SARAH HARKNESS, AUTHOR
ARRAN
Where is it?
The 10 miles of beautiful, peaceful coast between Corrie and Lamlash on Arran, in the shadow of Goatfell.
Why do you go there?
I went in search of the Macmillan family. In particular, Daniel Macmillan, grandfather of Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, and the founder, with his brother Alexander, of the Macmillan publishing company.
Daniel was born in a humble croft on the hill above Corrie. His paternal grandfather was the tacksman at North Cock, near Lochranza, and his mother came from a crofting family in Corrie.
How often do you go?
Sadly, I have only been once, but would love to visit again. The Macmillan family returned regularly, stayed at The Corrie Inn, and walked the paths over the fells to Lochranza. There is a memorial to Alexander Macmillan on the wall of the church at Lochranza.
How did you discover it?
I had been studying and writing about the Macmillans and their history for five years, right through Lockdown, and was just itching to get to Scotland and see for myself.
We stayed in Brodick and slowly explored the coast road. Sadly, there is little trace of the Macmillan croft these days.
What’s your favourite memory?
Two things: Finding the tombstone to the Rev Alexander Mackay in Sannox graveyard - he was married to Daniel’s aunt and was such an important figure in the Haldane Revival on the island from 1806 onwards.
Then down nearer the sea, stumbling across the Sannox chapel, such a peaceful and holy place, which was built to house Mackay’s congregation, and finding a tribute to Daniel on the wall of the guesthouse.
Who do you take?
My husband Peter and our dog Ollie. Although when Ollie was there, he tangled with the jellyfish on Lamlash Beach - a very scary morning for all of us. Hopefully he’s learnt his lesson.
What do you take?
I took all the Macmillan family records I could, a notebook to record my impressions and, of course, a camera. And a pac-a-mac.
What do you leave behind?
Hopefully by writing the biography of the Macmillan brothers, I can add to the heritage of the place, and inspire visitors with the rags-to-riches story of these pioneering brothers.
They published the giants of Victorian literature: Tennyson, Hardy, Arnold, Christina Rossetti, Huxley and, of course, Lewis Carroll.
Sum it up in five words.
Atmospheric. Peaceful. Unspoilt. Evocative. Inspirational.
What other travel spot is on your wish list?
We had a glorious weekend in Glasgow recently and fell in love with all the art galleries and museums, especially Kelvingrove and the Mackintosh House at The Hunterian. Next on my list is Dundee, I would love to spend time looking at the art and history there.
Sarah Harkness is the author of Literature for the People: How the Pioneering Macmillan Brothers Built a Publishing Powerhouse (Pan Macmillan, £25), out now
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here