Islay

Now this is what you can call a Fixer-Upper, providing you have the nerves and the proper planning permission to start the works. There are many of these old ruined (farm)buildings on Islay and it shows that there once lived much more people than today. In fact, the largest population was around 15,000 people in the early 1800s. Nowadays Islay has around 3,500 inhabitants. These old ruins somet

Claudio Riva, a regular visitor of my Islay Weblog, sent me some beautiful pictures which he took in the last couple of days. After a cloudy start of his holiday he enjoyed a few clear and very bright days on Islay. He took this picture when the sun reached its highest position at noon, which is in fact incredibly low above the horizon. In this time of year Islay has around seven to eight hours

What's better than a sunny day? Well for me a day with heavy showers and sunny spells is the ultimate kick when I'm on Islay. So many photo opportunities, ever changing and sometimes very threatening skies, rainbows and beautiful reflections on the lochs. With Loch Indaal in the heart of the island there are always good opportunities to catch these breathtaking moments from mother nature.

Snow isn’t regular on Islay and happens usually on higher grounds. But sometimes you can get lucky and this picture, from a good friend, shows how beautiful the island can be when it’s covered with a layer of snow. It seems appropriate for the time of year and I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and hopefully with snow too!

A good friend sent me this picture from the winter solstice, 21 December 2008, at Loch Gruinart on Islay. It was a grey day with rain and drizzle and only little real daylight. From now on the days will be longer and spring is, although still far away, coming closer.

Now I wish I could say that I have found a spectacular video from the Sound of Islay Sea Bed. Unfortunately I haven't. The video is not spectacular but I decided to post it anyway so you can judge for yourself. You can see some images of the Sea Bed which are probably taken for test purposes for the possible future tidal energy system that will be installed in the Sound of Islay. The same author h

In the run up to Christmas there are several Christmas fairs on Islay in different locations on the island. When you're on the island in this time of year you can find below some more information about times, venues etc of these fairs which I found in this weeks Ileach.Islay Quilters Christmas Fair, Islay House Square, Bridgend on Saturday 6th December from 10.30am-4.30 am. Special Christmas gifts

Welcome to this weeks nature and wildlife report nr 46 by Jeremy Hastings, Islay's five star wilderness guide.It certainly has been the arrival of winter and arrive it did. The wind turned to the north, bitter and lazy (does not go around, but through one).The full moon at the end of last week traditionally would sign the winter and everything changed: fields lost their brightness, geese grazed ev

The following information was published on the Calmac website. Last Updated : 24 Nov 2008 08:28Kennacraig-Port Ellen/Port Askaig. Due to technical problems on the Ardrossan/Brodick route, MV Hebridean Isles has been diverted to assist. This means that Kennacraig/Islay is operating a One Vessel Service on this route.The following sailings today Monday 24/11 have been withdrawn the 09:45hrs from Ken

A little over a week ago, in the early hours of Friday 14 November, one of the silo's at Port Ellen Maltings collapsed. After the first article provided by George Rhind and the pictures from Yvonne Anderson, today the story as it was published in this weeks Ileach newspaper:A grain silo at Port Ellen Maltings collapsed shortly before 6am on the morning of Friday, 14th November. The silo contained

Welcome back to Islay Seasonwatch which this week is continuing our look at the geese species which can be discovered on Islay. This week we are focusing on the Greenland Barnacle Goose (Branta leucopsis) a winter visitor to Islay. Population and Distribution: The breeding populations of Barnacle Geese are confined to four areas: coastal north east Greenland, northern Siberia, Svalbard and souther

Christine Logan sent me an email about her mothers (Lily MacDougall) bagpipes, which are very special and original Henderson make. Her mother is now 94 and although she can still play the pipes, she decided, after long consideration, to try and sell them. Below more information which Christine sent me:The bagpipes were gifted to my mother by a family friend in 1939 and were second hand at that tim

Arra just sent me this (somewhat scary picture) of his brother Donald, who is celebratinig Bonfire Night, which takes place every year at the 5th of November. Later on tonight he will blow up a pile of fire works!! Bonfire Night actually is Guy Fawkes Day but also known as Bonfire Night. I found a nice description of the backgrounds of this particular day on this website: "It goes back to the 1600

As the man or woman said, 'If you don't like Islay weather, just wait a minute'. And how true. This weekend saw us with a complete change from last week, On saturday and sunday we had cloudy but bright days, and the wind was so still that there was hardly a breath of air stirring. On saturday it was quiet enough to hear the swish of feathers while Whooper swans flew along the Loch Gorm shoreline,

Welcome to this weeks Islay Nature and Wildlife report with news from the bird blogs on Islay, a nature report from Jeremy and more weather talk.Now I wasn't going to mention the weather (again) but since the early winter is such a hot topic I might as well join in. I also received more images of the early snow on the Paps of Jura including one from the snow on Islay which stayed for a couple of d

Gaelic voices from Islay's past were heard loud and clear when Tobar an Dualchais presented a pot pourri of audio recordings dating from the early 1950s to the 1970s at an open evening in Ionad Chaluim Chille Ile on Wednesday. Over 700 hours of recordings pertaining to Islay and Jura are held by the Kist o' Riches and these were sourced from the School of Scottish Studies at Edinburg

Every now and then, probably just like Armin, I try to find out what the status is of the sale of Islay House, and every time I find out there isn't much to report. At first Islay House was put on the market for £2,250,000 and later the price had dropped to £1,750,000. The strange thing however is that Islay House was, and still is, for sale at Savills from Edinburgh but about a week ago I f

At the start of the new millenium, July 2000 to be precise Mark Unsworth moved to Islay and the business of Islay Studios was born. Every year since, the business has grown with pace, to date that growth stands at 600% and that has put big pressures on the location at the Pier in Bruichladdich. That growth was possibly part aided by the fact Mark was a short listed finalist in the landscape photog

Everyone at Islay Hospital is most grateful to Mrs Oldrey and her family who provided the impetus and finance for the purchase of an invaluable hi-tech medical training manikin for Islay after the death of her husband. The Oldrey family have been spending their holidays on Islay for the past ten years but sadly Dr Oldrey became unwell while here. He was initially treated by paramedics at the scene

As a follow up on yesterday's post about the Glasgow to Islay journey, I'd like to mention a another special place to stop when you come from Glasgow. The place I am referring to is Inveraray, a lovely village, beautifully situated on the shore of Loch Fyne and it's the first planned village in Scotland. Inveraray is a busy little village with a couple of interesting visitor attractions. One of th

Welcome to this weeks Islay Nature and Wildlife report with, as usual, news from the Birds Blogs on Islay, a Nature report from Jeremy Hastings and other nature snippets. Picture right: autumn woods at Loch Skerrols.Autumn is in full swing showing off it's many vivid colours which are a pleasure for the eye, specially when the sun is out. The days are getting shorter, the hills are colouring brown

I have just returned from a walk in the nature reserve, which is only a few hundred metres from my home. This nature reserve I'm talking about is a coastal dune system which was shaped over thousands of years. These dunes have been protected for a long time because of their importance for flood protection along the coast. Later, they received additional protection under the Nature Conservation Act

Links between Islay and North Antrim were strengthened with Gaelic and Gaeilge Courses at Ionad Chaluim Chille ÃŒle. Ionad Chaluim Chille ÃŒle provided a warm welcome to seventeen Irish Gaelic speakers and seven Scottish Gaelic speakers to share a remarkable week in August. Most of the people who came from Ireland came by boat direct from Ballycastle. The journey, which is little more than an

I found a very nice article in last weeks Ileach about the number of festivals on Islay related to the fabulous home baking that is offered during some of these events. I can remember a spring fair at Bruichladdich hall in May this year where a number of artists on the island got together to sell their (self made) things. At the time we arrived it was somewhat quiet, it was on a Saturday, but we e

After a small delay of some weeks, which had something to do with the water, the new Abattoir at Avonvogie is now opened for business as of today. The first animal slaughtered was a charity lamb acquired by the Bruichladich Distillery during the sheep market auction at Bridgend, last Friday. The jolly animal, according to the laddieblog, was called Matidan of Eorrabus, and is raised by Isobel Bake

Genealogy, tracing your ancestors, is one of the reasons for people to visit Islay. Sometimes research has to take place in local archives and/or visual information is needed from the many headstones on the many cemetaries on the island itself. There is a page on the Islayinfo website called Islay Genealogy which is packed with information for people who trace their ancestors. With the start of th

Welcome to this weeks Islay Nature and Wildlife report with, as usual, news from the Birds Blogs on Islay, a Nature report from Jeremy Hastings and information on how to adopt an Ileach Dolphin.I found something interesting today on the internet about Dolphins. I read on the WWF website that you can adopt a Dolphin, which probably isn't new, but the special thing about it is that the Dolphin is an

Kilmeny Church is located near Ballygrant and is very much worth a visit. The church was remodelled in 1828 to plans drawn up by Thomas Telford. The area was the site of a number of medieval and early Celtic places of worship. This is one of the nicest churches on Islay but unfortunately I never had the pleasure to visit the inside of the church. Unlike many other churches on the island this one i

Eric, a member of this blog, visited the island last year and submitted his comments today. As you can read he had a great time and has wonderful memories too:Eric: I had the privilige of going to your beautiful Island of Islay in 2007 to see for me the Holy grail of Scotch Distilling...... BOWMORE, and to see all the other Distilleries, see the Island and absorb all the Island has to offer. We,

Most distilleries on Islay get their barley from the mainland of Scotland except Kilchoman and, for a part, the Bruichladdich distillery. Bruichladdich get's a good part of their barley from Islay farms such as Kentraw, Rockside, Kynagarry and Octomore. They claim that Islay grown barley gives a better taste to the malt whisky, something I won't, and can't argue. From a marketing point of view it'

Welcome to this weeks Islay Nature and Wildlife report. Jeremy has returned home and has some news about last weeks gathering and the latest Islay nature news.A lot has been said about the terrible August weather, specially on the mainland. Overall August has been a dull month in Scotland and the most sunshine was for the west and far north. Glasgow and Edinburgh showed record rain figures. Glasgo

I wouldn't say that of my own Islay video's I've created so far but the video I want to show you below is probably one of the most beautiful Islay video's I have seen so far. And you guessed right, I didn't make it! It was Jeremy Hastings of Islay Birding who gave me a copy in spring and permission to put it online. The video is made by a French crew who were on Islay a couple of years ago in the

I had created a few Islay Video's a while back which can be seen in the Islay video Media Album but I wasn't too pleased with the quality, specially playing them from the website was a bit slow. It requires a special type of web-hosting, something I don't have. That's one of the reasons why I created a new video today and posted it on youtube. They are specialised in doing this which makes life a

With a record turnout of boats and an army of enthusiastic anglers, some of whom came all the way from County Durham just for the occasion, the Stormcats Islay Tope Fishing Festival once again proved to be a hugely enjoyable and successful event for the third year running. The chosen battlegrounds this year, where contestants hooked up and cast their weapons, were Bowmore on Saturday 9th, and Port

The Laddieblog wrote today about an online petition which started this month. The petition was started by Joan Richardson and calls for a review of the ferry service to Islay and an immediate fare reduction based upon the fact that other Scottish islands will benefit from the Road Equivalent Tariff pilot which will commence later this year or next year. The southern islands of Argyll were not incl

Welcome to this weeks Islay Nature and Wildlife report. Jeremy is into mushrooms and mentions wild food and I found something interesting in the wild as well as you can see in this amazing picture (there's a bigger one here). I took this picture in the Bridgend Woods, at the back of the Bridgend Hotel. It's a fungus called Dryad's Saddle. It's botanical name is Polyporus squamosus and this fungus

After yesterdays post about Port Wemyss I realised this morning that Port Wemyss didn't have its own feature page. Up till today there was some information on the Portnahaven page and I decided that this beautiful village deserved more. That's why I created a new feature page for Port Wemyss and changed the feature page for Portnahaven on the Islay Info Website.I also updated the Islay Media Galle

Mark Unsworth from Islay Studios was kind enough to write some lines and send some pictures of this years Islay, Jura and Colonsay Agricultural Show, the 162nd already. Mark: "The show was held in mainly cloudy but warm conditions and appeared to have a good attendance with many traders happy with their day's business. The overall champion of champion for livestock went to Tom Epps of Ardnave Farm

In less than a month it's time again for the 10th Black Bottle Islay Jazz Festival. A mailing was sent out today with the following information:We plan to announce the full Islay programme early next week, but I wanted to give you some advance notice of our programme for 2008. The 10th Black Bottle Islay Jazz Festival will run from 12-14th September 2008 and will feature the following artists: Col

I found an interesting sea kayaking trip report today, written by Pam, who lives on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll. She was invited by Dave Protherough (picture right) and Emma from the Islay Canoe Club. The trip report is very comprehensive and interesting to read, specially for those who are kayaking themselves or who are planning to. From what Pam wrote I understood it can be very exciting, spec

When you visit the West Highlands of Scotland you're likely to come across an Oban Times publication called Holiday West Highland, a newspaper style magazine packed with tourist information of the West Highlands such as where to go, what to see, where to eat and where to stay. The magazine covers an area that roughly stretches from the Mull of Kintyre and Islay in the south to Mull and Fort Willia

Welcome to this weeks Islay Nature and Wildlife report with a contribution from Jeremy Hastings and the highlights from the other Islay wildlife and birding blogs. In last weeks report I wrote something about the Rowan tree and today I came across a really nice Islay tree picture (right) which I took in Bridgend, there where the river Sorn flows into Loch Indaal. But as much as I like everything n

If you are interested in having an entire island for yourself, close to Portnahaven on Islay, and have no plans on living there you might be interested in the following article, which appeared in the Press and Journal:It could be the ultimate status symbol for wealthy investors who have avoided the hardships of the credit crunch. Mackenzie Island, or Eilean Mhic Coinnich in Gaelic, is a small and

Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) published their annual report today. These annual reports are not the most exciting reading material so I extracted some information and key figures for Islay. The report says the following about Islay: "Total passenger movements increased by 4.7% due mainly to Loganair operating more scheduled rotations and achieving higher passenger load factors on the G

BBC Scotland reports this morning that the new wave power turbine at Portnahaven is officially "switched on" by the Scottish Energy Minister Jim Mather. The turbine will feed around 100kW of electricity into the island's grid by converting the Atlantic waves into electricity. Whether the ceremony today was merely the official opening or more is not known to me. Mark Unsworth told me he would be on

Many people on Islay know Fiona Middleton as the woman who plays her violin to the seals living in Islay's waters. Fiona lives on the south part of Islay near Kildalton. Today I found a video on youtube with Fiona being interviewed by Megan McCormick from Globe Trekker and includes some beautiful footage of Islay as well. I discovered that this is a fragment of a DVD which you can buy online at Gl

The Isle of Islay really is my favourite Scottish Island and this has got nothing to do with the eight whisky distilleries on the island. I must admit though that it was the whisky that got me there in the first place, through a bottle of Laphroaig whisky. Becoming a Friend of Laphroaig started of a passion for the island that's getting stronger with every visit and after a few visit's to Islay yo

The decline in the number of butterflies in the UK started years ago and at this very moment the decline for most butterfly species is reaching alarming levels. This was one of the reasons that a small group of dedicated naturalists formed Butterfly Conservation back in 1968. The organisation, a charity, has more than 12,000 members and since 1998 Sir David Attenborough has been President of Butte

During our trip in May we had glorious weather conditions which allowed me to take many pictures and create a few beautiful Islay Panorama's. The Islay Panorama Page has been updated today with three new images from Portnahaven, Port Ellen and Bruichladdich. There is more to come but I will save them for a later date. If you click on one of the images below you can see the panorama picture in full

Drive Safely on Islay's Country Roads - Advice from The Highway Code and Strathclyde Police:With so many visitors currently holidaying in Islay, many drivers and cyclists here for the first time, it's a good moment to pass on some information which can help all road users to keep safe on Islay's narrow and single-track country roads. The Highway Code states clearly that: "The Highway Code i

Welcome to this weeks Islay Nature and Wildlife report with a contribution from Jeremy Hastings and the highlights from the other wildlife and birding blogs on Islay.The Islay Birds blog: In Ian's post of Tuesday Ian had some news of the owls which can be seen on Owl tv: "The young that can be seen on the Islay Natural History's Trust web cam appear to be getting along just fine. Although 6 eggs w

I will only post a video today and won't do much other Islay blogging. In a few hours a plane will land at Amsterdam Airport bringing Arra Fletcher and his fiancée Barbara to the Netherlands. I will pick them up at the airport this afternoon and we will spend the weekend together before they leave for a holiday in Europe! It will be good fun and we are really looking forward to seeing them both

The British Pipe Band Championships were held at Cannon Hill park in Birmingham on the 28th of June. For the first time in years it was held in England again and the Islay Pipe Band with Pipe Major Nigel Morris were there as well to compete in grade 4a. Earlier, in May, the band already won the Scottish Championship in grade 4a. There is more information about the Scottish Championship on their we

The first picture show Don Brook's magnificent B17 Flying Fortress 'Liberty Belle' which flew into a very wet Islay Airport from Prestwick yesterday afternoon 3rd July. Both George Rhind and Fiona MacGregor sent me reports of this unique event and Carl Reavey sent me pictures. Thanks very much everyone for your help!The B17 Flying Fortress Liberty Bell landing at Islay AirportGeorge Rhind: The air

Mark Unsworth of Islay Studios sent me the picture below of a thunderstorm which he took this afternoon. It clearly shows that the long dry spell that started in April and lasted almost three months has finally ended. Good news for farmers, distilleries and nature..... providing it doesn't rain too long.After all our good weather, God has decided to turn the taps on!Tag: rain weather

When I found the winter 2006-2007 edition of GAP news a few weeks ago I had some very interesting reading before me. GAP by the way stands for Grazing Animals Project and was formed in 1997 to aid the development of conservation grazing throughout the UK. I found a great article, written by Dunlossit Estate Manager Chloë Randall, about pigs and (moor)land management. From what I've been reading

Quite a lot of positive Islay Whisky news at the start of July. First of all Response Source published a press release with great news for Lagavulin: "Lagavulin, the iconic single malt whisky from Islay, has again won Double Golds. In fact it won three - for its classic 16 year old expression, for its rare 21 year old release, and for its majestic Distillers Edition cask-finished in oak previously

Welcome to this weeks Islay Nature and Wildlife report. Today unfortunately without a contribution from Jeremy Hastings who has been cycling the London-Paris cycling tour. Instead another nature related item which is a fishing trip report from Brian Turner from early June (loch Kinnabus picture right). And as usual there are the highlights from the other wildlife and birding blogs on Islay. Last w

It was in May 2006 that we first met Ken and Penny Williams at Rhu House, our favorite Bed and Breakfast in Tarbert, where we usually sleep the night before we go to Islay. Ken and Penny, an elderly and very charming couple from Wales, were joining us at the breakfast table on the morning of our departure and we found out they were going to Islay as well, and even on the same ferry. We saw them se

Due to a planned strike by firefighters at nine HIAL sites, flights to Islay will be disrupted on Monday 23 June. A Quote from BBC Scotland:A strike by firefighters on Monday will disrupt travel plans for about 2,000 air passengers, according to Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL). Barra, Benbecula, Campbeltown, Islay, Kirkwall, Stornoway, Sumburgh, Tiree and Wick airports will be closed

The 2008 Film nan Eilean Beaga (Small Islands Film Festival 2008) will take place on Islay. Ray Burnett from the Small Islands Film Trust has confirmed that Islay is their first choice of location, with the festival to be hosted by Ionad Chaluim Chille ÃŒle. The decision follows his recent visit and discussions with the operators of the Screen Machine which will be an integral part of the festiv

Welcome to this weeks Islay Nature and Wildlife report with a contribution from Jeremy Hastings and the highlights from the other wildlife and birding blogs on Islay. Picture right: Sunset seen from the old pier at Port Wemyss, May 2008.The Islay Birds blog: On Monday 9th of June Ian writes: "Malcolm Ogilvie had been contacted by Richard and Mavis Gulliver who live over at Port Ellen. They had a s

Yesterday, June 14, was the day of the Islay Beach Rugby Tournament, which is held annually and attracts more and more teams from the UK to Islay. The tournament was held at the beach in Port Ellen in front of the White Heart Hotel and was sponsored by Lagavulin. The weather was good with no rain although the northerly wind was rather cold. The Islay Beach Rugby tournament is one of Scottish rubgy

A good tip when you're on Islay is to visit the Islay Art & Craft markets. It's a good opportunity to get to know some of the local artists and craftspeople and at the same time buy locally made items for yourself or as a gift for the people back home. There is a good variety of locally produced items from which some aren't for sale somewhere else on the island. If you can't find what you're looki

The University of Aberdeen is running a study on the feeding behaviour of seabirds and marine mammals in the Sound of Islay for the month of June. We are doing so as a baseline study for several reasons. First to determine the range and abundance of species which may frequent the Sound. Secondly we will collect information in great detail about where and when each species spends its time actively

More and more businesses, organisations and accommodations on Islay get an online presence. It was early April that I wrote about the new website for the An Taigh Osda Hotel in Bruichladdich, followed by five new Islay Websites a week later and a new website for Loch Gorm House another week later.Today I can announce that three more Islay websites made it online in the last weeks. The first one be

Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay and Camilla, Duchess of Rothesay arrived at Laphroaig Distillery on wednesday 4 June at 3pm, reaching Islay Airport by helicopter via an earlier visit to Rothesay. The Black Bottle Islay Pipe Band played the royal couple in, and Port Ellen schoolchildren raised the Royal Standard beside the Union Jack in an increasing breeze on a cloudy afternoon with rain approach

Welcome to this weeks Islay Nature and Wildlife report with a contribution from Jeremy Hastings, the highlights from the other wildlife and birding blogs on Islay and a wee contribution of myself.One of my favourite plants on Islay is definitely Cotton Grass, which flowers in spring and can be found anywhere near a peat bog. Cotton Grass looks like tufts of cotton wool swaying in the wind. It's al

The new abattoir being built at Avonvogie will enable the 'Meat Islay' concept to develop - which will be a trade mark that guarantees that the animal bearing the mark was born, bred and slaughtered on Islay. It will enable Ilich, visitors and businesses alike to buy animals directly from participating Islay farmers, either as live animals at the farm or mart, or butchered, packed and delivered to

One of our favourite places on Islay to sit and watch the world go by is definitely Debbie's Minimarket in Bruichladdich. We have spent many happy moments sitting outside on the terrace, admiring the wonderful and always changing views while sipping our great coffees. Fortunately the weather was pleasant enough to enjoy our coffee sitting outside but when the weather let's you down you can sit com

After three and a half years and approximately 200 miles of walking, I (Becky Williamson) have finished my walk round Islay's coastline. I completed the final stretch (Glen Astle to Kintra) on 29th April and decided I'd left the best till last! The weather helped, admittedly, but so did the fantastic views of Golden Eagle on the cliffs of The Oa, the incessant song of the Skylark hig

An interesting article appeared in the Scotsman today about basking sharks. It seems that the population of these huge sharks have doubled in the past five years. Wikipedia writes the following about the basking shark:The basking shark is the second largest fish, after the whale shark. It is a cosmopolitan species - it is found in all the world's temperate oceans. It is a slow moving and generally

This week already Jeremy Hastings nature report number 21 and from now on back on Sunday evening. For those of you who haven't met Jeremy before I can tell you he is quite a character. Besides his vast knowlegde of birding, wildlife, bushcraft and Islay he is always in for a joke as well. During our trip beyond Gortantaoid Jeremy wanted to protect himself from the hot sun while searching for dry s

Jim Eagles, a travel writer from a newspaper in New Zealand, visited the island and wrote a lengthy travel report on Monday the 2nd of June, yes they are a few hours ahead of us. According to the article Jim visited a lot of places on Islay and in his first sentence he starts that when you leave the window open at night you might wake up drunk the next morning. I don't know if the "Angels Share" i

Someone pointed out a Belgian website to me with pictures of Islay showing views from the old days and below them the same view from present times. It reminded me of the book from Mark Unsworth, called Islay Past and Present. The website itself originates from Belgium and is owned by the 100°proof Whisky Club which started in 2004 with ten members. In the winter of 2006 the whisky club did an I

Imagine a butterfly that migrates all the way from Africa and Asia and ends up in May on a hilltop on the Rhinns of Islay. To me that's quite an achievement for such a fragile and small creature. The animal that makes this remarkable migration is the Painted Lady Butterfly and was spotted by Teresa Morris of Islaywildscapes on the top of the Rhinns on 18 May at Turnaichaidh above Kilchoman. A qout

Yesterday we had a witch blogging live from Islay during the Feis Ile and today I found another blog with daily updates about the festival. It's a whisky blog called caskstrength.net which is run by Joel and Neil. Their main focus is the tasting of Islay's fine malts and to recover from the many drams they walk some of the pleasant and always quiet beaches on Islay. So far they have been to most d

As promised earlier the Islay Nature reports nr 19 and 20 by Jeremy Hastings. This time with a contribution about one of my favourite birds, the Gannet and a report about Jeremy's bushcraft trip. Gannet Image courtesy of Al WilsonIslay Nature report nr 19Wow - what a week - the weather has been so kind top us and having spent until Friday in short sleeve order it has felt as if summe

In disguise or not but there seems to be a bad witch on Islay and she writes about her Islay whereabouts on the Bad Witches Blog. A quote from last Tuesday and Wednesday: Last night I went to a whisky tasting followed by a ceilidh. I do have a soft spot for a good peaty single malt, but back in London I probably wouldn't bother to go to an evening of traditional folk dancing. Here, the small villa

Due to my recent trip to Islay and the absence of radio, television, newspapers and internet, something I enjoyed very much for a while, I wasn't able to post Jeremy's nature reports in the first weeks of May. I will therefore post two of them now and the other two later this week. Having been on Islay myself during the time Jeremy wrote the reports they now have an even more special meaning to me

We made it home today after our perfect Islay Holiday. It was quite a shock to trade in the peaceful island life we became so easily used to, against the hustle and bustle of our wee hometown. If you have seen the movie "Local Hero", you know exactly what I mean. And on top of all that, we actually have rain today over here, something we hardly experienced on Islay. The island presented itself to

I came across these very old news snippets through the Islay List, they were posted by Helen Campbell Blair and I thought it would be a good idea to share them with you.Ship Hibernia aground at Islay - 1808Greenock, November 22, 1808The ship Hibernia, of and from Londonderry, for Philadelphia, Jacob James, master, was driven on the rocks near the entrance of Lochendall, in Islay, in the gale of the 8th instant; and the crew, and 70 passengers, narrowly escaped with their lives, and lost a great part of their property. Several gentlemen and a lady of the number arrived here, on Sunday, in the Tarbert packet, and express in the warmest terms, the gratitude they owe the respectable family of Shawfield, for the kindness and hospitality they experienced from them after the disaster, particularl

There is a new Islay related book on the horizon which is expected to be published in the summer of 2008. The book is called "Islay - Land of the Lordship" and is written by David Caldwell, has a hardcover and consists of 320 pages. To give you an idea what this book is all about you can read the "synopsis" supplied by Amazon, where the book can be pre-ordered for £19.80.Islay was originally part of Dal Riata, the early kingdom of the Scots, but was then colonised by Scandinavian settlers in the middle of the ninth century. It was also the home of the MacDonalds who established the Lordship of the Isles during the Medieval Period. In the Gaelic world, their status was king-like and, at the height of their power in the 15th century, they mounted a challenge to the Stewart dynasty for con

Cycling on Islay is becoming more and more popular and mr Islay cycling himself, brian palmer from the thewashingmachinepost and the Ileach, published a new leaflet together with the Argyll and Bute Council.This is a leaflet on the dos and don'ts and the whys and wherefores of cycling on Islay and Jura. Aside from information pertinent to cyclists, there are also three circular routes detailed for those who would like to put some of the advice into practice. Copies of the leaflet are free and are available at Debbies Minimarket in Bruichladdich, the Tourist Information office in Bowmore and from the Ileach office, also in Bowmore. If you like to receive a copy prior to your arrival on Islay you can send brian an email at cycle-leaflet@thewashingmachinepost.netMore information about

Waking up to find your house is on fire is one of those nightmares that we all hope we never have to live through - but it happened to Justin Ruthven-Tyers (picture) and his wife Linda when they were living in an ancient cottage on the edge of Exmoor back in 1992. The house was 'upside down' with the bedrooms on the ground floor and the living accommodation upstairs and Justin describes waking to a strange roaring noise, then reaching up to feel the ceiling above his head hot to the touch before making a hasty exit. Within minutes, the building was a blazing inferno. Despite having no practical experience of building or woodwork, Justin decided to rebuild it himself, and having done so, kind of caught a building bug which for some obscure reason resulted in a decision to construct a gaffer

Welcome to this weeks Islay Nature report. There is not much news from the Owls yet, the eggs are expected to hatch early May. What has changed however is the internet address for the Owls! They are now hosted at the Islay Natural History Trust website at: www.islaynaturalhistory.org.The Islay Birds blog: With all the new migrants Ian had almost daily updates including breaking news last Friday: "The first Corncrake of the year was heard this morning, here at Kilchoman, and Michael Copleston had a Spotted Crake over on the Flats at Gruinart last night!" and a day later Ian reports that he had actually seen the Corncrake. This is not an easy task since these birds are very secretive. On Thursday Ian writes: "There were quite a noticable increase in the number of migrants both seen and heard

The sixth of April 1968 saw a new beginning in ferry transport for Islay. On a beautiful sunny Saturday, forty years ago Western Ferries' brand new red and white ferry, Sound of Islay sailed into Port Askaig for the first time and it seemed that the whole of the population of Islay was there to greet her. Captain Angus Mitchell, and First Officer, Sandy Ferguson were afraid to leave their brand new ship as it was overrun by enthusiastic sightseers. With the coming of the Sound of Islay came a revolution in sea transport as far as Islay was concerned as, up until then, cars were driven on to a net and swung into the hold of the mail boat. Now here was a roll on roll off ferry which brought Islay into line with the other islands on the west coast that had had roll on roll off ferries

As promised yesterday, today another new website from Islay. This time a blog about Islay's wildlife called Islay Birder, run by John Armitage from Portnahaven, which is a great area to observe sea birds, specially the coastal area near the Frenchman's Rocks. John's profile on his blog: "I retired early after 20years with RSPB working in conservation. Most of my time now spent doing voluntary bird survey work. Enjoy many other aspects of natural history including mammals and butterflies/moths. Particularly enjoy seawatching and bird migration." John will cover the wildlife on the Rhinns and will post updates regularly on his new blog. When I sent John an email he replied: "From time to time I'll also be incorporating information, updates etc relating to the British Trust for Ornithology an

George Rhind from Bowmore sent me two images of paintings, both painted by David Forrester Wilson, and George is very curious to find out where the subject of the paintings is. Here is the email George sent me:David Forrester Wilson, who was born in Glasgow in 1873, was an artist, taught at the Glasgow School of Art, was an Associate of the Royal Scottish Academy and had a studio at what was formerly the Abbotsford Hotel, Bruichladdich, Islay. He died on Islay on 8th January 1950 and his pictures are in many important collections. His grandson has the original of the painting shown in the second picture and would like to establish where the subject of the painting is. He thought it might be Islay but it is not familiar to me. It may be one of the other West coast islands. Does anyone else

Batik artist Liz Sykes, and her husband Dave, have lived on Islay since 1974. Both she and Dave had given up their occupations - Liz a microbiologist in journalism and Dave a technical translator - to come and live on Islay and they were running a small letterpress general printing business, starting with a hand-operated Adana in Dave's parents' ex-coalshed. They also printed for tourism, with Liz doing pen-and-ink drawings for what was upgraded to a hand-fed Victorian power platen press, up the hill in Damaoidh. They produced their first 'Islay Calendar' in 1976. To expand sales to the mainland, Dave spent a day selling calendars depicting traditional crafts from a suitcase in the streets of Paisley - because their by-laws didn't require a hawker's licence. The

It's good to see that there is yet another new Islay website, they keep me very busy writing about them. This time it's a website for the Beach Rugby Tournament which will be held on the second Saturday of June, when 18 teams compete on the beach opposite the White Heart Hotel at Port Ellen. The website has several pages including a picture gallery, and other pages with rules, travel and accommodation tips and contact information. Interesting to read was the page with quotes where you can read what the local and national media have written about this tournament. The Herald writes: "The idyllic setting and hospitality makes this one of the top rugby experiences out there." That should explain enough I should say. The new website is available at www.islaybeachrugby.comTag: rugby

It's only three days ago that I wrote about five new Islay websites and today another one has been added to the ever growing list. This time a very nice website designed by James McGregor of Islay IT for a new Bed and Breakfast called Samhchair which is Gaelic for "tranquillity". I think the name is well chosen considering it's located opposite Port Ellen at Kilnaughton Bay between Carraig Fhada and Kilnaughton chapel. A very nice sheltered spot with panoramic views to Port Ellen and the Mull of Kintyre.Samhchair Bed and Breakfast offers one twin and one double bedroom. Each bedroom offers en-suite facilities, satellite television, free wireless internet connection and many other luxuries including a guests' lounge. The Bed and Breakfast is owned by Maggie and Robin Woodman and is built as