'The author ... takes you to 'legal highs' with his sharp description of scenery, carefully planned walks, introductions to characters and their stories.'

Scottish Islands Explorer magazine


‘This is a great read. The author’s personal journey around Arran has really nailed what makes our beautiful island tick. Laced with descriptive accounts, emotional recollections, personal recommendations and tales galore, this book will delight, inform, entertain and have you laughing out loud. A real feelgood book. One for everyone to enjoy.’

Sheila Gilmore.

Arran - Travels, Treasures and Tales

Ian McMurdo

978 1 911043 08 9

£15.00 248pp Paperback



There are over one-hundred-thousand islands on this planet of ours, ranging in land mass from almost a million square miles to the size of a respectable tennis court. No doubt, each will boast its own particular charm. However, where else in all the world would you find another island to compare with Arran?

Ian McMurdo’s book will take you on a fascinating journey around the magical little Scottish island as it nestles snugly in the glorious warmth of the Gulf Stream. Setting off on your travels from the Ayrshire coast, you will find yourself sailing over the Firth of Clyde with the glorious scent of sea air filling your lungs, before being whisked all around Arran’s ‘airts-an’-pairts’ on your very own magical mystery tour.

As the author chaperones you on his own nostalgic circumnavigation of the island, taking you with his dogs on his favourite walks over the mighty mountains of the ‘Sleeping Warrior’ and along many miles of golden sands, you will marvel at the breathtaking scenery which he paints so lucidly. His razor-sharp description of Arran’s villages, hills, burns and beaches will make you feel that you’re there already, and his personal reminiscences and reflections will tug at the heart-strings. However, it is his colourful depiction of the larger-than-life island characters and their raucous tales which really brings this book so vividly to life and will have you splitting your sides.

ARRAN - Travels, Treasures and Tales is an absolute must-read for those of you who love the island. However, if you’ve never visited Arran before, you’ll be on that ferry in no time.