Bonamargy Friary

Carraig a' Ráid means "rock of the fishing-rod" and it's a tidal islet, an offshore volcanic plug, a good place for fishing if only you could reach it. There's been fishing here for centuries but fishermen first built a rope bridge across the chasm from the mainland in 1755, when salmon changed from a cheap staple foodstuff to a lucrative catch. They strung the bridge together just as they'd string a net, a homespun affair not intended to last, and each spring it had to be replaced before the salmon-run began. They also built a cottage on the islet, next to a precarious ledge where the boat was winched up the rock face between trips, for want of shelter from the Atlantic. So successful were they that the salmon are all gone, and the last fisherman retired in 2002. The bridge morphed into a tourist attraction, and now half a million visit each year. No way could a rope bridge cope with that footfall, so it's been replaced by stronger and stronger bridges. The current bridge from 2008 is a sturdy metal wire structure, open year-round except in bad weather or for occasional spells of maintenance. So the knee-trembling experience is gone, the missing slats and your glove turning over and over as it plunges into the void. It's still a remarkable site, but you have to share it with the elbows and selfie-sticks of many nations. No dogs.