The Isle of Islay

Port Charlotte's lighthouse

The Isle of Islay (pronounced “eye-la”) is one of the Inner Southern Hebrides Islands on the west coast of Scotland. As some of the locals put it, “West is best.” For me, it was odd having the Atlantic Ocean on the west instead of the east. Of course, I was still getting used to riding on the left side of the road, so I could just add to the adjustments that I was making. 

Islay, known as the Queen of the Hebrides, has about 3200 people year round (Isle of Islay, 2013) and many more sheep. 

Tourism, fishing, farming, and the distilling of Scotch whisky are the major industries of Islay. There are 8 working distilleries on the island that attract tourists and collectors from all over the world. 

Lagavulin's distillery

Bruichladdie's (pronounced Brook-laddie) still

Red deer

The round church in Bowmore. The church is round so the devil could find no corner in which to hide.

Rainbow in Lagavulin

The signs included the Gaelic names, too.

Fun at the Port Charlotte playground

sandy beach at Kilchoman

With Islay’s touted 130 miles of coastline comes stunning beaches. We only visited a few of the breath-taking beaches, some of which held treasure troves of beach glass, bull kelp, shells, and cool rocks. Rocky outcroppings bookended the more than a mile of sandy beach at Kilchoman, also known as Machir Bay. 

Kilchoman beach

Kilchoman

Kilchoman

Seryahna & Djanko at Kilchoman's beach

Ahmyn, Djanko, & Seryahna at Kilchoman

barnacle goose

The beach at Loch Gruinart is a nature reserve with a giant mud flat and known as a roosting ground for the barnacle goose, which summers in Greenland and northern Russia (RSPB, 2013).  For more on the beautiful barnacle goose: http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/B/BarnacleGoose/index.aspx.

Seryahna at Loch Gruinart

 

 

 

Lock Gruinart

The rocky Currie Sands beach held a surprise, the LIMPET. No, not the mollusks that cling to the rocks on the beaches, although I did see plenty of that kind of limpet. Islay is the home to the world’s first wave power generator, the Limpet 500, an acronym for Land Installed Marine Power Energy Transformer (“How It Works,” 2000). I will not pretend to know how it works, but you can find out in this link to a BBC article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/1032148.stm.

Currie Sands: you can see why this is a good spot for a wave power generator.

Currie Sands near Portnahaven

Another surprise was the Dunyvaig Castle on the Lagavulin Bay. This 17^th century castle with an even earlier history (Discover Islay Dunyvaig Castle, n.d.) has been the most treacherous set of ruins that I have seen yet. There is a warning sign before you get to the thin ledge that you need to climb around to get to a crumbling wall with a view. 

Dunyvaig Castle in Lagavulin

Although the Dunyvaig Castle has a history that dates back to the 13^th century (castles get built on top of castle ruins), Islay hosts even older relics of the past. The Kildalton Cross dates back to the 8^th century. The cross sits in the cemetery of the Kildalton Chapel, and the epidiorite stone is in remarkably good condition (Isle of Islay, 2013). Carvings depict David and a lion, the Virgin and child, Cain murdering Abel, and Abraham readying to sacrifice Isaac. The chapel itself is also a ruin, roofless surrounded by gravestones and snowbells (a lovely white flower). 

The Kildalton Cross

Seryahna picking snowbells at the Kildalton Chapel

Kildalton Chapel

 

Kildalton Chapel

Getting to and from a couple of these fabulous places is possible via the public bus. However, we did hire a car for two days to more easily see some of the out of way spots. Warning to anyone who will be the passenger in a car for the first time that someone is driving on the left-hand side: you may experience extreme anxiety. Ahmyn did fine and only forgot which side of the road to drive once or twice, but I was quite nervous because the roads are narrow and I did not want to drop off the side as a big lorrie (truck) passed us. I drove, too, and it is odd how even getting in and out of the car on the right hand side is awkward. Fortunately on Islay, many of the roads are one lane with little pull outs for oncoming cars. With only one lane, I did not have to worry about being on the correct side of the road. 

Even in the middle of nowhere, you can phone home.

It doesn't matter which side of the road you drive on this playground equipment in Port Charlotte!

After sightseeing for four days, my family and I were ready to return to Dalkeith and get ready for the next adventure – faculty orientation.