Members present: N.McMillan, S.Hendrie, J.Dobson, M.Harvie, M.Garrod, D.Dillon, A,Croughton. Guest I.Lee. (Brief encounters- May and Ben?)

After a minor set back with the quality and cleanliness of the accommodation , and the rather rash decision of two members of the party to catch the next ferry back to the main land , an enjoyable weekend was had by all . For probably the first time this summer the sun actually shone and continued to do so for an entire three days.

On the Saturday four groups set out in different directions , Neville, Sheena, Mark & Michelle heading off towards Glen Rosa before splitting up into two groups with Mark & Michelle heading off up Beinn Tarsuinn & along the ridges to A'Chir, where they again met up with Neville & Sheena who gained the same ridge via Beinn Chliabhain. Before continuing along the ridges to Goat Fell with Sheena whilst Neville had left the group to descend back down Glen Rosa via the newly laid track to retrieve his car and pick up the rest of the group , who had continued on over Goat Fell & down to the main road along the coast.

The day had been extremely warm and the midges rife, although only Michelle & Sheena seemed to be on the menu as far as the biting was concerned . Not to be out done in the bites & scratches war Neville decided to take a short cut down a crag , whilst soloing on one of the ridges, using his elbow & thigh as a breaking system , and providing an excellent photo opportunity back at the bunk house ( keep an eye out for this at the slide show).

Whilst this was taking place John & Ian had decided to head of in the same direction to climb on the slabs at Cir Mhor, but rather than travelling to Glen Rosa they set off in a more direct fashion from the bunk house itself, & after ascending the back of Goat Fell decided to bypass the slabs & carry all their climbing gear, unused , back to the bunk house & take refuge down in the pub at Corrie, & even though every night they returned to say how poor the quality of the Guiness had been ,this was where they were to spend most of weekend.

Myself & Dave had set off on two wheeled transport to circumnavigate the Northern half of the island taking in the sights & on several occasions stopping to photograph the same. This method of travel yielded two very pleasant side effects , the first being a midge free day , as they could not keep up with us on the bikes , & secondly several opportunities to stop for cake & ice creams....mmm yummy.

Sunday saw Neville & Sheena heading back to Glen Rosa , this time to climb on South slabs , first attempting Route One (D) before losing their way on the route & then finishing off by climbing a route called Trundle (S).

John & Ian left their climbing gear in the garage where they were staying & rode around the North circular of the island as Dave & I had done the day before whilst it was the turn of Dave & Myself to lug climbing gear up to the crag first by bike 5 miles down the road to Glen Rosa, then still by bike 2 miles along the dirt track down Glen Rosa itself, before leaving the bikes & continuing on foot to the summit of Cir Mhor. After deciding not to bother with the intended route on the crags , we then carried the climbing gear all the way back down the valley to retrieve the bikes & head into Brodick for fish & chips.

Mark & Michelle however had set out on what was to be a very long day , first riding into Sannox , then walking up Glen Sannox cutting off up to Caisteal Abhail to climb slapstick wall & the witches step , backing off routes & fighting off midges along the way, then to end the day after returning in darkness to Sannox, Michelle (the mermaid ) Harvie decided to go for a dip in the Firth of Clyde, whilst back at the bunk house decisions were being made whether or not to , settle down & have another dram or, check the pub for the missing couple who had not been seen since morning. (Luckily they arrived back just before we had gone down the steep track to the pub.)

Monday dawned clear & sunny again but plans for the day were less demanding preferring a leisurely ride to the ferry terminal to drop off luggage before going on sight seeing tours of the island whilst waiting for the ferry to arrive although Michelle could not resist going for one final swim before leaving the island.

Thanks to every one for making the weekend very enjoyable & perhaps if we can book similar weather again a return meet may be in order.

A limited number of places are available in bunkhouse accommodation on Arran from Friday night August 28 , anybody interested in taking advantage of this chance to climb on Arran, should let me know ASAP as a deposit has to be paid to secure places.

The price is £5.50 a head , per night and is limited to 8 places, so if you are interested in spending the bank holiday on this magnificent island, which offers excellent opportunities for climbing and walking, with the added bonus of a midge free place to eat and sleep ,contact me straight.

Accommodation is self catering and once numbers of interested parties are known I will try and get people together to sort out transport and ferry times to the island, so give me a ring as soon as you can.