Isle of Islay – 1

If you’re a lover of malt whisky or birdwatching then you will undoubtedly know about this island, the southernmost of the Inner Hebrides. 

The economics of the whisky industry on Islay are quite staggering. Islay contributes around £100 million a year to the UK government in excise duty and value-added tax. This is roughly £30,000 for each person living on the island. The nine distilleries on Islay plus the Jura distillery produce over twenty million litres of alcohol per year. Each of these distilleries offer at least one tour of their establishment per day and sometimes more than one, with the variety coming in terms of the buildings you visit and the number of whiskies you can sample. For this latter reason, careful planning is required, as it’s best to try and use the bus service on the island to visit the distilleries of Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Bowmore, and Bruichladdich. Don’t drive a car after visiting a distillery as they all offer driver samples which can be enjoyed later at your accommodation. There are plenty of taxis too, but these do get booked up well in advance. You will need a taxi to visit Kilchoman, Caol Ila, Bunnahabhain, and the newest distillery called Ardnahoe. These four are more difficult to get to on public transport.

Islay has over one hundred species of bird present all year round in the island’s diverse habitats – wild open moorland, unspoilt beaches, cliffs, mixed woodland and mudflats. The RSPB has two nature reserves at The Oa and Loch Gruinart. From October to April, Islay hosts migrating barnacle and white-fronted geese that have flown down from Greenland. It’s not just geese that travel large distances to Islay, others come from Africa, however the arctic tern beats them all. These birds go right round the world visiting Islay to breed before heading back to the Southern Ocean for the winter.

Port Ellen is the largest town on the island and might be the best place to stay. Islay coaches run regular buses through the town, the airport is a few miles north-west of the town, and there are regular ferries from Port Ellen to Kennacraig, a hamlet on West Loch Tarbert, five miles southwest of Tarbert on the Kintyre peninsula on the Scottish Mainland. Port Ellen is a pleasant place on a bay with a white sandy beach and a marina. It’s my understanding that Diageo is renovating / rebuilding the Port Ellen distillery in the town.