📌 Goatfell Range, Isle of Arran
★★★★★
Arran’s array of spiky peaks is amongst the most dramatic in the UK. Caisteal Abhail (Castle of the ptarmigan) is one of the focal points of the range, also known as the Sleeping Warrior due to its profile when seen from the mainland. The huge, granite summit tors (or “castles”) are memorable landmarks in themselves, but they’re eclipsed by the superb, jagged ridges spiralling out from the summit area on three sides. This horseshoe around the North Sannox Burn traverses two of them, with several short scrambles on descent amidst cliff-ridden surroundings. The Witch’s Step is the trickiest point – this formidably steep wall can (and for non-rock-climbers, should) be bypassed, but a very steep descent is required to reach the foot of it beforehand. This route is best tackled on a clear day with dry ground, to ensure maximum enjoyment of the world-class views, and maximum grip on the rocky terrain.
📷 Chronological photo guide
Dragonfly 
North Glen Sannox from Sail an Im 
Lochranza 
Looking east from the ascent ridge 
Distant Paps of Jura beyond Kintyre & the Pirnmill Hills 
Glen Iorsa 
Caisteal Abhail 
One of Caisteal Abhail’s granite tors 
Mullach Buidhe (Pirnmill Hills) & Loch Tanna from Caisteal Abhail 
Goatfell (right) 
Granite tor 
Cir Mhòr (left) 
Mullach Buidhe (Goatfell Range) 
Cir Mhòr 
The way ahead – east from Caisteal Abhail 
Witch’s Step – bypass this below left 
Witch’s Step 
Looking back to the Witch’s Step 
Looking back from Suidhe Fhearghas
🌍 Location
📌 Start / finish at North Sannox Bridge, A841 2 mi west of Sannox, Isle of Arran
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NR 993468
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 55.673128,-5.192846
🚌 Bus stops at walk start
🚗 Car park
📝 Key info
▶ 10 km / 6 mi | ▲ 1020 m | ⌛ 6-7.5 hr
Features: △ Caisteal Abhail (859 m, Corbett); 🧗 Witch’s Step
⬤ Very tough | Initially excellent glen path becomes faint to gain ascent ridge. Good ridge path to Caisteal Abhail with an easy scramble to gain the summit tor. Descent from here has a path but also lots of short scrambles with care needed, especially around the Witch’s Step (the ascent of which is bypassed to left). Final descent is pathless but no difficulties.
Download file for GPS➡️ Anticlockwise circuit: start – cross North Sannox Burn at 🧭 NR 974464 – Sail an Im via north side – Caisteal Abhail – Witch’s Step (descend briefly to left then bypass on left side) – Suidhe Fhearglas – start
🥾 On our last visit
Wildlife: Dragonflies in the glen, ravens on the summit.
Weather: Sunny at times with some cloudier periods; dry with light winds.
June 2012
