14 Miles off the Mull of Kintyre sits a little Isle 20 miles wide by 25 miles long , The southern most island of the Inner Hebrides , it is known the world over for it's fantastic whisky . "The Queen of the Hebrides" is accessable from the mainland via sea from Kennacraig by Caledonian MacBrayne Ferry and by air from Glasgow by British Airways .

What more do you want from an Island apart from the Whisky ?

Well how about ....

• Archaeology - Finlaggan , where the Lords of the Isles held court . The Round Church Bowmore where the devil has no corner to hide in or if you can actually get past the distilleries in the south have a look at the oldest surviving complete Celtic Cross in Kildalton Church .Not forgetting an abundance of Stone Circles....
• Bird Watching - RSPB Centre , Loch Gruinart .
• Beaches - the Big Strand , Lossit Bay , Machir bay , Ardnave Point to name a few .
• Scenery - Rugged coast line ( North-East & South-East ) , open peat bogs between Bowmore & Port Ellen , grassland up at Gruinart and farm land between Port Askaig & Bowmore .

There is plenty of walking to be done on Islay through some really outstanding scenery . There used to be a website about this called Islay Access but itake it their funding is finished as it has vanished , they had downloadable guides and also produced leaflets which were available at the Bowmore Visitors Centre , i don't know if the guides are still available but i've scanned the ones i've got and they can be downloaded here (if this is against any copywrites i will remove them ).......

The Guides are large pdf's (1.5mb plus) so it's best to Right click the links below and "save links as" or "Open link in New Window"

• Ballygrant to Port Askaig and Kintra to Soldiers Rock Walks
• Ardbeg to Solam Walk
• Kilnaughton & The Singing Sands , The Battery & Gartbreck and the Ardnave Walks
• Octofad to Lossit , Saligo and Killinallan Walks
• Blaulive to Bunnahabhain and Bunnahabhain to Rhubh'a'Mhail Walks
• Bridgends Woods and Sanaigmore Walks
• The Big Strand Walk
• Laggan Plantation , Port Ban , Weirs Bay and The West Tower Plantation Walk

The back drop of Islay has been used by the Media , there was also a Channel 4 "Time team" Programme about Finlaggan and it also featured in an Ealing comedy film in 1954 called "the Maggie" , click on the image below to see some captures from it

Places to Eat and Stay......

There are numerous places to stay on the Isle , to many to go into here . If your looking for somewhere have a look on the Ileachs Accomodation page or the Visit Scotland site .

The Isle has a wide variety of places to Eat and Stay , these are a few of the places we've frequented recently and can recommend :-

Old Kiln Cafe , Ardbeg Distillery - Superb ! Only open during the day but the lunches are Fantastic ! The whisky isn't too bad either......

an-taigh-osda @ bruichladdich - What can you say about this place ? Paul and Joan have a superb hotel , decorated to a very high standard , the restaurant is fabulous . The meals in the evening are the best we've had on Islay or even Scotland for that matter ! Somewhere to go for a very special occasion , definitely 5 star !

Bunnahabhain Cottages - Owned by the Distillery , the cottages are one of our favourite places to stay on the Isle . Well equiped on a beautiful Bay with a fantastic view , very peaceful and relaxing .

The Nippy Chippy - The Mobile chip van - Torture followed by sheer ecstacy . Torture waiting for the fish supper to cook , the smells emanating from the van . Ecstacy when you finally taste one of the finest fish suppers we've ever had .

The Bridgend Hotel - Can recommend the food here , have had a sunday lunch and a meal in the restaurant and was well impressed .

Taj Mahal , Shore Street , Bowmore - Indian that's been open for a while now , food is very good , still doesn't have a drinks licence but you can take your own alcohol in.

An Tigh Seinnse - The pub in Portnahaven , cosy little rooms , great food !

The Drome Cafe , Airport - Basic Fayre done exceptionally well at a good price ! Well recommended (daytime only).

The Port Charlotte Hotel - Great rooms , fantastic whisky selection , Food in the bar is of good value and quality .