What Islay was to us
The Tourist Guides of Islay always tell you about the whisky distilleries, the beaches, the pretty villages, abundant wildlife and stunning scenery. And all of this applies to this beautiful island off the west coast of Scotland.
For us the most important feature on Islay was its population, the friendliness, the welcoming nature and the humour. You sense it when you first set foot on the island, heck even before that when you enter the ferry and arrive in one of the two ferry ports. You instantly feel at ease.
How our Islay fling started for us
One day a friend asks you to join him for a Scottish whisky tasting and the next day a seed is planted in your brain, a barley seed in my case. During this tasting we got to taste a 16 year old Lagavulin dram. It’s quite an experience to nose this for the first time, and then the taste: you either love it or hate it. I loved it and my interest for Islay was born. Next day I did some research online, there wasn’t much available back then but I found a lovely guide about Islay on the Laphroaig friends website. So I became a friend of Laphroaig, ordered the booklet about Islay and as soon as it arrived I started reading. Man, what was I fascinated about the island, the distillery and everything else they wrote in that tiny booklet.
When my wife an I got married in Scotland, in Beauly in the Highlands, we decided to visit Islay during our honeymoon. Well that turned out to be a life changing event for us. We got married in 2004 and after many many visits to the island we moved to Islay in 2014.
Our Islay Visits
When I first learned about Islay I lived in the Netherlands, close to both Europoort and Ijmuiden, both ports had ferries to the UK, to Harwich, Hull and New Castle. For us Islay was an easy trip. We left 4 in the afternoon for the evening ferry from Europoort to Hull and after a good night sleep we drove from Hull via Glasgow to Kennacraig where we either took the late ferry to Islay or stayed with Linda in Rhu House B&B near Tarbert. Over the years we got to know her well and it was always like a homecoming when we arrived there. She even sent us presents when our daughter was born.
On our Islay visits we met people like Jeremy and Tink Hastings from Port Charlotte, Penny and Ken, an elderly couple who visited Islay every year and people like Teresa Morris, Brian Palmer and of course the Fletchers at Persabus where we had our accommodation for many years. And there were many more, also work related of course, as I was already running the Islay Info website back then.
The Islay People made a lasting impression
In the six years we lived on Islay, from 2014 onwards, we’ve met so many lovely people, both work related as well as those in the village we lived in and the folk who visited us. We lived in a cottage near the sea, our daughter went to Port Charlotte primary and we worked mostly from home where we had views over the village and Loch Indaal.
In the morning we walked our Daughter to school and often we met Campbell with his dog, he is a real character.
After our walk along Loch Indaal past the Port Mor Campsite some work was done. Postie Alan usually dropped off the mail around lunch time, Jean the fish lady stopped every Thursday along the road and Saturdays was Highland Dancing in Bowmore at Ella Edgars Dance School and after that shopping in the Co-op. During weekdays we picked up our Daughter from school or the Brownies where Pat was in charge. After that we usually went out for a walk somewhere on the island when the weather was good. Often to Loch Gruinart or Kilchoman Beach. Life was simple, had a lovely rhythm and we really felt part of this wonderful and tight-knit Islay Community.
Our Islay Journey in Photos
On this website I will show many photos of day to day life on Islay. Not so much the glamorous “Photoshopped” landscapes but the island as we experienced it during our walks, the events, the festivals and lots more. I hope you enjoy my scribbles and photos.
