Why You Should Visit Kildonan While Staying on the Isle of Arran

posted on : 17/06/2023 posted by : Tilly Jaye Horseman 0 Comment

Kildonan lies on the south east coast of Arran and is named after the Irish monk St Donan who is believed to have lived there in the 6^th century. The village is a quiet little backwater, nicely tucked away with access via a smaller lane which loops down to sea level from the main coast road. Kildonan brings with her a rather sleepy atmosphere and feels very much like the land that time forgot! In my opinion, you couldn’t get a more relaxing place to stay on the Isle of Arran.

With stunning views overlooking the picturesque islands of Pladda and Ailsa Craig, and beyond to the Ayrshire coast, Kildonan is a gorgeous spot to while away a few hours, or in my case the perfect place to base myself for a week’s holiday.

View of 2 picturesque islands called Pladda and Ailsa Craig in glistening blue water on a sunny day, off the coastline of Kildonan which is very green and divided into several fields with occasional buildings dotted amongst.

What You’ll Find in Kildonan

The village of Kildonan itself is strung out along the road next to the coastline and comprises of a small collection of houses with a village hall towards the western end. Next to the hall is a memorial bell and just a short distance past the hall to the west is an unusual war memorial – a plaque fixed to a prominent rock above the beach.

A bell hangs from a stone arch with a plant beneath — Kildonan Memorial Bell

Along the Kildonan sea front there are a number of rather grand modern houses with expansive front windows, no doubt built to savour those amazing views.

Portrait image of a modern residential house with large floor to ceiling windows on one side. There is a well manicured garden in front with a Maori Head style statue at the centre.

There are several benches along the front and bizarrely a set of swings. It’s got to be the best view from a swing I’ve ever seen, that’s for sure.

View of the island of Pladda from the Kildonan coastline. In the foreground is a bench looking out to sea, set between 2 floral planters.

A set of swings sits on grass next to the sea in Kildonan, with a view of Pladda and Ailsa Craig islands behind.

The Kildonan Hotel

Towards the eastern end of the village is the Kildonan Hotel, which is the only accommodation in Kildonan unless you fancy camping. You can find Seal Shore Campsite next to the hotel, which at least means you don’t have far to go for a meal or drink if you are camping.

View of a couple of tents and caravans at a campsite, with grass and palm trees surrounding them. — Seal Shore Campsite

I found the bar to be a lively little centre on the couple of occasions I went in. It is dog friendly and the food I had was very good. There is a pool table there and on one of my trips there was live music playing too.

View of the rear of the Kildonan Hotel on the Isle of Arran, showing the single storey bar and restaurant area which is painted a petrol blue colour. There are shrubs in front of the building and some benches and dry stone walling in the foreground — Kildonan Hotel Bar

In the grounds of the Kildonan hotel is this rather unusual man-made stone circle, made up of 9 concrete upright shapes, one of which is a black rectangular monolith. The other 8 are a pink colour and punctured with various shaped holes from circles and triangles to zig zags. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet managed to find any information about the inspiration for this stone circle or how it came to be here.

View of a circle of concrete man-made stones, one of which is a tall black rectangular structure and the others are a pinky coloured concrete. Each stone is a different shape. Beyond the circle is the sea with the island of Pladda on the horizon. — Kildonan Stone Circle

Next to the stone circle overlooking the beach are a series of 3 lovely picnic benches, set inside low swirling stone walls. They are part of the hotel’s outdoor seating and you really can’t get a much better seat in the house than these.

View of some picnic benches set inside circular dry stone walls. Beyond is a view of the sea at Kildonan with the islands of Pladda and Ailsa Craig on the horizon. In the foreground is an additional bench facing the sea, with green shrubs and a palm tree poking in from the left side.

Kildonan Castle

There is a small 13^th century ruined castle to the east of Kildonan which sits on a raised piece of land above the village and beach. It is one of three castles on Arran, along with those in Brodick (on the eastern side of the island) and Lochranza (at the northern end). Together, these three fortresses guarded the approaches to the River Clyde, Kildonan Castle being Arran’s southern stronghold and just one in a long line of Clyde watch towers.

Looking up at the ruins of a castle keep, partially overgrown with ivy. There are hugely overgrown shrubs in the foreground.

There isn’t much left of Kildonan Castle; just the ruined ivy-clad keep which also sits at an interesting angle, so who knows how much longer it will remain as it currently is. Unfortunately, the castle stands in a private garden and has been declared unsafe, so there is no public access to it. You can get a limited view of the remains from an access path that runs down alongside the house to the beach. You can just catch a glimpse by the garden gate before the hedges obscure the view again.

Ivy clad ruins of a castle keep with a white timber fence surrounding the base. There is a garden lawn in front with low plants and shrubs around the edges.

You can just make out a lightly worn path leading up through grass and shrubs to go between some castle ruins on the right and a house on the left. — The lightly worn track leading from the beach up to the castle ruins.

There is an information board situated by the gate giving you more information, not just about the castle, but about Kildonan’s historical role in trade and the building of the Pladda lighthouse, which is visible from here out to sea.

Artist’s Studio

Beyond the hotel and campsite further to the east, if you turn off the road along the track towards the castle, you’ll find one of the artist’s studios that forms part of the Arran Art Trail. Called ‘The Wee Gallery’, this artist’s space really is tiny – just a single small room which was probably originally the porch space of the house. There is a sign where the track leaves the road advertising the gallery, so keep an eye out for it.

A tiny room with white walls covered with artists work. There is a desk and shelves packed with art prints for sale and equipment you'd associate with a maker's studio. — The Wee Gallery

I really love the concept of the Arran Art Trail. It is an initiative set up to showcase the wealth of artistic talent on the island by throwing open individual workshop and studio spaces as well as galleries, for visitors to see artists and craftspeople at work, chat to them and potentially buy local Arran artwork. You can pick up leaflets all over the island detailing locations on the art trail, or of course have a gander online too.

Kildonan Beach

Kildonan’s beach is one of the finest on the Isle of Arran. There are stretches of beautiful sand which are pretty rare on the island in and amongst the typical pebble beaches.

Slightly elevated view of a sandy beach lined with rocks and pebbles, extending into the distance. The sand gives way to distant rocks and grassy cliffs. — Looking west from Kildonan

Sandy beach with rocks and seaweed extending into the blue sea water. a small white dog is running towards the camera. — Kildonan’s eastern sandy beach

According to various maps, there is officially a footpath which continues along the beach line to the east of Kildonan towards Largybeg. As far as I am concerned, this isn’t really a footpath – it’s more a scramble over rocks scenario. I walked along this stretch to the next hamlet east from Kildonan Castle as a circular route from my accommodation at Kildonan Farm Cottages. I would only recommend trying this at low tide and with sturdy footwear.

Looking along a rocky coastline with the sea on the left. — Supposedly a path along here

A rocky and grassy coastline, with pebbles dotted into the sea. There as tall straw coloured grasses in the foreground and the island of Pladda on the horizon line. — You have to pick your footsteps carefully to avoid pools of water

View looking along a vague grassy path cut through tall grasses with a white dog looking back through the gap. In the distance is a rocky shoreline and an island on the horizon line. — Bailey found a vague path through

As you get towards the western end of Kildonan, you will find a section of beach cordoned off to protect nesting Oystercatchers from April – July. There has been a dramatic decline in Oystercatcher numbers over the last 25 years, so providing a safe area for them to nest without fear of disturbance particularly by dogs running around is paramount. The path continues right alongside the beach however with completely uninterrupted views, as all buildings are built on the northern side of the road.

View of the sea across a rocky beach with the islands of Pladda and Ailsa Craig on the horizon.

Pladda & Ailsa Craig

The island of Pladda is a key focal point in Kildonan and lies about a kilometre off shore. The name derives from the Norse for ‘Fair Isle’.

While we were visiting, we learned that the island was up for sale for £90k, complete with its very own lighthouse. The lighthouse on Pladda was built in 1790 to warn ships of the treacherous nature of the rocks and skerries which lie just off shore. No-one has lived on Pladda since the lighthouse became automatic in the 1980’s.

View looking down on a rocky beach and out to sea, from the top of some larger rocks. The islands of Pladda and Ailsa Craig can be seen on the horizon

Also sitting rather prominently in the coastal view from Kildonan, assuming you have clear weather conditions, is the conical island of Ailsa Craig. It may not look that big as the island is much further away, but her peak rises to 1109 ft (338m), a heck of a lump compared to Pladda’s mere 20 metres.

The name Ailsa Craig most likely derived from the Gaelic ‘Aillse Creag’ which means ‘fairy rock’ and is known for two things. It is the second largest breeding site in the world for gannets and secondly, the island rock is used for producing curling stones. It is possible to visit Ailsa Craig on boat trips from Girvan in Ayrshire, an activity that has been added to my ever-increasing bucket list.

I can’t recommend a trip to Kildonan enough when you are visiting the Isle of Arran. It is a must! It’s such a relaxing place. I can also highly recommend staying at Kildonan Farm Cottages – it’s off the beaten track and the cottage we stayed in (Millpond Cottage) was extremely comfortable and spacious with a massive well-equipped kitchen and several lounge and chill out spaces.

A farmyard track leads into the image with a farmhouse and kitchen garden with animal sheds to the left hand side. — Kildonan Farm where my accommodation was based

Get in Touch…

Have you been to the Isle of Arran before? If so, did you visit Kildonan? Drop me a line in the comments box below as I’d love to hear from you.

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