The Diageo Johnny Walker plant might have bitten the bullet, but residents of Arran have a new reason to celebrate- the new £3.9 million bottling plant that is due to be set up near Kilmarnock.

After the closure 200 year old whiskey bottling plant was announced by Diageo, the hunt began for a new place to set up a bottling plant. The project is being spearheaded by Gerald Michaluk, managing director of Marketing Research Services, the company that bought the Arran Brewery from Richard and Elisabeth Roberts in May 2008. He expects production to begin on the 8.45 hectare site as early as mid 2010. Already, there are plans underway to induct the skilled labour of the demised Johnny Walker factory into the new one.

Presently, Arran beer is brewed at Cladach, and transported in 180 barrel tankers to Dunbar and Hartlepool for bottling. However, the Bellhaven plant at Dunbar- where the famed Red Squirrel beer is bottled- is due to be shut down in December, so the company will need to find a temporary bottling plant until the one in Ayr commences operation.

Arran Brewery started full production on February 2000. Its Arran Blone and Arran Ale have been award winning brews for their fine quality.

1.3 miles of open water. Twenty six swimmers, some from as far off as Yorkshire. Not an event for the weak chinned.

The Lamlash Splash is a yearly event held for hardy swimmers to make the crossing over the open sea from Holy Isle to Lamlash for the sake of raising money for charity. The challenge is grueling enough in itself, but what is most surprising is the number of courageous success stories that come out of such events.

Take for instance Dawn Ulivi, a mother of three, who raised over £700 for diabetes charity in doing the swim. Her daughter’s friend, three-year-old Daisy Slatter, was diagnosed with diabetes last year, making her one of the youngest persons in Scotland to have the disease.

Or consider Rory Hunter, who completed the 1.3 mile sea crossing and won the Ali Bodie Memorial Trophy for showing the most character out of all the swimmers… and he is all of 12 years old. Alison “Ali” Bodie happened to have been an extraordinarily courageous woman who did the sea crossing twice, despite having terminal cancer. Her family donates the trophy to the recipients.

This year’s event was won by Fergus Sim. Although the Splash is not competitive in nature, the Glasgow based tri-athlete wowed everyone present by his blistering speed.

Petty Officer Marcus “Wiggy” Wigfull, has received the Queen’s Commendation for Bravery in the Air (QCBA) award for his heroic rescue of three yachtsmen from their grounded vessel last November.

He was the pilot of the Search and Rescue Sea King helicopter dispatched from HMS Gannet at Prestwick to rescue the crew of the yacht which ran aground on Horse Island. A Royal Navy spokesperson commended his bravery in rescuing the hapless yachtsmen, braving the rage of a tumultuous sea in the middle of inky darkness to reach the yacht- which was in danger of breaking up any moment- injuring his own hand in the process, fighting through “four metre seas with total disregard for his own safety to save the lives of the yachtsmen”.

Wiggy Wigfull is originally from Sheffield, but presently resides in Troon with his wife and children.

Horse Island is a tiny bit of land which the Arran ferry passes by five times a day on her way to the Ardrossan breakwater, so the grounded yacht was spotted by several of the ferry passengers. The 36 foot yacht was finally salvaged by a lifeboat crew several days later.

Scottish Whisky may be a star liquor world over but it is another tale that there are only a handful of independent distilleries left. Among others, the Isle of Arran Distillers is a new dynamic force in the scotch whisky industry. Operating out of one of Lochranza, Arran- the most beautiful and famous isle in Scotland which lies off the West Coast between Ayrshire and Kintyre, the Isle of Arran Distillers is the first legal distillery registered and built in Arran in the past 150 years.

Earlier in the 19th century, Arran housed over fifty whisky distilleries but most of them operated illegally in order to avoid the taxmen. Even though the malt from Arran is considered to be one of the best malts in the nation, the distilleries preferred to remain illegal and catered to a select few by shipping the malt to the mainland where it was enjoyed by those who regularly “took to the Arran waters”.  There was a time when it was regarded highly, as the best in Scotland with its closest competition coming from  the “Glen of Livet”.

The water for the Arran single malt is taken from the Loch na Davie. Washed by the warm waters of Gulf Stream, the water around Arran enjoys a microclimate which is ideal for the swift maturation of single malt whiskies. The water from the Loch na Davie, high in the hills that overlook the village of Lochranza on the North coast of Arran has been scientifically proved to be the purest in the entire Scottish nation.

Among others, Loch Ranza and Holy Isle Cream Liquor are the top blends that use whisky of Arran.