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Is Ardbeg the Oldest Distillery on Islay?
2007-12-20 12:26:16
Sometimes you get to read some strange and at the same time interesting stories on the internet. I always thought that Bowmore was the oldest (legal) distillery on Islay because it was founded in 1779 by John Simpson. This was long before distilleries like Ardbeg (1815), Laphroaig (1815) and Lagavulin (1816) were officially opened. In fact Bowmore could be one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland together with Glenturret, which was founded in 1775 according to Glenturret itself. To be recognised as the oldest distillery in Scotland is of course something really special and will without a doubt boost sales. Today however the University of Glasgow announced that evidence has been found which suggests that the Meldrum Distillery , the former name of Glen Garioch, is in fact the oldest distillery in Scotland and was founded in 1785. This is however six years later than the opening of the Bowmore Distillery, but it seems that excise records show that Bowmore was not founded until 1816 whic


Islay News Roundup first-half December 2007
2007-12-18 12:23:47
Following is a short overview of Islay news published in the Ileach Newspaper and from various other sources.Black Bottle Islay Pipe Band: A civic reception was held on Saturday 15th December 2007 at 8.00pm at the Bowmore Hotel, to mark the Black Bottle Islay Pipe Band winning the European Championships in Grade 4B this season. Provost William Petrie gave a donation from the Civic Hospitality budget towards an evening meal for the band.The Black Bottle Islay Pipe BandWhisky Galore: More than 10,000 bottles of single malt Scotch Whisky have been stolen in a raid, police have revealed. The bottles of Bowmore Islay Single Malt, with a retail value of almost £300,000, were taken from a haulier in Hertfordshire on Tuesday. The haul included various aged bottles of Bowmore, from 12 years old to 25 years old. Looks like some will have a Merry Christmas, as long as their conscience doesn't give them any problems.Global Warming and Whisky: Some people seem to believe that a rise in see level


My Islay Adventure in July of 1998 by Linda Heron
2007-12-16 07:58:00
While on my Scotland vacation I kept a daily journal. Every night before I went to sleep I made a point of writing about my day. Some nights I was so totally exhausted from my daytime adventures, that I had to push myself to do write, but now when I look back on my notes I can actually revisit many of those feelings and insights. I will apologize right now if I seem to go on about nothing, but it's either all or nothing, and this tells about how I spread my wings and flew by myself for the first time in many years. So here goes!!We traveled to Scotland in 1998 with another couple, Jan and Don, and spent a month traveling all around Scotland. Our home base was in Dunbar, and we traveled out from there, spending time in the Orkneys, Isle of Skye, the Highlands, and I especially wanted to spend time on the Isle of Islay , but none of my fellow trippers would go with me. My husband, Dave, didn't want me to go alone, but he definitely didn't want to go with me either. So, much to everyone
Read more: Adventure , Heron

Portnahaven Church and more of Islay on BBC
2007-12-24 04:18:04
Portnahaven Church is to make an appearance on a television documentary to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of the great Scottish engineer Thomas Telford. The church, which was completed in 1828, was one of more than thirty commissioned from Telford by Parliament, and built throughout the Highlands and Islands to commemorate the part played by Scots in the Napoleonic Wars. Tómas Telford: A Togail na Gaidhealtachd (Thomas Telford: Building the Highlands) was funded by the Gaelic Media Service and will be shown on BBC2 at 6.15 on Thursday 27th December, and on the new Gaelic language digital channel next year. The programme includes an interview with church historian the Rev Roddy Macleod, of Furness in Argyll, who has high praise for the Rinns kirk. ‘I think that of all his churches, my favorite is Portnahaven in Islay , particularly because it’s little-changed inside. It’s just as it was the day it was completed. Many others have been altered inside.’ Kilmeny church, and the


Still (Islay) Waters Run Deep
2008-03-11 14:13:44
A while back I started with the first story on this blog written by Dougie MacDougall. The second story was about the Islay fishermen in the old days and the third one was about his years as a boatman on the Sound of Islay. Dougie MacDougall was Christine Logan's father and she was very happy that he was remembered in such a nice way. Also her mother Lily MacDougall was very happy with the stories and a few weeks ago Christine sent me another one of his lovely books called Still Waters Run Deep. Unfortunately this booklet is not for sale and Christine agreed with the publication of some stories on the Islay Weblog. The first story is called Unexplained Mystery but I will start with the introduction first:Dougie MacDougall: I have been kindly advised by people who have read my book 'As Long


Islay in the National Media
2008-03-10 12:06:31
Islay was well represented in some of the national media today and yesterday due the storm and for other reasons. First some reports about the storm that hit Britain last night and today: The Evening Times: The storm was the strongest in the south of England where winds of more than 80mph brought down trees, damaged houses and left 5500 people without electricity today. Scotland was also hit by winds and snowstorms. The highest gusts were 57mph in Machrihanish, which is south of Kennacraig in Argyll. (Photo by James Stephens from Pembrokeshire)The Scotsman reports: Caledonian MacBrayne said that ferry services between Colintraive and Rhubodach and connections between the mainland and the islands of Arran and Islay were hit by disruption. The BBC also reports about the disrupted Islay Ferry
Read more: National , Islay

Islay Wildlife and Birding Report nr9 - Spring and Snow
2008-03-09 13:46:38
Welcome to this week's report with some snippets of Ian's Birds Blog and Jeremy's wildlife whereabouts. The Islay Birds blog mentions the first Skylark singing of the year, reported by Sally How and James, Sally's husband, had 2 chipping Snipe, this being the sound they make before they start drumming. The drumming of the snipe is a very spooky sound and can be heard in spring and early summer. Check out this page of Loch Indaal which includes a sound sample of the drumming snipe. Ian mentions a Golden Eagle being mobbed by a group of about 15 Chough. There also was another sign of spring at Blackrock, which was the sight of several ewes and newly born lambs out in a field. This weeks Islay nature report by Jeremy Hastings from Islay Birding: what a difference a week makes! Spring , that we


The Islay Highland Shirt and Jacket
2008-03-08 07:47:45
Since a few weeks the Islay Online Shop sells the Highland Jacket and Highland Shirt for Jeremy Hastings from Islay Birding. The Highland Shirt and Jacket are completely handmade on the Isle of Islay utilising only the very finest materials available. These include Highland tweed that is renowned for its weather turning properties and it's incredible natural camouflage attributes. The buttons are hand cut from red deer stag, the button loops natural leather and the yoke lining 100% wool. The design and testing of these new garments took quite some time and Jeremy explains below what took place before the jacket and shirt were ready to be sold:Why do we need yet another item of clothing? When is it that you need something that you did not realise you could not live without? Well, I became


Old Port Charlotte Pictures
2008-03-07 14:08:00
The Laddie Blog just posted some fabulous pictures of Port Charlotte from around 1900 which are very much worth having a look at. A quote from the Laddie Blog:John Rucklidge posted on the internet some photos of Port Charlotte from around 1900 that were discovered in a house in Hexham, Northumberland. The album belonged to Helen Orchard and the images were taken by William Miles (I assume her father) who was the Customs & Excise officer at the Lochindaaal distillery. Besides pictures of Port Charlotte there is a very old picture of the Bruichladdich Distillery, the Lochindaal Distillery, a Croft and several other pictures from the area. Check them out here: Pictures at the Laddie Blog Tag: photography port charlotte history


Islay Webcams at Laphroaig
2008-03-07 04:35:00
Claudio Riva sent me an email yesterday mentioning the new webcams at Laphroaig. Together with the webcams at Bruichladdich there are now nineteen webcams available on Islay , quite a number for a relatively small island. Bruichladdich started years ago with their webcams which cover almost every corner of the distillery as well as views towards Loch Indaal and the pier at Bruichladdich. Claudio said: "The webcams at Laphroaig show views of the new Friends of Laphroaig lounge, the second in the visitors' centre, the 3rd looks at the shore kiln, the 4th at the road kiln and the last one is the view from the lounge over the bay. Very good pictures, updated approximately every second. The wonderful view of the bay is also very useful to see in real time the weather on Islay, or - much better -
Read more: Webcams

Road Equivalent Tariff - The Full Story
2008-03-06 13:42:16
When I wrote about the Road Equivalent Tariff last week I already had a feeling this would give a lot of (negative) response from the islands that don't participate in the pilot, with Islay being one of them. Although I realise you're in for a long read I thought it would be good to publish the whole story as it appeared in the latest Ileach to give you an idea of the consequences this could have for Islay and other island but first a recapitulation: Road Equivalent Tariff (RET) is a system where the fares of a ferry crossing are more or less equivalent to travelling the same distance over land, which means on average 40 to 70% lower fares for lorries, passengers and cars. But before this will become reality a pilot will be initiated and the Western Isles are the lucky ones for this two an


The Maggie
2008-03-05 11:23:03
Some of the forum members and myself had an interesting discussion about video material of Islay's distilleries and the film The Maggie was mentioned as well. The Maggie is a film from 1954 and tells the story of a tugboat skipper who tricks a wealthy American into entrusting him to ship valuable cargo. Once he realises what has happened the crew of The Maggie must outwit the American in order to keep the contract. Several scenes were filmed on Islay, one of them at Bowmore Harbour where the Imperial Hotel in the film is now the Harbour Inn. Other scenes are filmed at Loch Gruinart, Port Charlotte and the final scenes were filmed in Port Askaig. Interesting detail: The bar scenes were filmed in the building which is now the gallery of Islay Studios in Bruichladdich. They walk out of the b


Islay News Roundup second-half February 2008
2008-03-04 10:40:45
Following is a short overview of Islay news published in the Ileach Newspaper and from various other sources.Finlaggan: Finlaggan Trust committee members turned out on one of our few dry January days to cut the first sods in preparation for the building of an extension to Finlaggan Cottage. On 5 February Billy Muir's construction company moved onto the site and the project, which has taken three years of planning and fund raising, was underway. Picture left to right: Gina McAuslan, Hugh MacDonald, Donald Bell, Jean MacKay and Rona MacKenzie.Neighbour Colonsay: The stormy weather of last week left the Colonsay Shop almost without supplies, since several ferry sailings from Oban were cancelled. Mr McNicholl, a local shop keeper said islanders had rallied round to help neighbours and visitors


Good old days at Bruichladdich Distillery
2008-03-03 10:43:00
You can trully call the reopening of the Bruichladdich distillery a schoolboys dream since it doesn't happen often that a reopened distillery receives so many rewards, is so well appreciated with the public and is also so successful in their first years of operation. But how did it all start? A short overview of the facts:Bruichladdich Distillery was built in 1881 by the brothers Robert William and John Gourlay Harvey in an idyllic spot on the shore of Loch Indaal. At the time, the distillery was state-of-the-art and the equipment continues to be used unchanged. Unlike other distilleries, which were often built from old farm houses, the building was erected specifically for this purpose. The distillery changed owners and was out of use from 1929 to 1937. After it reopened in 1937 the disti


Laphroaig Virtual Distillery Tour
2008-03-14 08:58:50
Ever wanted to visit an Islay distillery but never got round to actually visit the island? Now is your chance to do a full virtual distillery tour at the Laphroaig Distillery . Of course you will miss the relaxed pace of life, your dram afterwards and all the other wonderful things Islay has to offer when you visit the island in person, but Laphroaig has created a very good and impressive alternative. What is this virtual tour? When you visit the Laphroaig Distillery Website you start with an introduction in writing and a personal welcome by John Campbell, distillery manager of Laphroaig.Every year thousands of Laphroaig devotees come to visit us, drink in the atmosphere, learn a few of our secrets and share a dram or two with us afterwards. However whilst our isolation in Islay has enabled


Islay Oil Supplies by Road Tanker
2008-03-13 13:16:59
It is now more than three months since the last visit of the oil tanker Keewhit to Bruichladdich pier. The tanker is chartered by Shell UK from Whitaker Tanker s to deliver heavy oil and diesel fuel to the island. All Islay distilleries are now using oil brought onto the island in road tankers via the CalMac ferries. The Ileach understands that after more than a year of extremely erratic supplies of oil which caused a number of operational problems and interruptions to production schedules, several distilleries have welcomed the increased reliability that has come with receiving oil deliveries by road. The fuel brought in by road tanker is 'marginally' more expensive than oil brought in by sea, but the continuity of supply offsets the relatively small additional costs. The need to use fe


BBC Springwatch 2008
2008-03-12 13:33:37
The Springwatch team will visit Badenoch and Strathspey in May this year after their very succesful visit to Islay in May 2007. Springwatch certainly boosted tourism on Islay and the effects of that will probably, and hopefully, last a long time. Today the Strathspey Herald reported that the Springwatch crew, including Simon King, will visit their area in May. A quote:One of the BBC's best loved TV shows will be broadcasting live from Badenoch and Strathspey for three weeks later this year - and its stars will be attempting to hunt down the elusive Scottish wildcat amongst other things. Over four million viewers are expected to tune in every night when the BBC Springwatch series, hosted by Bill Oddie, the ex-Goodie who has become Britain's most famous birdwatcher, the equally well-k


Islay & Jura Distillery Leaflet 2008
2008-03-12 11:21:44
A few weeks ago I wrote about the Distillery tour times for 2008. The official distillery leaflet is now ready and available for download.The leaflet consists of two pages and provides information about the Jura and Islay distilleries opening hours, tour times, phone and fax numbers, email addresses and other important information. It is therefore essential to take a copy with you when you visit Islay. To download the distillery leaflet right click with your mouse on the image and select save target as... to save the guide on your local hard drive. To view the distillery leaflet directly click on the image and it will be opened in your browser window.Adobe Acrobat Reader is required to view the Distillery Leaflet and can be downloaded hereTag: distillery pdf leaflet


Islay Nature Report nr 10
2008-03-16 13:31:05
Welcome to this week's report with some snippets of Ian's Birds Blog and Jeremy's wildlife whereabouts but first I would like to ask your attention for something else. The RSPB launched a campaign against the negative effects of climate change on Scotland's wildlife, a quote: "Without immediate action some of Scotland's most iconic wildlife will be at risk from climate change. We need your help to persuade the Scottish Government to take effective action now. A public consultation on the content of a Scottish Climate Change Bill is underway. This is your chance to urge the Scottish Government to lead by example and take action to avert catastrophic climate change, working with nature to benefit biodiversity, the economy and local communities. Nature needs a voice. Support our campaign to s
Read more: Islay

Dougie MacDougall - The Ghost that never was
2008-03-15 12:21:29
When I was a young boy, along with my other brothers, we sometimes went along to Caol Ila Distillery at night when all the workmen were away home, except for a watchman and one workman who kept the peat fires burning in the kiln. We as boys, were not allowed near the place at night, but we watched our chance to get past the sentry box when William MacEwan was inside, the we ran for it. Our house at Yellow Rock was only a stone's throw away from our objective, so we knew how and when to approach the place with the utmost stealth. We knew old Dugald McIndeor who was in charge of the kilns, keeping them fired till six in the morning; that was when all the workers arrived for their day's work. We always helped the old man throw baskets of peat on the fires: sometimes the two kilns had to be fi
Read more: Ghost

Islay Canoe Club Beach Clean at Ardtalla
2008-03-18 13:33:41
After their first beach clean at Proaig in February the Islay canoe club achieved a second beach clean last Sunday, this time the beach location was Ardtalla on Islay's east coast. Eight paddlers started from Claggan Bay whilst four others made the short walk to help the clean up operation.The conditions were as perfect as you could expect for Islay at this time of year which made the job a whole lot easier and by the end of the day over 400 Kg of waste was collected which made the journey back to Claggan in several trips in the open canoe (as per picture) which was paddled by canoe club member Stephen Harrison. The second picture shows an immaculate Ardtalla beach afterwards and for those that were there had stunning views of a snow capped Goat Fell on Arran and looking North of the snow
Read more: Canoe , Beach , Clean

Islay Blog Post nr 500 - A Prize Competition
2008-03-17 06:41:28
Today a somewhat different post due to the fact that this is the 500th post on the weblog since I started in April 2006, 23 months ago. That makes an average of 0,73 posts per day since the start and it still amazes me how much there is to write about a relatively small island. The best viewed post up till today is Soldiers Rock with 3,654 views since June 2007. Some other interesting facts: So far 176 users signed up, the blog received 905,809 hits and the forum has almost reached thousand posts.If I continue posting with the same average of 0,73 posts per day, post nr 1000 will be somewhere in February or March 2010. By that time the new Islay Hotel in Port Ellen will be opened as well as the new Port Charlotte Distillery, Islay House will be sold, the reconstruction at Port Askaig is re


Islay DVD Review by Malcolm Ogilvie
2008-03-21 07:02:27
About a month ago I wrote about a new Islay DVD called 'The Wildlife Gems of Islay', which is filmed and produced by Gordon Yates. I have seen the DVD twice so far and enjoyed it immensly. Dr Malcolm Ogilvie, ornithological and botanical surveyor who lives on Islay, made a review of the DVD as well which was published in the Ileach on the 1st of March:Malcolm Ogilvie: Gordon Yates has been coming to Islay for more than 30 years filming the island's birds, animals and scenery. Many of us have attended his annual film shows here when he has delighted us with his expert camerawork on the birds and other wildlife not just of Islay, but of his home territory in the Pennines, or further afield in, for example, Alaska, Iceland, Greenland and Spitsbergen. All of those films were taken on wh


Austin Seven Invasion on Islay during Easter
2008-03-20 11:01:14
The Scottish Austin Seven Club will be visiting Islay over the Easter Weekend, staying at the Machrie Hotel. Club members are looking forward to exploring the island and sampling the culinary delights the Island has to offer! Anyone wanting to find out more about the club should visit www.austin7.co.uk. If you're interested to see the challenges they have to face have a look at the video below which is from their Jura trip in 2004.A quote from their website: "The club was founded in 1971 by a small group of enthusiasts from the Glasgow area. Over the years the membership has gradually increased as the club became better known and now boasts over 120 members from Scotland, the rest of the U.K.and several members from overseas. Cars in the club range from the very early Chummies to the late
Read more: Invasion

News from the Islay Energy Trust
2008-03-20 06:32:45
Energy Trust Meeting on Tidal Energy: Members of the Islay Energy Trust (IET) will shortly be receiving the Chairman's Report for 2007. In summary, the Report states that despite some disappointing results e.g. the loss of the biomass grant and the airports' objection to the Port Ellen wind turbine location, the year has seen useful lessons learnt and valuable groundwork being undertaken for two future projects. Firstly, the wind turbine site screening exercise has seen 16 potential locations reduced to a short list of 3 after a ranking exercise which took into account airport constraints, landowners permission, proximity to electricity grid, environmental and landscaping concerns etc. Potential hurdles remain however, and it is possible that no one site will emerge as being suit
Read more: Energy

Port Askaig Harbour Hotel and Ferry News
2008-03-19 14:23:39
There is finally light at the end of the tunnel now that the reconstruction works at Port Askaig are nearing their completion. Initially three years were planned for the refurbishment of the road and parking place, the harbour, the new pier and new link-span to accommodate potentially larger ferries than the present ones. In the end the project will have lasted almost eight years when it will be ready and caused a huge budget overrun. Last year the north pier and new link-span for the Calmac ferry became operational and the crew started working on the north harbour, the old (south) harbour and Jura ferry berth. The Jura ferry in the meanwhile used the new link-span during this period causing delays for the regular Calmac ferries and preventing them from staying over night at Port Askaig. F
Read more: Harbour , Hotel

Mark Reynier not Happy with new Whisky Laws
2008-03-22 13:57:48
Under the title "New Whisky Laws Are Rip Off For Public", the Daily Record writes about the new rules which are being prepared by Defra, the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs, and the SWA, Scottish Whisky Association.A quote from the article: A distillery boss claims new whisky laws will lead to public confusion and to consumers being "ripped off". Mark Reynier, managing director of Islay's Bruichladdich Distillery, has slammed a plan to introduce new categories which allow the use of the controversial title Blended Malt Scotch Whisky.He believes the mix of the terms "blended whisky" and "single malt" is a charter for industry marketeers to "hoodwink" consumers. He said: "It's a charter for cheats and marketeers to exploit gullible consumers, as blended malt will be all
Read more: Happy

Islay News Roundup first-half March 2008
2008-03-22 11:50:15
While Norma Munro's voice brings warmth and a touch of Islay in our living room, I'm writing this news roundup. Outside the weather is cold and miserable, quite a contrast to Norma's lovely voice. Today I received her latest CD called The Rose, and it's a beauty. You can expect a review soon but the first impression is fantastic! Well done Norma and thanks for another great CD. I haven't found a thorn on this rose ;-)Following is a short overview of Islay news published in the Ileach Newspaper and from various other sources.Road Equivalent Tariff (RET): The Scottish Executive risked further alienating the majority of its island populations when it announced that the much vaunted RET pilot scheme would only apply to all routes to the Outer Hebrides, but would last for a hefty two and a half
Read more: March

Islay News Five Years Ago
2008-03-25 13:30:49
Do you remember what happened five years ago on Islay ? What made the headlines in the Ileach Newspaper? Today the first of a series of posts that look back to the news on Islay five years ago as printed in the Ileach, volume 30, number 9, 8 March 2003. In this first episode an interesting article about the newly planned microbrewery in Islay House Square, which proved to be a very succesfull business we now all know as Islay Ales: An interesting new enterprise is brewing in Islay House Square – a microbrewery, Islay Ales, the brainchild of Paul and Ishbel Capper, Paul Hathaway and Walter Schobert. Planning permission has been granted, and building work is underway. The hope is that it will be up and running in time for the Islay Show in August. The ten square metre plant will create 90 g
Read more: Years , Five Years

Austin Seven Club Islay Tour
2008-03-24 12:27:57
Last Thursday I wrote about the Austin Seven Club on Islay . Several people on Islay mentioned this to me and today Arra Fletcher sent me pictures from the cars while they were parked at Post Askaig, which was yesterday. Although it was bitterly cold the sun was out which provided for some lovely shots of these beautifully kept oldtimers.Below a photo impression of the Austins parked at Port Askaig:Almost like the old days at Port Askaig, the parking place wasn't that large was it? ;-)Shines like new, very impressiveThose were the daysTag: easter austin
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