Owner: Islay Weblog URL:http://blog.islayinfo.com Join Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2007 05:40:17 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: The Islay Weblog is a source of news, events, and background information (history, wildlife, genealogy, and so on) on the Isle of Islay, found in Scotland, the United Kingdom. Site statistics:Click here
Bottle of Bowmore sets new world record 2007-10-17 13:21:59 A new world record was set on 28th September with a bottle of Bowmore selling at auction for a remarkable £29,400.The bottle of single malt is the oldest Bowmore known to be in existence and is believed to have been bottled on Islay around 1850 by W & J Mutter. It was being sold on behalf of a private owner during the fine and rare whisky wine and port auction held at McTears auctioneers in Glasgow. Purchased by an anonymous telephone bidder the lot was expected to fetch £15,000 - £20,000, and the crowd burst into applause on completion of the sale. The hand blown pale green glass bottle and original cardboard carton in which it has been stored had been in good condition until one week before the sale when the delicate driven cork had dropped from the neck of the bottle into the whisky itself - leaving this extremely rare bottle requiring some renovation for the lucky purchaser. Morrison Bowmore Distillers ltd, attempted to buy the bottle and Bowmore brand director Glen Moore, who l
CalMac confirms additional winter services to Islay 2007-10-15 10:49:09 Earlier I wrote about Islay
's possible new ferry, being the Saturn (picture right). The article below, which recently appeared in the Ileach, shows that a second ferry will sail during the winter
period. It is however not confirmed that this second ferry will be the Saturn. Indications are however that this could be very well possible. More info about that soon! Ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne has confirmed that additional sailings are being provided on the Islay service to meet the demands of the burgeoning whisky industry. Following an approach from the islands distillers, who are experiencing unprecedented levels of demand and increasing production levels, CalMac agreed to investigate ways in which the pressure on current traffic availability could be alleviated. This has now led to the confirmation of a series of additional sailings which will begin on October 21, 2007. The two-vessel service will operate until the end of the Wintertimetable in March 2008, except for two key
Bowmore Village Hall in Islay Hands 2007-10-21 04:29:34 Last Friday, after years of uncertainty and struggling, was the official handover of Bowmore village hall from Argyll & Bute council to a community committee for a nominal fee of one pound. In the picture you see Margaret McLean from the local committee handing over the pound note, and Sandy MacTaggart from the Argyll & Bute council handing over the key. Margaret held a speech which you can find below:Margaret: A Warm welcome to everyone,This is a day many of us thought would never come. We have had many ups and downs in the nearly 3 years since we said we would undertake action to save Bowmore Hall from closure following the council's announcement they could or would no longer run it at a loss. We have lost a few members along the way including a wonderful chairman Malcolm Younger, but this was due to him having to be away from Islay
so much in connection with his work.We all realise what we have taken on will involve commitment and a lot of hard work but we also think it is worthwhi Read more:Hands
, Village
Islay News Roundup first-half October 2007 2007-10-19 09:35:29 Following is a short overview of Islay
news items published in the Ileach Newspaper.Bottle of Bowmore sets new world record: A new world record was set on 28th September with a bottle of Bowmore selling at auction for a remarkable £29,400.Death of Port Ellen man suspicious: 49 year old Peter Graham of Corrsgeir Place, Port Ellen collapsed in a street near to his home around midday on 20 September 2007. He was taken to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley where he died on Wednesday evening 3rd October
. Police told the Ileach that the post mortem examination which took place on Friday 5 October in an attempt to establish the cause of death was 'inconclusive'.CalMac prices to rise 1.8%: Ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne has confirmed that its fares levels will increase by 1.8% across the network from 1st April 2008.Succesfull ferry trial for Jura: The three week passenger ferry trial has been successfully completed with 30 return trips made and just one day lost to the weather. A
Dougie MacDougall - Islay's Fishermen in the Old Days 2007-10-26 10:39:33 In the stories of Dougie MacDougall are two characters mentioned being his friends. Their names are Donald MacPhee and John Wilson who were both fishermen at the time. The following story was written down by Dougie MacDougall and gives a nice view of the, sometimes hard lives, these people had years ago.Dougie MacDougall telling: Donald MacPhee and John Wilson were getting ready to set off on the 1st of may, there was great activity on the shore at Rhua Phort Beag. The boat was being loaded with lobster pots, including all the fishing gear and other articles required for their comfort. May I point out that they would have to make a few trips to the west coast before all their lobster pots were over. When the boat was loaded, both of them went over to the Port Askaig shop to get all their provisions required for a week. There were no luxuries for them; the basic items would be, tea, sugar, ham, cheese, bread, corned beef, tinned milk, syrup, treacle, salt, margarine, pipe tobacco and ma Read more:Islay
The Army's Helping Hands on Islay 2007-10-25 13:04:24 39 Engineer Regiment recently conducted an exercise based out of HMS Caledonia (Edinburgh) with squadrons conducting tasks at Meigle, Dunblane, Paisley and the Isle of Islay
. The Exercise on Islay has taken nearly a year to plan and finally came to fruition when 10 Field Squadron (Air Support) deployed from their home base at RAF Leeming with 108 personnel and 28 vehicles for a four week task here. Based in a tented camp at the Port Mòr campsite (picture) the squadron have been involved in three main construction projects. These include the replacement of the elevated walkway at Finlaggan, the construction of a bridge on the Dunlossit estate and the renovation of a building to be used as student accommodation also on the Dunlossit estate. These tasks have provided excellent trade training opportunities for the soldiers as well as experience of living and working in field conditions and some challenging weather. In addition to this the soldiers have become involved in the renovation of Read more:Hands
, Helping
Will the Isle of Jura get its Ferry After All? 2007-10-23 16:09:42 Already in 2006 I wrote about a possible passenger ferry from Kintyre to the Isle of Jura. Back then the proposal had to be approved by the Argyll & Bute council. Decided was to run a trial ferry service first to see if a ferry from Kintyre to the Isle of Jura would be feasable. The trial was held in the period from 10 to 28 September 2007 and proved to be very succesful. Below a report of the trial written down by the Isle of Jura Initiative at the Edge team.The three week passenger ferry trial has been successfully completed with 30 return trips made and just one day lost to the weather. A total of 220 passengers were carried which represents a load factor of approximately one third capacity. The very limited time between deciding that we could run the trial and actually starting it, meant that it was not possible to advertise the service other than locally on Jura and at Tayvallich. This is reflected in the usage which increased week by week as more of us became aware that we co
Islay Panorama - Lagavulin Bay 2007-10-23 03:33:15 During our last Islay
trip we were blessed with gorgeous sunny days which offered ideal opportunities to take some lovely pictures. On a Thursday early in October we headed for Lagavulin Bay. To access this lovely sheltered bay take the main road from Port Ellen to Ardbeg and after you pass the Lagavulin Distillery and the village of Lagavulin you will see a small track to your right. This track will take you to the bay where you can park your car. Directly in front of you are the ruins of Dunyvaig Castle, a former stronghold of the MacDonalds of Dunivaig. The castle itself was the centre of military and political activity in the 17th century. What remains of the castle is an outer courtyard and some of the upper and lower levels which are connected through a stair. The walk to the castle is easy, just cross the fields in front of you. From the castle you have magnificent views over Lagavulin Bay and the distillery. Looking east from the castle over the Sound of Jura there's the Kinty Read more:Panorama
Scottish Halloween 2007-10-31 00:05:02 Did you know that many of the most famous Halloween
traditions have ancient Scottish
origins? The Celtic festival Samhain is one of the four quarter festivals, and the first day of the Celtic new year. This transition between old and new year was a time of fire festival. Halloween, All Hallows Een, is the night where lanterns (Gaelic: samhnag) and Hallowfires were supposed to scare wandering souls or spirits away before All Saints Day on 1st November. In Gaelic, Samhuinn means hallow-tide or season, and Samhuinn is used in Gaelic for the entire month of November.Samhain was a Celtic harvest festival marking the end of summer and celebrating the old New Year at the turn of the season into winter, and many of the traditional activities were connected with food. The ancient Scots invented many practices to appease the spirits which they thought were on the roam at this time. For example, the spirits would be offered parcels of food. This was the origin of the practice of guising, a
Ardbeg Ten is announced World Whisky of the Year 2007-10-30 08:00:27 Ardbeg Ten Years Old has been awarded the ultimate accolade, as WorldWhisky
of the Year. Internationally acclaimed whiskyexpert, Jim Murray, author of The Whisky Bible has furthered the honour by making this the first single malt Scotch winner ever. Ardbeg 10 Years Old is also accorded Scotch Single Malt of the Year at the same time.During the 1980s and 1990s, Ardbeg suffered from an uncertain future and it was not until Ardbeg was purchased by The Glenmorangie Company in 1997 that the distillery was saved from extinction. Since then, the distillery has risen like a phoenix and today Ardbeg is well established as a niche, cult malt, with a passionate following amongst aficionados around the world. Hamish Torrie, Ardbeg Marketing Manager said Jims accolade of identifying Ardbeg as the best whisky in the world is a huge compliment to the skill and expertise of our Whisky Team, led by Dr Bill Lumsden, which has consistently managed to balance - precisely and deliciously - the Ard
Islay Oil Supply Problems - It is Happening Again 2007-10-29 04:35:13 The oil supply problems on Islay
are now becoming an annually recurring event. With the falling of the leaves and the increase of the wind speeds during autumn and winter months, the distilleries and farms have to fear for oil shortages and production disruptions. Last week a Shell tanker, Keewhit, left Loch Indaal without unloading its cargo, knowing that oil reserves are already low on Islay. Reasons given were the bad weather conditions?!? Apparently wind speeds of less than force 2, higher tides than usual and waves lower than 50cm are acceptable for Shell tankers to dock at Bruichladdich pier, providing the tankers are sailing with a half load. Fully loaded they would never make it anywhere near the £3m pier. So why did they built it in the first place? And who is reponsible? Now these are difficult questions to be answered. It seems that no one really is responsible; Argyll and Bute Council ordered to build a pier according to Shell's specs, Shell in the meanwhile happily blame Read more:Again
, Happening
, Supply
An Early Written Account of Islay by Donald Monro 2007-10-28 05:57:03 Sir Donald
Monro held the post of High Dean of the Isles. In 1549 he embarked on a grand tour, paying pastoral visits to many of the islands off the west coast of Scotland. The manuscript, written by Sir Donald following his tour, is the earliest description of the Western Islands made from personal observation. The manuscript was first published in Edinburgh in 1774. Monro's work only became more widely available when it was published as part of a bundle with Martin Martin's books. Below is a reprint of chapter 55, Islay
, with Monro's spellings and names retained. Many of the spellings suggest that Monro was either not very familiar with Gaelic or that he was unable to write it well. It is also likely that he wrote some names from memory after his visit. One result is that the islands being referred to are sometimes far from obvious which is also the case with this particular chapter. The careful reader though will certainly find references to places on Islay, I have tried to name Read more:Account
, Early
Eyecatching Islay Art by Nicola Stein 2007-10-27 12:02:23 When NicolaStein
asked me to create a new website for her, I didn't have to think too long. For those of you who don't know Nicola, she works in the Harbour Inn in Bowmore and she lives on Islay
for about 6 months now. Before that she lived on Arran and spent some years in Russia. As soon as her disc arrived I was intrigued by her work. Nicola creates black and white drawings, some of them influenced by Celtic and Gothic designs, but completely unique to anything I have ever seen. Her art is breathtakingly beautiful and the longer you look at her drawings the more details they show. Some of the drawings are very complex, always in black and white, very symmetrical and all designs begin from the centre of the page and evolve outwards.As of today Nicola's website, www.nicolastein.com is ready and everyone is invited for a closer look. The design is like Nicola's drawings, symmetrical and only black and white. Mark Unsworth from Islay Studios took the picture for the top logo, where
Islay News Roundup Second Half October 2007 2007-11-04 07:09:54 Following is a short overview of Islay
news published in the Ileach Newspaper and from various other sources.Young Ilich Shine at National Mod: Bowmore Primary Schools Gaelic choir members covered themselves with glory when they won the Badenoch and Strathspey Area Committee trophy for their high quality unison singing at last weeks Royal National Mod at Fort William. Ryan Johnston picture right.Calmac Ordered new Ferry for Islay: A £21 Million ferry has been ordered for Caledonian MacBraynes routes to Islay. Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) today announced the order which has been placed with the Remontowa yard in Gdansk, Poland.Bowmore Hall handover: Bowmore village hall was officially handed over by Argyll and Bute Council to a community-based committee at an informal ceremony and luncheon in the island venue on Friday. The halls transferred ownership was accepted by the committees chairperson Margaret MacLean at a nominal fee of £1 and the hand-over was carried Read more:October
, Second
Bruichladdich Light of Lochindaal Malt Whisky 2007-11-03 03:10:38 Bruichladdich Distillery announced the arrival of a new Islay single malt, Lochindaal, to be distilled in October/November. The new Lochindaal malt whisky (50ppm+) will be more heavily peated than the Port Charlotte, but less so than Octomore, the worlds most heavily peated whisky. The new malt will be named after one of Islay's lost distilleries which once operated only a few miles further south in Port Charlotte. This same distillery also operated under the name Port Charlotte Distillery and Rhinns Distillery. The name of the latter will probably be used for a future single malt by master distiller Jim McEwan. Jim McEwan about his new creation: "As a distiller, of course I enjoy exploring what can be achieved with different barley types and peating levels. Its what makes me tick. But from day one I also wanted to distil peated barley. Partly in homage to days gone by, but also to provide flavour variety as ingredients for future bottlings. There are few distillers that have the Read more:Whisky
Calmac Ordered a New Traditional Islay Ferry Today 2007-11-02 12:00:52 A short news snippet from Inverclyde Today
learned that Calmac ordered a new ferry for the Kennacraig to Islay
route. Alternative options are therefore ignored by Calmac and traditional ships will continue to sail the Islay route. A quote from Inverclyde Today: A £21 MILLION ferry has been ordered for Caledonian MacBraynes routes to Islay. Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) today announced the order which has been placed with the Remontowa yard in Gdansk, Poland. Delivery of the 89.90m long vehicle/passenger ferry is expected in spring, 2011. The vessel will be capable of 16.5 knots and designed to carry 550 passengers, up to 88 cars, as well as coaches and commercial vehicles. The ship will also be capable of carrying dangerous goods. The shipyard build cost is £21.75 million; additional overheads such as project supervision, vessel spares, training and delivery into service bring the total cost of the project to £24.5 million.CalMacs Managing Director, Lawrie Sinclair Read more:Traditional
Islay Coast - Geological and Archaeological Survey 2007-11-01 13:28:13 Islay has a fascinating coastline consisting of beautiful shingle and sand beaches, rocks, high cliffs, arches, stags, marshes and dune systems. And Islay has lots of it, the total coastline including the islands is around 600km, which means there is enough to explore and enjoy. A few days ago I accidently stumbled upon a very interesting part of a report which describes, in great detail, a certain stretch of Islay's coastline. After some further investigation I found a complete report, commissioned by the Scape Trust in 2002. SCAPE is a short word for Scottish Coast
al Archaeology and the Problem of Erosion. The following paragraph explains the intentions and scope of this survey:Islay's coast east of Sanaigmore BayIn 2002 and 2003 a coastal zone assessment survey was carried out on Islay. The aims of this work were to gather specific data on the location, nature and condition of the coastal archaeological resource and to assess the nature and degree of future risk to these sites. Si Read more:Islay
A83 Rest and be Thankful Open - Single Lane only 2007-11-09 10:03:27 On Sunday October 28 a long stretch of the A83 was shut after a landslide, which occured at the Rest and be Thankful
road, west of Loch Lomond. A total of 400 tons of soil and rock, loosened by several months of rainfall, tumbled down onto the road early that morning. The A83 is the major route from Glasgow to Kintyre and the isles of Islay and Jura. A diversion is in operation since that time (see map). Coming from Glasgow follow the A82 over Crianlarich, take the A85 direction Oban and continue on the A819 to Inveraray just outside Dalmally. This diversion will add 35 miles to your journey and most like more than one hour due to congestion of the A82 or A819. Latest news is that the road, a single lane, will re-open on Saturday 10 November 0800 hrs but will face some further closures.The Campbeltown Courier reported today about the Landslide and it looks like the works to secure the mountainside and cleaning up of the road can take longer than expected. A quote from the article: Afte
The Maid of Islay by William Dunbar 2007-11-08 12:44:59 From the Modern Scottish Minstrel , Volume V: A native of Dumfries, WilliamDunbar
, received his elementary education in that town. Having studied at the University of Edinburgh, he was in 1805 licensed as a probationer of the Established Church. During the vacations of his theological curriculum, and the earlier portion of his probationary career, he resided chiefly in the Hebrides. At this period he composed the popular song, entitled, "The Maid of Islay
," the heroine being a Miss Campbell of the island of Islay. In several collections the song has been erroneously ascribed to Joseph Train. Mr Dunbar was, in May 1807, ordained to the parish of Applegarth, Dumfriesshire. Long reputed as one of the most successful cultivators of the honey-bee, Dr Dunbar was, in 1840, invited to prepare a treatise on the subject for the entomological series of the "Naturalist's Library." His observations were published, without his name, in a volume of the series, with the title, "The Natural History o
Winter on Islay 2007-11-07 02:08:00 Some of us find wintertime depressing and long for spring and summer as soon as the leaves start falling from the trees. Others, me including, enjoy the windy and sometimes frosty days of winter and evenings spent around the fireplace with friends and a fine dram. There are not many people who travel to Islay
in the winter months although their numbers are increasing, at least so I'm told, and these figures could soon improve even further. One of the goals of the new marketing group "Discover Islay" is to promote Islay as a prestigious winter holiday destination. There is no better way than word of mouth or a detailed travel report to find out how others experienced Islay during these cold and dark winter months. I found a very nicely written travel report by Chris Hall from his Hogmanay trip to Islay in 2003/4, when Chris and his friends were primarily on Islay for birdwatching and observing wildlife. The following snippets of his travel report will give you an idea of how a trip to
Islay Post Offices Avoid Closure 2007-11-06 09:48:32 Post Offices
on Islay
have been saved from closure under the controversial government restructuring plans for the network. This follows a vociferous campaign against the outlet closure involving MPs, including Argylls Alan Reid, and local councillor Robin Currie. Welcoming the reprieve Councillor Currie said, "This is very good news that the post offices have been saved providing as they do, a vital service in fragile communities. If these all had gone ahead as planned, it would have inevitably led to the closure of some village shops in the area. I am extremely happy that common sense has prevailed in this situation." Despite the protests, seven Post Offices in Argyll and Bute are to close. Faring much worse is the Glasgow area where 24 outlets are to be axed. Communities affected by the first raft of closures have six weeks to raise objections, while Post Offices Ltd carry out a consultation process. Announcements on further closures in other parts of Scotland are expected between Read more:Avoid
, Closure
The Factor of Kildalton Castle - An ancient Islay Ghost 2007-11-14 08:09:22 In the early days there was a strong belief in "familiars" and ghosts. A familiar is an animal-shaped spirit who serves for witchery, a demon or other magician-related subjects. Familiars were imagined to serve their owners as domestic servants, farmhands, spies, and companions, in addition to helping bewitch enemies. In this story however the familiar is the appearance of a person who was known to be somewhere else.There is a story known on Islay
about a "laird" who had an employee, a sort of factor, whose appearance was very distinctive. The laird lived in Kildalton Castle
, which was demolished years ago, and his employee had to leave the island on several occasions. During his absence he was however seen several times wandering in the large castle. Many years after this man was dead and buried, a couple of women were sitting just off the path which runs through Craigmore wood, once the property of the "laird". As they sat they became aware of someone approaching. Looking up they saw Read more:Ghost
Gordon Yates Wildlife Photographer 2007-11-13 06:34:30 A few weeks ago I visited the website of GordonYates
, a wildlife photographer, for the first time. I found him through the Islay Birding website from Jeremy Hastings. Gordon is a gifted photographer and film maker since 1972 and has produced a one hour film every year. He was rewarded several times for his photography and lives in Rochdale, Lancashire. When I visited his website Gordon was off on a trip to Islay for a few weeks and has returned in the meanwhile.He has written an interesting account of his trip which was, from a wildlife point of view, very successful for him. A quote from his website: Here I am writing from Islay after our first week. The weather has been sunny at times but there has always been a strong wind and rain on a couple of days. As usual the Barnacle Geese have been very impressive, especially at dusk as they come to roost in their thousands at Bridgend. Islay is always a brilliant place for raptors and on one day I saw five Hen Harriers on my travels around Read more:Photographer
Susan Eastwood - Islay House Square 2007-11-12 06:51:02 Susan Eastwood is one of the people who sells her art products in the Islay
Shop. In October I had the pleasure to visit Susan in her new workshop at Islay HouseSquare
, next to the brewery. I was surprised to find out how she makes all these beautiful glass figures and she doesn't have a problem with making huge stained windows as well, something she was actually working on when we visited her. Susan creates almost everything, from boats to seagulls, beautiful bowls, stained glass and butterflies in a huge variety of colours and mostly made of transparent coloured glass. The seagulls and boats have accents of contrasting and co-ordinating glass and each item is 100% hand made and therefore unique. So far the seagulls, boats and butterflies are for sale in the online shop, these are typically the items that can be easily shipped. Susan also sells beautiful bowls and other glass items but due to the problem of breakage during shipping they are not for sale online. All the more reason t Read more:Susan
Islay's other castle - Loch Gorm Castle 2007-11-16 07:58:04 Not many people who visit Islay
for the first time are aware that Islay had more than one castle in the early days and for some it comes as a suprise that there even is a castle on Islay, although in ruins now. The latter is Dunyvaig Castle, situated proudly on the entrance of Lagavulin Bay. Other "Castles" are Dunlossit castle near Port Askaig and Kildalton castle near Ardbeg, although these castles are more often referred to as houses. Dunlossit castle is inhabited by Bruno Schroder, the son of Helmut Schroder who bought the house and estate in 1939. Kildalton Castle is sadly enough in a ruined state.Loch Gorm castle has an interesting history and was described by Thomas Pennant in 1776 as follows: 'A regular fort of the MacDonald's ... now in ruins: the form is square, with a round bastion at each corner; and in the middle are some walls, the remains of the buildings that sheltered the garrison: beneath one side, between the two bastions, was the place where MacDonald secured his
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