Day 17: Kennacraig to Port Charlotte, Islay
Virtual Walk: Scotland 2021
21st January 2021: 101.68km walked today taking the total to 1799.39/8854km. 7.5% of 206 entries submitting 1355.75km.
Today we sail to Islay where we’ll participate in the island whisky tour as we progress, maybe sample a wee ‘nip’. Slainte!
Passing Claonaig we head west across the hills and forest roads to Kennacraig, 37 kilometres, to catch another ferry, this time to Islay.
After a 1 hour 55-minute sail, we arrive in Port Askaig, Islay, to start our tour of the ‘Queen of the Hebrides’, the fifth largest of the Scottish islands. The island has been inhabited since c10,800BC, ascertained following the discovery of a flint arrowhead, but the name we see today has its origins in the 7th century, then called ‘Ilea’. The Norse arrived in the 9th century and would remain in control until the Battle of Largs in 1263 after which the island was ruled by the Lord of the Isles until the Scottish Crown took full control in 1493.
Agriculture, fishing, and tourism are important to the economy of the island, plus one other industry which dominates the island and brings many tourists. The industry you will see in Islay? Its distilleries! It's a beautiful island, not many trees but has a lot of peat, so is well-known as home to smoky, peaty whiskies, best in the world, in fact, as well as its famous single malts. Whisky production was probably started here by monks in the 1300s. Fertile land for barley (called bere in old times), pure water sources, peat bogs and its maritime climate made it the perfect combination for production. Home to 9 working distilleries today, not one is the same - each has its own heritage and ‘way’. We will do the whisky tour and we’ll smell of smoking peat and whisky by the time we leave here!
So, heading north we arrive at Caol Ila, ‘Sound of Islay’, Distillery (1846), largest on the island whose whisky is described as lighter, pale in colour, with peaty, floral and peppery notes. Its single malt is also used in Johnnie Walker and Black Bottle. We continue along the coast with views of the Paps of Jura, across the Sound of Islay, to the newest distillery, Ardnahoe (2019), 'height of the hollow’, who produce a heavily peated, richly fruity whisky with a creamy, slightly oily consistency. Along the coast, we reach our next distillery, Bunnahabhain (1881) ‘mouth of the river’, unusual in that they distil unpeated whiskies, unlike their neighbouring distilleries.
We put whisky aside for now and follow the road heading south over the hills and through the forest to visit Finlaggan Loch. Finlaggan is an enormously important place in the history of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Finlaggan was the seat of the Lords of the Isles, Clan Donald. They governed a large part of the western seaboard from here, on behalf of the Scottish Crown, until 1493. The ruins we see today on the island in the Loch, Eilean Mor, are a combination of broch, castle, monastery, and homestead. Centuries of rebuilding happened in this small area, seeing the Gaels and Norse in command, before becoming Scottish!
From here we head south to arrive at Bridgend, a small village on the shore of Loch Indaal, to follow the loch shore for a time before heading northwest to reach Loch Gruinart RSPB Nature Reserve. This is one of the top wildlife sites in Scotland, with a variety of habitats, where we can see Greenland barnacle and white-fronted geese, corncrake, hen harrier and otter, as well as other Hebridean birds. In May, roe deer begin their 'barking' in the woods, while the brown hare start-up their boxing fights in the pastures. We move on to Sanaigmore Bay, a further 8 kilometres, where a walk over grasslands brings us to clear water and white sands. Time for a dip?
We retrace our steps from here, re-joining the B8018 to head south, passing Ballinaby Standing Stones nearby, to arrive at Machir Bay. One of the features of the Rhinns of Islay, it has a spectacular view and lies within a few hundred metres of the small settlement of Kilchoman, where a distillery with its name is based. Kilchoman, a farm distillery, emerged in 2005, known for its well-balanced whisky, with highlights of vanilla biscuits, light fruit and wafts of warm peat smoke. Tempted? We also take time to pay our respects at Kilchoman Military Cemetery nearby; 75 graves of 400 US soldiers who perished when a troop carrier sank in 1918. You will hear more about that further into our journey.
We continue south, following the road on hilly terrain to climb Marilyn Beinn Tart a’Mhill (232 m), the highest point on the Rhinns of Islay with great views over Loch Indaal. We retrace our steps back to the road, continuing past Ben Cladville (130m) before walking a coastal route to Portnahaven at the southern tip of the Rhinns, where we watch seals playing and resting in its sheltered harbour as we take a break. We follow the coast through Port Wemyss, with its views of the Rhinns of Islay Lighthouse on Orsay established in 1825, to walk north round Rhinns Point, heading for Port Charlotte just over 11 kilometres away.
Following the coastal road, we arrive in Port Charlotte located on the shores of Loch Indaal, very picturesque with its white painted houses & lighthouse. It was founded by Walter Frederick Campbell in 1828 and named after his mother. It was built to house the workforce for the Lochindaal Distillery opened in 1829 further up the coast, now home to the Bruichladdich Distillery. The Museum of Islay Life is based in the village where we can learn the many facets of Islay’s story, before continuing along the road running beside Loch Indaal, passing Port Charlotte Lighthouse as we do so.
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