Introduction
This afternoon, I am posting information on the village of Lochranza. This is a pretty village in a scenic location on the northern tip of the Isle of Arran which in turn lies off the West Coast of Scotland. Here is a diversity of experiences. Such includes geology, prehistory, a castle, flora, whisky making, deer, golf and beautiful shoreline scenery. All of this in a relatively compact area.
Village of Lochranza and Loch Ranza, Arran, Scotland
Information on Lochranza, Isle of Arran
Here is a video of Lochranza whilst the second image below is the castle which probably dates from the late 16th to early 17th century.
Lochranza nis one of the most important sites in the history of the science of geology, Hutton’s Unconformity. James Hutton discovered in 1787 the first ever unconformity. An unconformity is formed by two sedimentary rocks of very different periods which have all the rocks between them missing through erosion. At Lochranza the older green Cambrian schists deposited as sea mud some 550 million years ago now lean outward towards the sea.This feature is covered with red deposits from the end of the Carboniferous and laid down some 350m years ago,leaning inland. All rocks in the intermediate 200 million years are missing.More information on Scotlands geology can be found here.
Hutton’s Unconformity
Kintyre Ferry at Lochranza, Arran
Prehistoric Stone Circle on shoreline at Lochranza. This is circa 5000 years old.
Red Deer at Lochranza, Arran.
Basking Seal at Lochranza
Isle of Arran Distillery, Lochranza
More information for the visitor
For more information on Arran, other Scottish islands and sightseeing in Scotland please refer to the Visitors’ Guide to Scotland, ISBN 978-1-9161332-0-4. Also available via Kindle.