Arran is an island off the coast of Scotland, in the United Kingdom. It is the biggest island in the Firth of Clyde as well as the 7th biggest Scottish island, at 432 square kilometres (167 sq mi). Historically part of Buteshire, it is in the unitary council area of North Ayrshire. In the 2011 census it had a resident population of 4,629. Though culturally and literally comparable to the Hebrides, it is divided from them by the Kintyre peninsula. Usually referred to as "Scotland in Miniature", the island is separated into highland and also lowland areas by the Highland Limit Mistake as well as has actually been called a "geologist's paradise". Arran has actually been continually populated given that the very early Neolithic duration. Countless primitive remains have been located. From the 6th century onwards, Goidelic-speaking peoples from Ireland colonised it as well as it came to be a centre of spiritual activity. In the struggling Viking Age, Arran came to be the property of the Norwegian crown, till officially taken in by the kingdom of Scotland in the 13th century. The 19th-century "clearances" resulted in substantial depopulation and completion of the Gaelic language and lifestyle. The economy and also population have recuperated in the last few years, the primary market being tourism. There is a variety of wildlife, including three types of tree endemic to the location. The island consists of miles of coastal paths, many hillsides and hills, forested locations, rivers, tiny lochs as well as beaches. Its primary coastlines go to Brodick, Whiting Bay, Kildonan, Sannox and also Blackwaterfoot.