Argyll - The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands - page 117

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cracked Islay crab claws (£14.95). Live music usually takes
place on Wed an d Sun evenings in the bar. Daily noon-
2pm & 6-11pm. £190
Port Mòr Campsite Just outside the village out on the
road to Portnahave T 01496 850441, W islandofislay
.co.uk. A community-run campsite with glorious sea views
and tip-top facilities: modern shower block, ga mes room,
laundry, café and a brilliant playpark for the kids. £16 /pitch

SYHA hostel Next door to the Natural History Trust
Visitor Centre T 0870 004 1128, W syha.org.uk. Islay's
only hostel is housed in an old bonded warehouse by
the sea. It possesses a handy mix of doubles and triples
all the way up to six-bed dorms, and all with shared bath-
room facilities; there's also a large kitchen and common
room o pen to all. Bre akfa st £3.75. Mid-March to mid-Oct.
Dorms £17 ; doubles £42

Portnahaven and Port Wemyss
The main coastal road culminates seven miles south of Port Charlotte at Portnahaven ,
a fishing and crofting community since the early nineteenth century. The familiar
whitewashed cottages wrap themselves prettily around the steep banks of a deep bay,
where seals bask on the rocks in considerable numbers; in the distance, you can see
Portnahaven's twin settlement, Port Wemyss , a mile south. The communities share a
little whitewashed church, located above the bay in Portnahaven, with separate doors
for each village.
A short way out to sea are two islands, the largest of which, Orsay, sports the Rhinns
of Islay Lighthouse , built by Robert Louis Stevenson's father in 1825; ask around locally
if you're keen to visit the island.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE PORTNAHAVEN AND PORT WEMYSS

By bus Buses make their way into the centre of both
villages, dropping off first at Portnahaven.

Destinations Bowmore (Mon-Sat 6 daily, Sun 3 daily;
50min).

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Burnside B&B Shore St, Port Wemyss T 01496
860296, W burnsidelodge.co.uk. Located just off the
coastal path, this sweet little place offers three rooms (one
en suite) of modest proportions, but they're absolutely
up to the mark. The friendly owner here also rustles up
delectable home-baked goodies, in particular cupcakes

and mu ns; you can enjoy these, with a mug of tea, in
the cosy residents' lounge or outside on one of the barrel
seats looking across to Rhinns Point, below which seals
bask on the shore. Snacks an d dr inks served April-Sept
Fri-Mon 10.30am-4.30pm. £90

Loch Finlaggan
Just beyond Ballygrant, on the road to Port Askaig, a narrow road leads off north to
Loch Finlaggan , site of a number of prehistoric crannogs (artificial islands) and, for four
hundred years from the twelfth century, headquarters of the Lords of the Isles,
semi-autonomous rulers over the Hebrides and Kintyre. The site is evocative enough,
but there are, in truth, very few remains beyond the foundations. Remarkably, the
palace that stood here appears to have been unfortified, a testament perhaps to the
prosperity and stability of the islands in those days.
To the northeast of the loch, the information centre (Easter-Oct Mon-Sat
10.30am-4.30pm, Sun 1.30-4.30pm; £2) exhibits a number of superb finds uncovered
on the site, notably the head of the commemorative medieval cross. From the centre a
path leads down to the site itself (access at any time), which is dotted with interpretive
panels. Duckboards allow you to walk out across the reed beds of the loch and explore
the main crannog, Eilean Mor , where several carved gravestones are displayed under
cover in the chapel, all of which seem to support the theory that the Lords of the Isles
buried their wives and children, while having themselves interred on Iona. Further out
into the loch is another, smaller crannog, Eilean na Comhairle , originally connected to
Eilean Mor by a causeway, where the Lords of the Isles are thought to have held
meetings of the Council of the Isles.