Waiting on the Ferry
In anticipation we await the Islay Ferry at Kennacraig. We just arrived from from Beauly in the Highlands where we got married. And now, after reading so much about Islay, drinking its whiskies and doing research online we were about to set foot on “Holy Ground” as we called it. We had the evening ferry and from the deck on the Hebridean Isles we could see the distilleries in the distance. Ardbeg first, then Lagavulin and the last one was Laphroaig. I must have taken dozens of photos.
Then, passing the buoy and Carraig Fhada Lighthouse, the Port Ellen Warehouses became visible soon followed by Port Ellen itself. It looked so calm in the evening light. While the speaker announced our arrival we headed for our car and soon entered the lovely village of Port Ellen. We had a room booked with Harry and Sally at Carraig Fhada B&B so that was our first stop.
After settling in we had our evening meal in the White Hart Hotel. I can’t really say if it was any good, we were just tired from the trip south and all we really wanted was a good night sleep.
First Day on Islay
Started off with lovely weather and we took the car to discover the south east of the island. We passed the three Kildalton Distilleries as well as Kildalton Cross and at the end of the road we found paradise. Claggain Bay as peaceful and calm as can be. No other people around, just ourselves and the Oystercatchers and other wading birds. Bliss.
Later on we ended up in Bowmore for some shopping and to stroll around the seaside. It was our first impression of Islay and it was a great one.
Second Day on Islay
What do you do when you’re only two days on Islay? In our case making sure we didn’t miss the important bits so we drove back to Bowmore and visited Bowmore Distillery, which was my first visit to a Distillery on Islay. Previous visits to distilleries were Glenlivet and Glenfiddich in the Scottish Highlands.
I was impressed by the tour at Bowmore Distillery, nice folk and a highly interesting tour by a lady with a lovely Islay accent. She might as well have talked about the weather, it was just lovely to listen to her.
Finlaggan
After our tour we headed to Finlaggan, it was drizzling, I remember that very well and on our later visits we always made the joke when it was drizzling that it was a good day to visit Finlaggan. And for some reason it often was the case.
After Finlaggan we drove to the Oa Peninsula as we wanted to see the American Monument but we ended up at Lower Killeyan. It didn’t matter, we were enchanted by the solitude, the ocean crashing on the rocks, the seals and other wildlife and the tiny beach where we spent hours just relaxing and taking in this stunning landscape.
Back in the B&B at Carraig Fhada we walked towards the Singing Sands again in perfect isolation. Looking back at those days we now realise that Islay was so much quieter back then. Much more laid back and relaxed. And we also realised we had fallen in love with the island, head over heels.
And so we left Islay on the Ferry and promised ourselves to be back next year.
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