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9 MAY 2022 THE TRAVEL GUIDE — AN ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE IN


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A weekend in Islay


Scotland’s fifth-largest island may be heralded for its distilleries, but its wild beaches and interior are intoxicating with or without the famous whisky. Words: Sarah Barrell


A wild, rural treat, Islay is well worth the work it takes me to get here — a winding journey on board the Caledonian Sleeper for a dawn arrival in Glasgow. From there, it’s a final 100 miles of road, ferry or air travel to where Scotland frays gradually into the open Atlantic. But what rewards await. Te peat


that perfumes Islay’s legendary whiskies dominates the landscape on this rugged Southern Hebridean isle, and while the island is synonymous with whisky, you need no real interest in the local spirit to wind up here. Its distilleries are found all over, draped along craggy bays in beautiful old farm estates — all whitewash warehouses, gabled roofs and regal smokestacks — and merit exploration even if you don’t give a damn about a dram. Tere’s plenty of action for


outdoors lovers, too. Even reluctant drivers will revel in navigating quiet rural lanes down to bays where


sheep roam free and locals collect cockles and crab for beach picnics. But beyond the grassy dunes that back the empty, white-sand beaches, adventure beckons: skilled surfers ride fearsome Atlantic swells; birders flock to the vast, wildlife-rich tidal lochs; and hikers and bikers venture into the rural northeast for epic views of the Paps of Jura across the water. Come for the whisky, stay for the wilderness.


Day one Morning Start off in Bowmore, the island’s capital, where you’ll find Islay’s best shops. Spirited Soaps sells toilet- ries fragrant with heather, myrtle and single malt; while Te Celtic House stocks arty island souvenirs. Around the bay, in pretty Port Char- lotte, the Museum of Islay Life is stuffed with artefacts tracing island history from the Stone Age to the Second World War, when flying-boat


squadrons landed on Loch Indaal. A highlight in these parts is, of course, the Bowmore Distillery, producer of a rounded single malt for over 240 years. If a late-morning tasting has left you wobbly, then refuel at Bowmore’s Peatzeria, where Stor- noway black pudding and Islay scal- lops top stone-baked pizzas, and the terrace overlooks the serene loch.


Afternoon Ride around the Rinns of Islay with Donald James MacPhee. A former gamekeeper and the owner of adventure operator Islay Outdoors, ‘DJ’ is a superb guide for exploring the island’s wild, westerly peninsula. Go foraging for cockles in the Rinns’ plentiful rock pools on the shores of Loch Gruinart and Loch Indaal, pull up creels of crab and lobster from craggy, black clifftops, and learn about Islay’s ancient peatland ecology. An islander of many generations, DJ shares his rich knowledge of the natural world, from Hebridean birds to the uses for fluffy bog cotton. Tis is prime birding territory, notably in the autumn, when white-fronted and Greenland barnacle geese descend


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MEN AT WORK AT ARDANHOE, ONE OF THE WHISKY DISTILLERIES ON THE ISLAND’S NORTHEAST COAST/ARDNAHOE DISTILLERY


Day two Morning Take a stroll on the Big Strand. Spanning the west coast from Laggan Point to the Oa Peninsula, Islay’s longest beach is a seven- mile stretch of white sand backed by rolling grassy dunes where little inlets flow through the heather. You can spend hours here without encountering another soul. In summer, the pristine turquoise


water, if not the temperature, could pass for the Caribbean. Just to the south, explore the heights of the Oa Peninsula, laced with inlets where rocky cliffs soar 650ft out of the sea. Beyond Oa’s Carraig Fhada lighthouse — where, if you’re lucky and stealthy, you may spot otters — you’ll find the Singing Sands, a beach where fine silica in the grains sometimes emits a squeaky ‘song’ due to vibrations underfoot. Don’t forget to look up, though, as golden eagles are often seen soaring overhead.


Afternoon Tuck into a lobster and a whisky- laced crème brûlée in the flower- filled courtyard at the elegant Islay Hotel in Port Ellen, then make a beeline for Te Blue Letterbox around the corner. Te gift shop and post office is one of a handful of stores serving Islay’s ‘big’ harbour town, and stocks works by some 40 Hebridean craftspeople. Don’t miss the caramel studded with Orsay Sea Salt crystals; nature-inspired accessories by such talented local jewellers as Charlotte Hannett and Sarah Brown; and cheery, colourful woollies made with homespun Islay sheep fleece. Head east of town, away from the hulking industrial shadow of Port Ellen Maltings, and follow the lane to Kilbride farm. Here, in a field, stand two slender stones, one now supine, thought to be celestial markers from either the neolithic or Bronze Age.


First published in the April 2022 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK). Read the feature in full online at nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel


ISLAY BOATS MOORED AT PORT ASKAIG,


WITH THE PAPS OF JURA VISIBLE ACROSS THE SOUND OF ISLAY/AWL IMAGES


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