IN the argument over where the Arran ferry should be travelling to after spring, there is one group of people who have been left out in the cold - the residents of the island.

Scotland in Miniature, as it affectionately known, is one of the most idyllic places to travel to on the west coast but the key to this is a ferry service that is reliable and serves its purpose as a lifeline to the mainland and beyond.

Support for the retention of Ardrossan is clear but there is also an undeniable need for a reliable service for the islanders who use the service more than any other people.

Walking around the town of Brodick you can see why the island is so sought after for many tourists and although they are key to the infrastructure of island life, the day-to-day running of businesses comes down to the people who live on the island.

Speaking to locals, there are many contrasting views on where the ferry should sail to and why but on the whole, transport links from Ardrossan and a service that is not disrupted are key.

Angus Campbell is a taxi driver on the island, has lived on Arran his whole life and believes Ardrossan is the sensible choice but there are improvements needed and the Arran people need to be at the forefront.

Gus said: “I certainly don’t want it going to Troon, it will make a fair bit of difference and we probably have fewer journeys, how are they going to cope with all the people on these buses, they will never get them all there by the time the boat is due to leave.

“I don’t think they have any idea how many people actually come here in the summer. I have a taxi business and I don’t think it would affect me too much but the fact that it doesn’t go to another [port] at all in the bad weather, it used to be Gourock but now it is nowhere at all. You knew you could get off the island or on it, now it gets tied up.

“I think they are spinning a lot of rubbish [at Troon] and it will make things worse. After us getting RET, this place was mobbed last summer and that will just ruin it. It’ll cost more and take longer and no offence to anyone who is coming here because the ferry is probably part of the holiday for them but not us. It’s a means to get to Ardrossan and you want to get there as quick as you can.

“The port, wherever it is, is just somewhere you pass through and some folk do go to Asda and get petrol but it is a pass through.

“I don’t think anyone in Ardrossan relies on Arran as such.

“They [visitors] talk about it but they aren’t in the know, for me it has turned into and Ardrossan v Troon fight but they have forgotten it is the Arran ferry. It’s about us.”

Alex Cociuban has lived on Arran for almost a decade but is firmly behind the case for Ardrossan for a number of reasons, he told the Herald: “There are quite a lot of factors. Firstly would be journey length, second would be the distance between Glasgow and Troon, and the easiness of the train and everything else.

“To be fair I think most of the people that come to the island have it in their head that Ardrossan is the gateway to Arran and as you come towards Ardrossan you see all the signs.

“If North Ayrshire loses Arran it will affect them [Ardrossan] pretty badly whereas Troon already has places, Troon doesn’t need it, it has golf courses and is nice.

“I think 90 per cent [of islanders], if not more, would like it to be kept in Ardrossan but you always get the small percentage that like to moan. They moan about the ferry not being able to get into Ardrossan but it is not guaranteed that Troon is going to be any better and to make the journey longer for that little chance of one sailing a day instead of none is really not worth it.

“When you think about the costs involved, the prices will go up, there is a lot against Troon.”

Dave Nicholson said: “I don’t have a preference personally as long as the boat sails and that is the biggest issue and I don’t think it will make any difference if it sails to Troon or Ardrossan, the problem lies with Calmac, I think. I think the boats are more than capable of sailing and I appreciated there is health and safety aspects and issues however I do have a couple of friends who are captains and they are both saying it could sail and that’s what is annoying.

“I don’t see why it would be any different. It used to go, and still does occasionally, to Gourock.

“Personally, a two-mile bus journey and you’re already getting ferry anyway, I would rather that if they boat is going to sail but I just don’t see it.

“A lot of people are talking about it and Troon and also Gourock. On the island, the opinion is as long as it sails. It is a lifeline.”

Have you got a view on the #SaveOurFerry campaign? Email them to editorial@ardrossanherald.co.uk.