Tackling the big hill peat & Oban.

THE ITEM THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION on the Arran Quad Centre Web site was information about locating the closest pub. Drinking is a favorite pastime in the United Kingdom, and the Highland cattle at the Quad Centre are each named after a different kind of single malt scotch whiskey for which Scotland is famous.

The Web site went on to responsibly state that ATVs and alcohol don't mix and you have to drive three miles away to get a drink. Still, there's plenty to do at the Quad Centre without alcohol. Located on the small island of Arran, a short ferry ride off the west coast of Scotland, the centre has helicopter tours, crafts, gifts, a kiddie play area with trampolines, a small kiddie ATV circuit and adult ATV tours lasting from an hour and a half to two-day overnighters. Because of time limitations, we opted for the half-day tour.

The Atlantic coast of Scotland, even in summer, can be wet, windy and cold. Darryl Urquart-Dixon, the owner of the centre and an ex-military special forces man, prepared us for the worst.

"On the mountaintops, often all you can think about is getting back down," he said.

Of the two weeks we spent in Scotland, the weather was really nice only two days and we got lucky: the ATV ride fell on one of them.

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Accompanying me, my girlfriend and Urquart-Dixon were John Yuille and Derek Paterson from ATV Services, a local dealer, plus Alan York, Yamaha's sales manager for a huge portion of the United Kingdom. ...