Wild winter weather leaves Arran cut off

A spell of prolonged wild weather last week caused food and petrol supplies to dwindle on Arran as the ferry was unable to sail for a number of consecutive days owing to sea swell conditions.

Monday February 1 saw some weather related ferry cancellations and a technical issue with the MV Hebridean Isles’ starboard engine which was repaired within hours. The bad weather continued the following day and on Wednesday, with all sailings for the two days cancelled.

The inclement weather continued well into Thursday, with the first sailing that week eventually making its way cautiously into the Brodick berth just after 4.15pm in rough swell conditions.

Onboard MV Hebridean Isles were two large Co-op lorries, three Royal Mail vans and a fuel supply vehicle, all of which were given priority over other private and commercial vehicles which were bringing supplies to the island.

Some smaller shops on Arran sold out of many items, while the largest shop, Brodick Co-op, fared reasonably well, keeping shelves stocked with bulk order supplies from their storage. However, items that are usually delivered daily, such as fresh meat, bread and milk, remained in short supply, with fresh fruit and vegetable shelves completely empty.

Food stocks at the shop were replenished with the Thursday delivery, as well as further deliveries on Friday morning before all sailings for the remainder of the day were cancelled at 2pm, once again owing to the weather.

The severe weather also caused flooding issues throughout the island, most notably on Thursday when torrential rain combined with a high tide caused parts of Brodick Main Road to be completely submerged under water. A lengthy stretch outside Arran Active and along the golf course in Brodick were particularly hard-hit, with overtopping taking place at Cladach and at Machrie. Flooding also caused water damage to at least four houses in Brodick and Lamlash.

Locations on the mainland also experienced travel disruption owing to the weather. On Thursday the ScotRail service from Ardrossan Harbour to Glasgow Central was blocked by flooding at Saltcoats. Bank of Scotland customers in Saltcoats were also impacted by the high winds and heavy rain and had to be diverted to other branches after the building was damaged by the weather. It remains closed until repairs can be made to

Bread was snapped up by eager buyers as soon as the shelves were replenished, while fresh fruit and vegetable shelves lay empty. Meat supplies also started to run dry, with just a small selection remaining.

Above: flooding caused damage to at least three homes at Douglas Place, Brodick, and, left, MV Hebridean Isles berths in Brodick on Thursday afternoon for the first time in many days.