Arran, Scotland in Miniature

This audio forms part of a series of audio interviews conducted in 2023 by Smartify as part of the Spirit of the Highlands and Islands project. Listen and discover the Spirit of the Highlands and Islands through the eyes of the people who live, work and visit here.

Join Charles Currie as he shares the fascinating natural and cultural history of Arran, putting community and people at the forefront of Arran's story and his thoughts on the Spirit of the Highlands and Islands.

When I started working with the Arran Tourist Board and I worked with HIDB and what we called the Highlands and Islands Tourism Council, we learned so much about how we are all the same. There are differences. Of course there's a spread throughout the Highlands and Islands...but we all have the same appreciation of family and appreciation of where we came from and that is the Spirit of the Highlands and Islands - to be welcoming. To allow people to share what we have rather than to say 'no, this is ours and you're not getting it'. I feel that spirit is kindled in Arran and right across. Every island I've been to is different geographically and it's different in what its product is but I've been to many Scottish islands and they all share that spirit of welcoming people in to join them.