CANCELLED FERRY!! Stranded on the ISLE OF ARRAN!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 มิ.ย. 2024
- My valiant attempt at getting off the Isle of Arran & back to mainland Scotland when the Brodick to Ardrossan CalMac ferry was cancelled at short notice due to bad weather.
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As I walked down from the peak of Goatfell I noticed I had a text message from CalMac ferries alerting me to some disruption to the ferry schedule due to poor weather. As I read on I noticed that the ferry I was due to catch in a couple of hours was cancelled and suddenly I was stranded on the Isle of Arran.
I had already pre booked my accommodation for the night in Ayr and even a few places after that - I also had nowhere to stay on the island since I was expecting to be staying there. When I checked to see prices the cheapest one I could find was going for about £150 per night - I had paid almost a third of that during my stay. It would seem that last minute ferry cancellations are good for business if you own a hotel.
When I called CalMac the first ferry I could rebook onto was 4 days away and so I began looking at alternatives. Due to Arran being a small Scottish island the options were pretty dire, although there was one other possibility that I was alerted to by the assistant I talked to on the phone.
Turns out there is a second smaller ferry that sails backwards and forwards between Lochranza on the Isle of Arran and Claonaig on mainland Scotland, however rather than heading east it goes west. A 3-4 hour drive is then required to get back to where I actually wanted to be - Ayr.
There were still plenty of questions and reasons for things not to work out, including the likelihood of the smaller ferry getting cancelled too, whether I’d be able to get to the ferry port in time, if I’d be able to get a spot since it was strictly a ‘turn up and go’ ferry service and there was no ability to pre book. Time was pressing on and so I decided to give it a go - the alternative would be to remain stranded on the island for another 4 days and then risk another ferry cancellation if the weather wasn’t any better.
This video documents my journey and crazy adventure trying to get from the Isle of Arran to the Scottish mainland when all the main ferry routes are cancelled due to inclement weather. Sometimes you’ve just got to make it up as you go along - this was one of those days.
📖 CHAPTERS:
📖 00:00 My Ferry is Cancelled!!
📖 03:29 My Plan
📖 06:58 Lochranza Ferry Terminal
📖 07:47 Will Lochranza to Claonaig Work?
📖 12:00 The Long Drive
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As a teenager with a cotton tent with the waterproof ness of a bedsheet I was stranded or marooned on the lovely island. My pal and U pinched our wee tent up a Glen in the shelter of the hurricane wind. We were getting stung by gorse needles coming through the canvas! At one point we had to lie down and cling to the long grass to prevent being blown away by the wind funnelling down the Glen. We should have taken the hunt when our glasses were skittering across the bar table.
But the trip was worth it just to meet Thelma in the cafe in Lamlash. A Bonny lass. 1950 something
Great story, sounds like a wild time! The ends justify the means and it sounds like you had some fun along the way. Going back a few years now, I bet things have changed over that time?
Thankfully you made it across. I'm certain you've learned something from the experience about the effects of the weather forecasted for certain days and times. And thankfully you had some provisions which can be very important in areas where resupply can be very limited or just non-existent for a period of time.
You may have to actually go up to a home somewhere and ask for temporary help and hope they're Good Samaritans at Heart.
Safe Travels Matt.
✝️🕊️
Thanks T, yes it's always good to have some kind of back up plan - you never know when you're going to need it!
What an adventure. It's one thing to be stuck, it's another to be stranded on an island (and with a car to get off the island too). Way to think quick and figure out a plan be so fast. Love the music during the long drive.
You're right about the difference between being stuck and stranded! It was definitely the latter for me. Glad you liked the song, I thought it fitted quite nicely!
@@MattWhitingsEurope 🎸
You were so lucky to get that ferry. We had the same happen in October just as Storm Babet arrived and we drove straight round to Lochranza for the ferry, only to find a queue that went on for miles! We joined the queue at 2:30 pm and just got onto the last ferry at 7:10pm. Others queued for almost as long and ended up being turned away. We were the second to last vehicle to get on. Arrived in Clainaog in the pitch dark in our motorhome with no idea where we were.
Sounds like you had it much worse than me with that queue - thankfully I hardly had to wait at all until the ferry arrived to take me over to Clainaog. I was really surprised it was running but I guess the weather patterns can be quite different on opposite sides of the island! I guess there was nowhere to get food or drink when you were queueing up in Lochranza unless the little cafe was open opposite the vehicle holding area? In my case I bet there was a long queue for the next ferry - and plenty of people that didn't make it on! You're right about Clainaog - when the boat left I felt like I'd been left on a deserted island! Thanks for watching.
No, the cafe wasn't open, I don't think. It was one of many occasions when we were grateful that we were travelling by motorhome, with a toilet, food and hot drinks on board! @@MattWhitingsEurope
Ha yeah that's very true.
You looked very calm when you heard that bad news, but did you also feel calm inside?
I think i would have a mini panic attack on the spot 😅
I have been watching the videos when i have time, you are doing a great job getting around and providing a ton of information, take care and stay safe
Hey Sevy, I have to admit I did feel quite worried that I wasn't going to be getting off the island for a few days, and then of course there's the worry that the rescheduled ferry might also be cancelled if the weather is bad. I had already booked accommodation on the mainland for the next 4-5 days and had lots of plans to continue the great South West Coastal 300 road trip around that corner of Scotland. Also accommodation isn't cheap on the Isle of Arran and booking that late would have cost between £100-£150 per night. Thankfully it all worked out in the end but I had quite the adventure getting to my final destination. Hope all is well with you?! Looks like your channel has really taken off - congrats! Well deserved, your content is excellent. I'll be over at some point to catch up on a few of your adventures - looks like you've had plenty going on!
@@MattWhitingsEurope Thanks, not as adventurous as the ones you make, but more of a background vibe, there seems to be a little niche for it.
To be honest, the new year started with a lot of bad luck so far.
Due to the extreme cold at the beginning of January, the car's heating elements broke down and an expensive repair was required, followed by, what i hoped would be a good time for filming, a 2-week break from the day job, the weather turns out to have completely changed to warm air and as a result, the snow is melting everywhere, so i decided to cut the time off and get back to work with hopefully 1 week to use sometime this winter season.
Let's see what else will happen this year, it's promising so far. 😅
@@ScenesBySevy What an unfortunate series of events, in my country we call it Sod’s Law - hopefully your luck will improve going forward! It’s been pretty mild in the UK this winter too so I guess you’re experiencing the same thing over there in Finland, your snow and icy videos have been huge hits so it’s a real shame the weather couldn’t help you out a bit more this winter.
Great to see your channel doing so well! I will definitely stop by and enjoy some of your latest content. I’m hoping to get back on the road soon so we’ll see where 2024 takes me. Happy travels my friend.
I’m looking forward to the year ahead and seeing some
Years ago, they used to use an old landing craft on the Lochranza route. The door slammed onto my fingers. That's how I remembered 😲
Ouch!! That's gotta hurt!!?
Better leaving the car in Ardrossan & exploring Arran on foot 👍
Would be amazing for sure but I could cover more ground with a car.
I am glad it worked out for you, Matt. You are so particular. I think I would've just stayed longer on Arran. I would've made new plans. But don't listen to me, I am just one of those people who go with the flow.
I could of but there's a couple of reasons I didn't. The main reason being I was half way through my drive around the South West Coastal 300 on mainland Scotland and had accommodation booked and plans prepared for the next 4-5 nights. Booking accommodation on the Isle of Arran at such short notice would have cost me around £150 per night, perhaps more with the ferry cancellations and an additional thousand people stuck on the island. I'd also been there for three days and was looking forward to a change of scenery. If the other ferry wasn't running I'm sure I could have made the most of it but I would have been disappointed to miss all the plans I'd made over the next 4-5 days. Thankfully things have a tendency to work themselves out!
What a great place to be stuck on😀
There's certainly worse places!! 😁
Think what's it's like for us living here!
That's a great point, to be fair I didn't think about the locals. Must be tough to organise certain things where you need to be off (or on) the island at a certain time. How many days ahead do you head to the mainland if you're catching a flight! Must be a nightmare.
I would love to be stranded on the Isle of Arran! It’s my favourite place in the world and I am a regular visitor to the island. That aside, it must be so frustrating if you have other plans. My husband sometimes goes over to Arran on business. Twice now he has driven up to Ardrossan for the ferry (a four hour drive from us) and had to sit in the queue on the quayside and been told the ferry is cancelled. He’s had it the other way- had a booking on the island in a hotel and had to cancel. But it works the other way, you say the hotel owners love it when there’s a ferry cancellation. What about the people that are coming across to take up the hotel rooms on the ferry that can’t get across to bring them to Arran! The businesses on the island are suffering from the ferry problems. The Lochranza ferry is useful for those who are travelling up the west coast of Scotland north of Glasgow but even then it doesn’t run enough sailings or is cancelled when the weather is bad.
Totally understand where you're coming from - I can see it from both sides. I could easily spend another week on the island - could have done some more hiking and visited a few more villages I'd not had time to stop at but as I had plans I didn't want them to go to waste. Also, the hotel issue would have been really expensive and I begrudge paying those prices when all I want is a bed for the night. I can understand why the owners set prices like that though, I would if I were them let's be honest. They also need to recoup some of the losses for when it happens the other way round and guests who have booked free cancellation months in advance take advantage of it due to a late ferry cancellation. Still, I guess that's the nature of the beast! Safety first, I was just glad I was able to catch the Lochranza ferry and continue with my trip.
Why the mask
Mask?
Yes it was filmed at the tail end of COVID when the ferry still had rules about wearing a mask inside. I kept it on whilst outside because 1) it was less hassle to keep taking it off and putting it back on, and 2) it kept my face warm! 😆