Silver Sands – Rock Pools and a Castle on Arran
A day.
The route
Silver Sands is the long pale beach below Kildonan on Arran's south coast, with rock pools at its western end, seals sometimes on the rocks and Pladda's white lighthouse just offshore.
Along the shore stands the ivy-wrapped tower of Kildonan Castle, and lunch is up the hill at the Forest of the Falls café.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
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The day
Kildonan
A morning on the sand and in the rock pools below Kildonan, a look at its old castle, and lunch in the woods above the village.
About four and a half hours
Silver Sands
An attraction
Silver Sands lies below the village of Kildonan, on Arran's south coast; park with care in the village, where the signs show how long you can park. From the clifftop a path winds down through gorse and trees, over a little wooden footbridge, to a long stretch of pale sand. It's a beach for digging and paddling, and at the western end dark rocks and pools run out into the sea, where children can poke about and seals are sometimes seen on the rocks. The pools show at low tide, so look up the tide times for Arran before you go. Offshore lies the low green island of Pladda with its white lighthouse, and on a clear day the dome of Ailsa Craig stands out beyond. The path down has steps, so leave the pushchair at the top.
About 5 min on foot
Kildonan Castle
An attraction
Kildonan Castle is a short walk along the shore, a single ruined tower wrapped in ivy on the slope above the sea. The MacDonald Lords of the Isles built it in the 13th century, and it was sacked and burned in an English raid in 1558 and never rebuilt. It's free: walk up the left-hand side of Castle Croft to reach it. The tower is fragile, so admire it from the ground and keep children off the walls. From beside it the view runs out over the sea to Pladda's lighthouse.
7 min by car
Forest of the Falls Café
Lunch
Drive 7 minutes up the hill for lunch at the Forest of the Falls, by the small Eas Mòr car park on the A841 above Kildonan. It's a café with garden tables, a big timber shelter for wet days and a view over the trees to the sea. The cooking is homemade and generous, with pizzas, burgers, soup and sandwiches, and plenty for vegan and gluten-free diets. It usually opens every day from 10am, until 5pm from Monday to Thursday and 7.30pm from Friday to Sunday: ring 01770 820258 to check, especially in the winter months. If it's shut, the Kildonan Hotel down on the shore serves food in its bistro; ring 01770 820207.
If it rains
The beach and the castle are out in the weather; on a wet day keep the beach short and take longer over lunch under the café's big timber shelter.
Forest of the Falls Café, a café.