Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
bay of golden sand are strikingly pretty, but the view is dominated by the village's
modern maltings, whose powerful odours waft across the town.
The distilleries
As you head east out of Port Ellen, a dead-end road passes three
distilleries
in as many
miles. First up is
Laphroaig
, which, as every bottle tells you, is Gaelic for “the beautiful
hollow by the bay”, and, true enough, the whitewashed distillery is indeed in a
gorgeous setting by the sea. Laphroaig also has the stamp of approval from Prince
Charles, who famously paid a flying visit to the island in 1994, crashing an airplane of
the Queen's Flight in the process.
A mile down the road lies
Lagavulin
distillery, beyond which stands
Dunyvaig Castle
,
a romantic ruin on a promontory looking out to the tiny isle of Texa. Another mile
further on,
Ardbeg
distillery sports the traditional pagoda-style kiln roofs - in common
with all Islay's distilleries, the above three offer guided tours (see box, p.267).
6
Kildaton Chapel
Two miles down the track from Ardbeg and you eventually come to the simple
thirteenth-century
Kildalton Chapel
,
which
has a wonderful eighth-century Celtic
ringed cross made from the local “bluestone”. he quality of the scenes matches any to
be found on the crosses carved by the monks in Iona: the Virgin and Child are on the
east face, with Cain murdering Abel to the left, David fighting the lion on the top, and
Abraham sacrificing Isaac on the right; on the west side amidst the serpent-and-boss
work are four elephant-like beasts.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
PORT ELLEN AND AROUND
By ferry
The ferry terminal is a two-minute walk from the
village's main through roads.
Destinations
Kennacraig (3-4 daily; 2hr 20min).
By bus
Buses pick up and drop off on Charlotte Street in
the centre of the village.
Destinations
Bowmore
(Mon-Sat 10 daily, 4 on Sun;
20-30min).
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Caladh Sona
53 Frederick Crescent
T
01496 302694,
E
hamish.scott@lineone.net.
Simple, unassuming
detached house in the heart of the village with three
en-sui
te gr
ound-floor rooms (all twins) at a very reasonable
price.
£72
Islay
Hotel
18 Charlotte Street
T
01496 300109,
W
islayhotel.com.
One of the finest hotels on the island,
rebuilt from scratch a few years ago, hence the thoroughly
modern, sharp-looking rooms, and superbly equipped and
very large bathrooms (some with whirlpool bathtub). The
Islay
is also Port Ellen's social hub, with a fine restaurant
and a buzzy, more informal whisky bar. The former rustles
up sublime dishes like pan-fried turbot with herbed mash
and hollandaise sauce (£20), while at the latter you can
grab a steak sandwich (£9.50) washed down with a micro-
brewed beer.
Restaurant: dail
y no
on-2.30pm &
6-10pm; Bar: daily 11am-11pm.
£120
Ì
Kintra Farm
campsite
Three miles northwest of
Port Ellen
T
01496 302051,
W
kintrafarm.co.uk.
Enjoying a stunning situation at the
southern tip of sandy
Laggan Bay among the grassy dunes, this is not far off wild
camping at its best. Facilities are basic, but there are
showers and
run
ning water as well as laundry facilities.
April-Sept.
£14/
pitch
Bowmore
On the north side of the monotonous peat bog of Duich Moss, and the south shore of
the tidal Loch Indaal, lies
BOWMORE
, Islay's administrative capital, with a population
of around 800. It's a striking place, laid out in 1768 on a grid plan rather like Inveraray,
with the whitewashed terraces of Main Street climbing up the hill in a straight line
from the loch to the town's crowning landmark, the
Round Church
, whose central
tower looks uncannily like a lighthouse. Built in the round, so that the devil would
have no corners in which to hide, it has a plain, wood-panelled interior, with a lovely
tiered balcony and a big central mushroom pillar.
