Saturday May 22
It was our honeymoon and we left The Gardeners cottage on the Belladrum estate near Beauly and the place where we were married on Saturday May 22, 2004. The weather was fabulous, the sky was deep blue and we were excited to leave. towards Islay. We didn’t know what to expect and couldn’t wait to finally get to Kennacraig where we arrived at 5pm. We picked up the ferry tickets and left at 6pm for Port Ellen. The trip was magical, the sky was still blue and it felt warm, even in the open sea. After passing through Gigha, we got our first look at Paps of Jura, until then only known from the pictures, but much better in reality. We couldn’t take our eyes off the sea and were very lucky to see a minky whale halfway to Islay.
We enjoyed the ride, the views and the weather and saw the first distilleries on Islay before passing through Texa. Just past Texa, the ferry turns to starboard (right) and we enter the bay with views of Port Ellen Lighthouse and Port Ellen Maltings. Twenty minutes after eight we arrived at Port Ellen and our first destination was the Bed and Breakfast we booked. We stayed at Carraigh Fhada Farm with Harry and Sally and met them around 9. After carrying our luggage to our room we immediately headed out and enjoyed the glorious sunset. The sky turned pink and orange and the colors reflected off the lighthouse. What a welcome and we felt instantly at home.
Sunday May 23
I woke up early and had a wonderful breakfast but we were in a bit of a hurry, we wanted to see a lot of Islay in the next few days and the weather was just as beautiful as the day before. There wasn’t a cloud in sight and it felt quite warm. I guess we were very lucky. Our first destination was to return to Port Ellen and a trip to the Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig distilleries. I just wanted to see where my square foot of land on Islay had been since joining Friends of Laphroaig a few years earlier. After some photos we traveled on and enjoyed the seals just before reaching Kildalton Cross and Chapel. Kildalton Cross is an early Christian cross and is closely related to three major crosses on Iona. Kildalton Cross dates back to the 8th century and is still in wonderful condition. The cross is made from a single slab of hard rock which explains why the motifs are still very visible.
We decided to travel a little further and found a small paradise beach with beautiful pebbles called Claggain Bay. We walked along the beach, saw beautiful birds and enjoyed the immense silence. Something we are not used to where we live. It felt like heaven and we spent an hour sitting on the beach and picking up beautiful pebbles. From Claggain Bay we headed back to Port Ellen for some shopping and (finally) headed to Bowmore. The road to Bowmore is a unique rally and a good test for the suspension of their cars. The path is straight as a line and literally floats over the peat beds creating potholes along the way. This part of Islay is quite bleak and flat but still has a very interesting area.
When we entered Bowmore we were surprised, such a charming little town, beautiful round church and very quiet on this Sunday afternoon. The houses are all gleaming white and the views of Lake Indaal are magnificent. We decided to head to the port and enjoy our lunch on a small bench. What a piece in this town, only a few fishermen were busy with their boats, the seagulls flying over us towards the Bowmore Distillery remembering the label of the Bowmore Legend Whiskey I had at home. After lunch we decided to head to Portnahaven to take a look at the other side of the island. It was a longer trip than we expected and we were both very tired so we took some photos in Portnahaven and decided to head back to our B&B. After a little sleep in the afternoon, we were quite hungry and headed to the White Heart Hotel for dinner. We were the only guests, we wondered why but found out when our food arrived. It wasn’t exactly haute cuisine, we weren’t expecting that either, but it was definitely something they could improve on. Let’s just say it was okay and after our meal we headed back to the B&B where we took a little walk out near the lighthouse and saw some seals and an otter. According to Sally, the otter always had breakfast behind the lighthouse in the morning, so we decided to take a look the other day.
Monday May 24
When we finished our breakfast we took a walk around the lighthouse, we didn’t see the otter there, we managed to see it swimming right in front of us. These animals are constantly on the move and are fun to watch. The weather was getting worse, with clouds and lower temperatures. Good weather for a distillery tour and we decided to go to Bowmore Distillery. We had a great and interesting tour, Heather is a perfect guide, and then enjoyed a nice drink before heading to the store for some goodies.
After the distillery tour we headed towards Bridgend and decided to go to Finlaggan, just outside of Ballygrant. Finlaggan is the most important archaeological site on Islay and was the home of the Lord of the Isles hundreds of years ago. The remains of a chapel and some houses can still be seen on a small island called Eilean Mor in Loch finlaggan. At which point it finally started to rain and we went back to get the car and traveled towards Port Askaig where we turned around and headed back to Bowmore. As this was already our last day on Islay, we had to do some necessary shopping for the next day. We stopped by the Bowmore tourist information for some reading and went to the Harbor Inn restaurant where we had a fabulous lunch. I wish we knew about them last night, but we promised each other to come back if we ever got back to Islay. For now we still had some other plans.
After our lunch we headed towards the Oa peninsula, an empty part of Islay where 4000 people lived in the early days. It is hard to imagine that and in some places there are still visible ruins of houses and even a church. We drove up and ended up in Lower Killeyan where there is access to a small beach and a cave. It had stopped raining and we could see Ireland in the distance. We walked along the beach enjoying the wildlife, seals, oystercatchers and many other birds. The rocks rise at some points almost 20 meters from the sea and the scenery here is simply stunning. We were the only ones here and we enjoyed the tranquility of this wonderful place.
When we left the Oa we returned to the B&B where we had our dinner and a good chat with Harry and Sally, two lovely people who enjoy living on Islay. Harry is a painter and we bought two beautiful prints from him. One from Port Ellen lighthouse and one from Port Askaig with views of Paps of Jura. Afterwards we took our last walk around Islay and headed to the Singing Sands just behind Carraigh Fhada Farm. Another lovely quiet beach and too beautiful to leave, but when it got dark we went back to our B&B for a good night’s sleep after all these beautiful impressions.
tuesday may 25
We have our last breakfast on Islay and head towards Port Ellen around 8am. One final ride and we enjoyed every minute of it. We were sad to leave, it was the end of our honeymoon and we had a wonderful time on Islay. Much better than we expected and we already decided that we would return in 2005.
