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Where: Cir Mhor, Isle of Arran
When: 2015
Who: I Parker
Why: Good weather so a day out
Weather: Sunny
Height: 2,621ft / 799m
The image below is of the Arran ferry
Isle of Arran loading at
Ardrossan. It costs about £9 per
person for a day return, about £37 per
return per car. There is a large
inexpensive car park at the terminal where
you can park your car. If you are traveling
by car at weekends or on school holidays,
best to pre-book, as the ferry is often
fully booked then.
Ardrossan Train Station is situated
about half of a mile south of the ferry
terminal. You can buy train/ferry tickets
at a discount. Train/Ferry
Map.
The first larger ferry departs Ardrossan
at about 07.00 and the next at 09.45.
Afternoon ferries departing Brodick are
about 16.40 and 19.20. There is also a
smaller ferry that runs in summer, doubling
the number of crossings available. Price
checks and timetables for the ferry can be
found at the ferry website:
www.calmac.co.uk
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The image below is from the ferry
arriving at Brodick, about 50 minutes
crossing time.
The bus station is at the ferry
terminal. Buses north to Cladach, Corrie,
Sannox, Lochranza, and round to
Blackwaterfoot are about 08:00 . 10:55 .
13:40 . 16:20 . 19:05. These buses normally
depart about 5 minutes after the large
ferry has docked. Bus
Timetables
Arran Motor
Services at the terminal offer car
hire. They also offer up to 8 seat mini
buses for Hiking Parties, Golf Parties, or
Island Tours. Call Mob: 07967 587 481.
A.R.C. Private
Hire are also in Brodick. Tel: 07776
082 752.
The large brown building across from the
terminal is the Douglas Hotel with
a nice beer garden, ideal when waiting on
the ferry back.
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The image below is from a car park and
bus stop at the north side of Sannox
village, 8 miles north of Brodick. The path
on the left side of the Cottage leads to
Glen Sannox, that leads down to The Saddle
at the foot of the 2,621ft Cir Mhor
mountain. This is the shortest way to Cir
Mhor.
I have not hiked to the top of Cir Mhor
yet, but have good images of the routes to
the top, as seen below. Cir Mhor is in the
middle of the Mountains, so not the easiest
to get to. It is often referred to as the
Materhorn of Arran. Best to try and hike
this Mountain in clear weather.
The image below shows the Goat Fell
range to the left, and Casteal Abhail range
to the right. Cir Mhor is down the valley
between the two ranges.
Road Map
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The image below is from the north side
of the 2,867ft Goat Fell mountain, looking
west to Cir Mhor.
The Glen Sannox trail leads down to The
Saddle, with the north side of The Saddle
being real steep hiking up to just under
1,500ft. A sections on the north side of
The Saddle is named The Chimney.
It is then about 1,100ft from the top of
The Saddle to the top of Cir Mhor, again
real steep hiking.
You can also hike up Glen Rosa from
Brodick up to The Saddle, then Cir Mhor.
The Saddle is not as steep from the Glen
Rosa side.
You can also hike over from Goat Fell
which is a long hike.
The steadiest way to Hike Cir Mhor is
probably from the north, on the Casteal
Abhail route, as seen in the next
section.
Goat Fell Photo Tour
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The image below is of the the route over
to Cir Mhor from the 2,818ft Casteal Abhail
mountain. This is probably the least steep
route to Cir Mhor, although the final
section from this side is steep as well.
Saw some teenagers return from Cir Mhor
wearing shorts, some with messed up knees,
must have been partaking in some tough
scrambling.
The northeast route up Casteal Abhail to
this spot is fairly straight forward, a
steady incline.
Casteal Abhail Photo
Tour
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The Cir Mhor Map below shows the main
routes onto the Mountain. The Green and
Yellow dots show the fairly safe northwest
ridge route. The Green and Brown, and Green
and Red dots, show the more dangerous
routes. The Witches Step is normally
regarded as the most dangerous section of
all the mountain trails on the Island of
Arran.
Caisteal Abhail
Range OS Map
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The hike to Cir Mhor will be fairly
dangerous from any route, so should only be
tackled by seasoned hikers, preferably in
clear weather.
Make sure and take an Ordnance Survey
Map and Compass on these hikes, and know
how to use them, as in cloud, these
mountains can be deadly. In Winter, make
sure you have Crampons and an Ice Axe, and
know how to use them.
For information on Corrie, Sannox and
Lochranza, visit the:
Tour
of Arran Page or Click On
Map
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