Brodick Castle, The Goatfell Range


In 1958 Lady Jean Fforde gifted 7,300 acres of mountain and glen, including Goatfell, the island's highest mountain, to the Trust. Fifty million years of erosion and several ice ages, has left the hard granite peaks standing proud of the surrounding softer rocks to produce the Arran landscape of today.

Following the last ice age, the hillside was covered in forest, but this was cleared by the Neolithic man. Today, the hills are used to graze sheep and for recreational and educational purposes, especially the study of the geology and land form.

Today many thousands of people climb the Arran hills to enjoy the superb vistas. You may see such delights as red deer, golden eagle, peregrine falcon, raven, golden plover and ptarmigan. Goatfell is a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a National Scenic Area.

SCRAN ID: 000-000-258-614-C; National Trust for Scotland