Читать книгу The Ayrshire and Arran Coastal Paths онлайн

11 страница из 42

In the same year, the Bruce was crowned King of Scots. After defeat in battle against occupying English forces he fled Scotland for a time, ending up on Rathlin Island off the Northern Ireland coast, before ultimately finding his way to Arran and taking shelter at King's Cave, a short distance north of Blackwaterfoot. It is claimed that this was the setting for his famous encounter with the determined spider, which refused to give up building its web on a slippy cave wall until it succeeded. This gave the Bruce the inspiration he needed to return to the mainland and continue the fight for Scottish independence.

Over the subsequent centuries, and certainly in some part due to its position in the Firth of Clyde, Arran became continually caught up in various dynastic struggles (particularly between the clans of the Stewarts and the Hamiltons). Its population decreased in 1828 during the Clearances instigated by Alexander Douglas-Hamilton, the 10th Duke of Hamilton, and it was hit hard by the Potato Famine of 1845. The number has varied over the years, but the current population of the island is around 5000.