Arran lies in the Firth of Clyde to the southwest of Glasgow between the Scottish mainland and the Kintyre penisula. It is often described by locals and visitors as Scotland in miniature, with the highlands in the north of the island and the rolling countryside (used mainly for dairy farming) in the south. The highest mountain on the island is Goat Fell which rises majestically above the main town of Brodick on the east side.

Arran is served by two Caledonian MacBrayne ferry routes - from Ardrossan to Brodick across the Firth of Clyde (1 hour) and from Kintyre to Lochranza.

The road system consists of a single route mostly around the edge of the island's 56 mile circumference and two roads (the String and the Ross) across the middle.

Sliddery lies on the southwestern corner of the island between the String and Ross roads, and so from Brodick can either be reached by taking the String road to Blackwaterfoot and then following the ring-road south, or by taking the ring-road south to Lamlash and then following the Ross road.

Bell View House and Bellevue Farm Cottages are both on the east side of the road looking out over the Mull of Kintyre and Ailsa Craig. On a clear day the view also includes the Scottish mainland to the south, the Kintyre peninsula to the west, and in the far distance the coast of Northern Ireland to the southwest.