By Carol Ann Davidson, Tribune News Service

I grew up with kilts, bagpipes, fiddles and Ceilidhs. No, not in bonnie Scotland, but in beautiful Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.

So, when at last I visited Scotland’s Isle of Arran this past September, my guide, the engaging Alex Dickinson of Mogabout Tours, dressed from top to toe in tartan, made me feel right at home. But then, the 167-square-mile Isle, just shy of a population of 5,000, confirmed what I had felt: welcomed with a warmth and a generosity of spirit that was entirely authentic.

Recently anointed an UNESCO Geopark, and nicknamed “Scotland in Miniature,” Arran is an island on the west coast of Scotland anchored in the sheltered waters of the Firth of Clyde, an hour-long ferry ride from the city of Glasgow.

Alex Dickinson of M

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