Lovely Day

Sheila and I were able to grab a coffee and chai before the 90 minute drive to Kennacraig Ferry for the two hour ferry crossing over to Islay.

Just when you think the roads could not be more twisty and winding - they were. I am surprised that the hungover Bill in the back was not asking us to pull over. I would be!

The ferry ride was very calm and uneventful.

We arrived at Port Ellen just after noon and walked along the Main Street and beach (not the kind you would take your family to go swimming, it must be low tide?) before heading to lunch at the Islay Hotel Restaurant. I really enjoyed the Halloumi fries (hopefully it will not take revenge on me!), a crab burger with GF bun, Sheila’s scallops were perfectly prepared, and Doug really liked the steak and black pudding pie.

Behind the hotel patio there was a really neat looking old building in ruins.

We drove to the Laphroaig Distillery and had a nice seat by the water for the guys to drink their flight. Inside there was an area describing the history of the distillery. It has an interesting past and lots of family disputes over the estate since the mid 1800’s.

We felt a few drops of rain, we dashed into the visitor centre for a few minutes and came out to the beautiful sunny weather again!!

We walked along the Distillery Trail. It is a nice asphalt path along the road and is a very easy walk. We walked 4km to the Argbeg Distillery. The atmosphere is younger and edgy. The patio area has an airstream food truck.

We headed back toward Laphroaig and stopped at Lagavulin. It is a more traditional brand and the bar where the guys had their flights was comfortable and decorated with a lot of plaid.

I enjoyed my Neapolitan Old Fashioned with Lagavulin 8, strawberry and chocolate bitters, and vanilla syrup. So far, this is the favourite distillery on Islay for the guys. They really enjoyed the five whiskys that they sampled.

Along our walk I saw an eagle, mute swans, gulls, common ravens, a skink (very different than a skank), sheep, cows, sparrows, bank swallows, robins, a beautify grey horse, and rabbits.

Caroline greeted us and gave us a tour of Dha Urlar located just outside of Bowmore. We have two rooms with our own bathrooms upstairs, and we share the dining and living areas with other guests, if they arrive. The kitchen is used exclusively by the hosts as it it technically a B & B.

The wifi is working well, so Bill is going to do some work and take a call while we go out for dinner.

We tried Harbour Inn but it was closed, Lochside Hotel & Restaurant was full, so we were lucky to find a table at the Bowmore Hotel Restaurant. Doug was very impressed with their whisky list, very extensive and almost exclusively Islay whiskys.

Our meal was decent but the service was a bit slow. I ordered some lamb korma take away for Bill.

We met Jim when we arrived back at the B & B. Bill was just starting his call, so we disturbed him a bit (sorry!).

We started a game of Bitch Rummy, let Bill join when he was off his call and he whooped our butts!