore what I could see in that very moment with my own eyes. I would have loved to create a video timelapse of this inspiring view that grabbed my attention. Of course, I could also look at the same scene outside the shop, but the window framed this so beautifully.

Arran viewpoint

We drove to the Arran viewpoint on the road heading south between Brodick and Lamlash. I love to visit here every year as the view changes every time, with either a different light, a unique sky, and more flora than our last visit.

It’s a beautiful viewpoint to gaze upon the glorious northern mountains. If you can’t climb them, this is the next best thing!

Over the years the enchanting woodlands are naturally growing taller, and I hope they don’t obscure part of the full view or I’ll need a high viewing platform to stand on. 😂

I was also hoping to have time to find all the artist stones that are part of the Arran Arts Heritage Trail. I’d love to write a blog about this, and maybe video but we ran out of time even though we stayed for a full week.

I always want to cram in as much as possible, but I had to take a step back and remember the whole point of staying for a week was to enjoy the cottage and have relaxing days as well.

The stone in the photo above is dedicated to the featured artist Sir David Young Cameron (1865 to 1945), as he painted Arran views including this one.

This beautifully hand-crafted sign at the viewpoint was new when we visited. It signposts the path that takes you through the Fairy Glen and back to Brodick. I would love to walk here again as the last time it was pouring with rain, and we missed exploring the side paths in the woodlands.

You know me, I always like to revisit places I’ve missed.

Glen Shurig

We then drove back towards Brodick and still had time to fill, so we followed the String Road to the Glen Shurig viewpoint. I love the view of Goat Fell from here, peaking up as the tallest mountain on the island, and you wouldn’t know from this angle that a vista of spectacular mountains is hiding beyond.

The information sign supplied by the Arran Heritage Museum reads:

The gate leads onto the old road (pre-1810) that went down the glen to Brodick. Note the track on the north side of the glen is not the old road.

To the north-east can be seen Brodick Castle and the parks, and on the Ayrshire coastline Hunterston Power Station and West Kilbride. To the north Goat Fell.

In a southerly direction lies Muileann Gaoithe (the windmill). To the west lies the summit of the String beyond which it drops down to Machrie and Blackwaterfoot.

There’s another stone for the Arran Arts Heritage Trail here dedicated to the featured artist John Muir Wood (1805 to 1902). This landscape attracted him to take photographs.

Garden Cottage, Sannox

At last, it was time to drive to the village of Sannox which is only around eight miles north of Brodick. As we drove slowly up the driveway I was like an excited child when I saw Garden Cottage with its walled garden, another reason I chose this place.

I have found a love for walled gardens; they feel like secret gardens to me. There’s an old stone walled garden near where I live, recorded on a map around 1860! I love to stand inside amongst the overgrowth, wondering about the people who previously lived here and what it looked like in its heyday.

Devil’s Punchbowl face

Before we go further up the drive to this inviting wee cottage, at the time of taking this photo, we didn’t realise how significant the shadow is that casts across the Devil’s Punchbowl (Coire na Ciche), which is to the left of the pointy mountain peak of Cioch na h-Oighe rising above the cottage.

One evening, Alan was recording a timelapse near the golf course, and a passer-by asked if he was trying to capture the Devil’s face in the Punchbowl. He then went on to say a shadow of a face that looks like a Devil can be seen around summer solstice. We were on Arran a few weeks before solstice, so it wasn’t quite the right time and didn’t know what to look for.

On our last day we visited the Wee Book Shop in Corrie and chatted with the lovely Tony Burrin who indeed confirmed this, and there’s a photo of the Devilish face in his Arran Almanac! You can read the first 80 pages of the Almanac on the Arran Almanac website and see the photo on page 49.

Once we knew what to look for with the help of Tony’s Almanac, looking back at our cottage photos and my video linked at the end, I can see a side profile of a devilish face on the top left of the mountain ridge!

I’ve zoomed in to the shadow, can you see it? Wow, how cool is that!

Inside Garden Cottage

We parked up beside the cottage and it was time to explore. The cottage sleeps four people and no pets are allowed.

I stepped into the porch entrance where a tall fridge freezer and tumble dryer stood and pegs to hang up our jackets. There was lots of space for our shoes or boots after a day’s walking.

The open-plan kitchen had everything we needed for a long stay and a second under-counter fridge, so there was plenty of storage for food and drinks for the week. The kitchen and living room areas were spacious with an old-worldly feel which I love, but modern too.

Click or tap on the gallery photos below to view larger photos of the inside cottage.

As I looked out of the old wooden sash windows in the kitchen area, my eyes followed the line of the red brick walled garden down the driveway. I couldn’t wait to investigate the garden, but I was saving the best for last.

The two bedrooms, one double and one twin, were cosy with the windows looking out on to a grassy area at the back.

The first day we arrived it took a day or so for me to get used to the noises of the cottage. It felt ghostly to me, my overactive imagination at its best. 😂

We were standing in one of the bedrooms and heard a noise that sounded like a knock on the front door. I got a fright, and when Alan checked, no one was there. It wasn’t until the next day we worked out that when the bathroom door wasn’t fully closed, it slowly opened by itself and hit a bathroom trolley behind the door that made a knocking noise… phew.

The metal steps above the hall ceiling made me wonder what was up there and I was glad to see it was an empty loft space. It would make a really nice study or reading room.

I was wishing this was my Arran holiday home as I was already loving its charming character, with the feel of old and stories to tell.

We carried in all our belongings and then I explored the secret garden, I mean walled garden…

The walled garden

I was excited as I opened the gate to the walled garden. It’s a huge garden space to me as my own garden is so tiny in comparison.

I fell in love with the trees surrounding me and looked up to the open view of the sky. I could see myself sitting at the garden table listening to nature’s sounds or lying down on a picnic rug gazing up at the ever-changing sky.

I wandered to the end of the lawn and stood underneath the over-hanging branches of a large tree.

Wow, I gasped, as I turned around and saw part of a mountain view high above the cottage. The scene looked so pretty in the sunshine, and I was thinking this was the perfect place to sit for a while. I know it’s only a small peek of a mountain peak, but any view is a bonus!

The peak of Cioch na h-Oighe was looking mysterious to me, making me ache to see more of what’s beyond. It’s not far to reach Glen Sannox, walk through the glen and fully experience the Arran mountains towering around you, creating feelings that can be indescribable.

I found a golf ball on the lawn and wondered if it landed from the nearby Corrie Golf Course. I picked it up and took it back to the cottage though as we saw a supply of golf balls and clubs stored in the porch.

Talking about golf balls, we found three lost balls while we stayed there. One day a white one appeared in the driveway, then the next day a pink one for me! Every day we wondered what we would find next.

Finding the golf balls reminded me of when my brothers were young as they enjoyed collecting lost golf balls as a hobby. They still do actually! They would spend hours searching long grass, woods, or pools of water, then sell them to the golfers at a cheap price for pocket money. It was like a treasure hunt for them.

I messaged my brother photos of the golf balls we found. He would love it here at the cottage as both my brothers visited Arran as young boys with their friends, often camping or renting a caravan. They all loved an adventure on Arran!

As I wandered back towards the cottage, I spied the double gates I saw earlier. This must go the Sannox Burn I thought and wondered if the gates were open.

The first gate opened into a contained fenced off area which looked like an old chicken coup to me, and a little overgrown.

I didn’t mind the overgrowth at all as I love being in places where nature has taken over. I began to imagine what it was like here in the past, who lived here before it even became a holiday rental cottage, and what was this fenced off area mainly used for.

It’s beautifully natural how quickly everything grows without human intervention, plant life finding a way to even grow in between the concrete slabs like the purple foxglove in the photo above.

My small garden at home can be a bit wild as I let things grow. I hardly cut the grass and like to leave the buttercups, daisies and clover to grow. I don’t weed unless I need to make space to plant something else, and I leave most of the autumn leaves to naturally decompose into compost. I need a composter though and also need to find a space to keep one.

More of the tall-stemmed family of purple foxglove were standing so pretty in the sunlight on the other side of the fence, calling me to visit. I opened the second gate and stepped onto a small grassy area on the banks of the Sannox Burn.

Bumble bees were buzzing around everywhere, crawling into the trumpet shaped-like foxglove flowers, disappearing deep inside. You can watch this in the short video clip below.

The bees were fun to watch, as if they were playing hide and seek as two bees tried to crawl into the same flower. One at a time please! 🐝

Scattered in between the purples I saw really pretty white foxglove, but not as many as the popular purples. I waited patiently for a bee to appear, and one eventually flew into my video frame, but away again so quickly. It’s all luck and very random when hoping to capture activity in nature.

The scene was so pretty looking up from the ground! In hindsight, I should have set up my tripod to keep the camera steady, then leave it there for a little while. Maybe the next time.

Ah, I felt so calm and relaxed. I love these simple moments in time when there’s no rush to go anywhere, do anything too complicated, or having to think too much. I need more of this in my life, enjoying the moment and being in the present.

As I listened to the sound of the Sannox Burn gurgling over the rocks, finding its way downstream to the open sea, the crystal-clear water was glistening in the sunlight making the water sparkle and shine, looking quite enchanting to me.

My tranquil moment was soon interrupted though… A loud grinding noise like a chainsaw woke me out of my trance and made me jump 😂. Oh well, I can’t have it all, and it didn’t last too long thankfully.

I can’t remember how long I stayed at the Sannox Burn. I was so caught up in the simplicity of the moment, time didn’t matter. I had better go back to the cottage though as Alan might think I’ve fallen in!

I planned to sit here one day and read a book, something I don’t seem to make time for at home. It didn’t happen though, as even one week here wasn’t enough for the simpler plans in my head.

History of Garden Cottage

I was curious about the history of Garden Cottage; it must be an old building I thought. The Corrie Golf Course was founded in 1892, and the cottage is part of the same estate, so maybe it was built around the same time.

The National Library of Scotland has old maps of Sannox from 1896 and I can see what looks like a building shape beside the Sannox Burn. The second map from 1924 shows the shape of the walled garden and golf course.

• National Library of Scotland: Isle of Arran – Sannox map published in 1896
• National Library of Scotland: Isle of Arran – Sannox map published in 1924

I couldn’t find much about the history of cottage online, so I contacted Isle of Arran Cottages to ask if they knew anything. They kindly sent me the information below.

The estate sold the cottage to the Coats Family who owned the Coats Thread Mills, which is now a museum in Paisley. They used Sannox House for two spinster aunts plus staff, and the gardener stayed in the cottage where he grew fruit and vegetables.

The Coats Family also owned a house called Woodside near the shore and had a butler. They owned a yacht which they would sail to Arran most weekends to pick up the aunts and take them for a sail round Arran.

Later the property was bought back by the estate and one of the full-time stalkers lived in the cottage, hence the old kennels within the walled garden.

The property has had at least two refurbishments over the years.

Red squirrel friends

The Isle of Arran is home to all of Scotland’s ‘Big Five’ species:

1. Seals
2. Otters
3. Red Deer
4. Golden Eagles
5. Red Squirrels

We’ve been lucky to see three of these close up on the island, except golden eagles and red squirrels. Any time we spotted a red squirrel it was either faraway in the distance or running up a tree.

We bought bird food and nuts and placed this on the garden wall hoping to see a red squirrel from the living room window, but it was only the wee birdies that visited us for the first few days.

Then early in the morning on day five of our holiday, Alan walked into the living room area and looked out of the window to see a red squirrel sitting on the wall staring back at him.

He quickly called me through, and as I slowly walked towards the window, I thought it would run away seeing my shadow and movement, but it sat there for a while. We managed to take photos from through the closed window.

It was so cute and the next day another one appeared to join in as well! Alan placed his GoPro in the garden one day and also filmed them running around the garden chasing each other.

They seemed to love climbing the log pile and hiding from each other. You can see them in the Instagram video below, along with birds and the bees. The red squirrels are hilarious and so cute!

The birds, the bees and frolicking red squirrels video

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Corrie golf course

Corrie golf course has stunning mountain views towards Glen Sannox on a clear day. It’s a nine-hole course with no tee bookings, just turn up and play. I’ve linked the Corrie Golf Club website at the end if you would like to know more.

I said to Alan when we retire, we could learn to play golf just to enjoy the seven scenic golf courses on the island! Walking and scenery sounds about right for retirement, but our lacking golf skills might not be safe. At this golf course the cottage would end up with a pile of golf balls beside it from us I bet! 😂

Corrie Tearoom

The Corrie Tearoom, also known as Fran’s Tearoom, is just a short walk from the cottage, and it was perfect having this right on our holiday doorstep.

We first visited Corrie Tearoom in August 2020 during coronavirus. There was no food available on the ferry journey, so we stopped here hoping they were open and enjoyed a delicious breakfast roll. We stayed at the beautiful Balmichael Glamping that year.

The tearoom is more than just tea and light refreshments as they offer a wonderful variety of meals on the main menu, daily specials, Friday fish and chips and Sunday roasts! We enjoyed delicious food and chatting with friendly staff.

You can sit in or takeaway. We walked down for breakfast rolls to eat outside in the sunshine one morning and booked a table to sit inside on fish and chips Friday.

Check the Corrie Tearoom Facebook page linked below for opening times as this can vary over the seasons, and it is recommended to book.

Sannox Bay Beach

On one of our quieter days at the cottage we walked to Sannox Beach which was only around a 10-minute walk from the cottage. I was planning to beachcomb for treasures but ended up being so captivated with the views I wandered around with my tripod capturing photos and video. Alan was also practising with his old GoPro under the water.

I walked towards the rocky part of the beach for the first time to look back at the view of the mountains in Glen Sannox. Now this is what I call a beach with stunning views!

I remember really enjoying this part of the Arran Coastal Way as it was my first time finding Sannox Beach and I vowed to return and spend more time here. The Arran Coastal Way showed me so much more to Arran than I could ever imagine, so this is another reason I want to keep returning.

The rocky surface shapes the curved beach with a mix of sand, sandstone and other types of rocks. The overhanging clouds looked dramatic, complimenting nature’s own canvas, painting a different scene every day.

Click or tap to view larger photos in the gallery below.

The tidal water was gently splashing over the rocky surface with the sunlight making it look turquoise in colour. It was almost a clear day, and as I looked across the Firth of Clyde I could see the Ayrshire coastline on the mainland.

This is an Instagram video of the rock pools at Sannox Beach. The sunlight danced beautifully under the water, lighting up the simple life in the rock pool world.

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A post shared by Dawn-Marie | 📍Ayrshire (@loveexploringscotland)

Well, I thought it was a simple life until I watched an old Arran video recently.

It said that life in a rock pool can be pretty rough! Creatures living in the sea have steady temperatures and salt levels, but in a rock pool the water temperatures can change quickly, or it could be washed out by a storm or even heavy rainfall can cause the saltiness of the water to drop. It makes sense to me now that I think about it.

As we made our way back to the cottage, I gazed at the Glen Sannox view thinking we’ll be deep in the mountains this week. The usual thoughts of will we manage the hike were sneaking into my mind, but I quickly dismissed them. I won’t know until I try.

Before the Glen Sannox hike though, my next blog story will be about our anniversary visit to the Holy Isle again, which is just off the coast of Arran.

In 2023 we managed the hike to the top of the island, but we missed seeing the rest of the island. I booked with Lamlash Cruises so we could go back and explore the low-level coastline, which shouldn’t be too strenuous for us.

Read about our Holy Isle Coastal Walk

Thanks for reading and watching as always. I’m always so late at writing my stories as life can take over the things I love doing most.

Take care
Love, Dawn-Marie x

Links to more information about this blog story

• My Glen Sannox Circular Walk story
• My Glen Sannox and The Saddle story
• My Isle of Arran blog stories
• Isle of Arran Cottages
• Arran Arts Heritage Trail: Stone 20 – The Viewpoint | Cameron
• Arran Arts Heritage Trail: Stone 3 – Glen Shurig | Muir Wood
• Paisley Heritage: Legacy of the Coats Family
• Corrie Golf Club
• Facebook: Corrie Tearoom

Isle of Arran magical moments video