Arriving by ferry in the sunshine we were all very excited and ready to investigate the island. This trip had been in the planning for a while as the Islay Whisky Festival was Paul’s birthday present to himself and something on his bucket list.
We parked up looking over a lovely little beach and headed out walking to the first island distillery Laphroaig. A great atmosphere as the bands played and the distillery was swinging with whisky worshipers, Paul included, getting their free drams and trying rare releases.
For me some nice beer from the local brewery and Connor enjoyed catching a baby rock shrimp in a dram bottle.
To finish the day Connor and Paul planted flags into the peat and became Friends of Laphroaig.
Today it was 2 distilleries, Ardanahoe and Bowmore. Both very enjoyable even though the rain came down.
In the evening we went to a Clootie Dumpling Evening which involved lots of free cake and whisky drams and entertainment from the local dance school and band. About 10 bagpipes and some large drums in a very small village hall. Very loud and good fun.
Still raining we made our way to the other side of the island to visit Kilchoman. They had the stills open for us to walk around and Paul enjoyed chatting to the brewer. A very large shed had all the malts laid over the floor, Connor and Paul got chance to rake the malt which was harder than it looked.
As the designated driver I had fun navigating down the single track roads to find another great parking spot overlooking the sea.
Keeping out of the rain for a bit we visited the local Islay Nature Centre which even though small was full of interesting items and facts. Across the road from here was Bruichladdich where we did a full tour of the distillery learning the history of the brand and the processes involved. We also saw the big still Ugly Betty where they distill their gin called The Botanist. At last something I enjoy drinking.
Parking overlooking the bay again we finished the day with Haggis Pizza!
Ardbeg was the final distillery for the Islay Festival and it was a fun day with plenty of drams and entertainment. Bosun rubbed shoulders with Shortie their famous dog who appears in their marketing campaigns.
One last beach camp and then we had to get the ferry back to the mainland.