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Wednesday, 06/Aug/2008
Dinner at an taigh-osda, Islay
To satify your appetite after a long day out and about on Islay or just to enjoy good food you need a good restaurant. On a small place like Islay your choice is usually limited to a handful of places. Recently the options for excellent food increased by Paul and Joan Graham opening an taigh-osda in Bruichladdich. It is mainly a luxury small hotel (something I can't comment on, I haven't see the rooms, let alone stayed there), but the restaurant is also open to non-residents. At the end of my recent stay on Islay I had a very nice dinner at their restaurant:
The restaurant is fairly small, depending on how the tables are set up I think they can accommodate 4-5 tables at any one time. In other words, reservations are pretty much essential, in particular during busy times. We were welcomed by Paul who immediately led us to our table. The menu is fairly small (5 starters, 5 main courses and 5 desserts), but changes daily. A lot of the ingredients are locally sourced, including the vegetables grown in Islay House Community Garden.
But first the drinks: I don't really drink wine, so I can't comment on their wine selection. However, Paul was very helpful in deciding which of the Islay Ales to choose with the food I was considering (fish, which we agreed ruled out the Bruichladdich Peat Ale). Next the food.
As a starter I had a Wild Mushroom Soup with Croutons. The soup was very nice and creamy, served with some excellent croutons. That part was quite important to me, I like my croutons crispy and crunchy and fresh. Soggy croutons are horrible. First test passed, we were off to a good start.
My main course was a lemon sole with garlic. Sole is one of my favourite fish dishes, so how would they do here? In short, excellent. I don't really know how to describe the taste, it was a mild taste, the lemon and garlic were noticable but not overpowering the natural taste of the sole. The texture was excellent, it was tender but not too soft. Certainly one of the best sole dishes I've ever had. Second test passed.
Finally the dessert. I'm not really a dessert person, but then this was a special occasion so I decided to have one. We had a chocolate souffle, very nice. As I don't often have something like it I can't really make any comparisons. After finishing our desserts we went over to the lounge for coffee. A good finish to an excellent meal, third test passed.
So what's my final judgement? From my experience all I can say is ‘Highly recommended!’ The food is excellent, the surroundings are very nice and the service is helpful and personal. An excellent addition to Islay.
This entry was completed with the help of a wee dram of Bruichladdich Peat Islay single malt, some chocolate beans from Islay House Square and some raspberries. The music playing in the background was Kings of Leon - Aha Shake Heartbreak.
06/Aug/2008: Dinner at an taigh-osda, Islay
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Tuesday, 05/Aug/2008
Islay on BBC Nature UK
After Jura on BBC Radio 4 earlier today I thought I needed to get back to Islay with something about Islay on the BBC. Looking through my bookmarks I found these BBC - Nature UK - Search Results for Islay. As of writing this there are two results (hopefully more will become available over time!), one video and one sound file:
The 10min video is called BBC - Nature UK - Loch Gruinart. It is mainly about the RSPB Loch Gruinart reserve and how it is managed to support in particular the famous geese. A few familiar faces in Hermione Cockburn's programme: James How of the RSPB (watch how quick he can count the geese!) at Loch Gruinart and Ian and Margaret Brooke of Kilchoman House Cottages, RSPB volunteers and Islay Birds bloggers.
The 30min sound file is called Sounds of Britain: Islay (unfortunately requires RealPlayer). It is a programme by Paul Evans and Chris Watson about the various sounds of Islay, mainly the birds. Among others you get to hear Corncrakes calling and Snipes drumming. But the sounds of a distillery (in this case Bruichladdich) also make an appearance.
Both programmes are slightly older, but then again nature doesn't change that much over a year: The Sounds of Islay programme is from September 2007, I believe the video is from 2006 or early 2007.
05/Aug/2008: Islay on BBC Nature UK
Jura Ferry on BBC Radio 4
Almost forgot about it, but luckily did remember and was able to find it as a ‘listen again’ feature: When I woke up yesterday morning the announcer mentioned that the new Jura ferry would make an appearance on the Today Programme on BBC Radio 4 during the next hour. Unfortunately I wasn't able to wait to listen to it live. If you missed it as well, here's a chance to listen to it again:
BBC Radio 4: James Shaw reports on the first direct ferry to the island of Jura from the mainland in 30 years (2:58 min clip)
The BBC (and many other news outlets) reported quite extensively about it, here's the report if you prefer to read rather than listen: BBC NEWS | Scotland | Ferry link returns to remote Jura. While the ferry has been running for a few weeks now it has only just been officially opened.
On a slightly related note the Sydney Morning Herald is writing about the Isle of Jura and in particular the Jura Lodge and the distillery, although they don't seem to have heard about the direct ferry just yet: A scotch on the rocks.
05/Aug/2008: Jura Ferry on BBC Radio 4
Monday, 04/Aug/2008
What is IslayBlog.com Writing About?
Now that might sound like a rather stupid question. Islay obviously. We all know that. But which words am I using to write about Islay? The answer is provided by a website called wordle. They have an application which creates ‘beautiful word clouds’. I had seen it on a variety of other blogs, when I also saw one at The Cartoonist (he's writing one of the first blogs I ever read) I decided to give it a try as well. Here's the one for IslayBlog.com:
The Wordle cloud for IslayBlog.com
The size of the word is proportional to the frequency it is being used on the page (or other input) Wordle analyses. Not surprisingly ‘Islay’ is quite big, bigger than everything else by quite a margin. ‘Journey’, ‘ferry’ and ‘destination’ also do rather well. The ‘Friday’ is from the Friday Islay pictures. ‘Beaches’ seem to be popular and for some reason ‘Well’ seems to do rather, ahem, well.
Apologies to ‘Jura’ and ‘Colonsay’ which don't seem to get as much attention as they probably deserve as Islay's closest neighbours. May be the ripple effect isn't as big as it should be?
Now this cloud isn't fixed, it is based on the front page of the blog as it looked today. If I run it again in a months time it might look different. Apart from the ‘Islay’ bit, obviously.
In case you're interested which music playing while I was considering the words being used on this blog, that was Teenage Fanclub - Man-Made.
04/Aug/2008: What is IslayBlog.com Writing About?
Sunday, 03/Aug/2008
Islay Blogging Roundup #42
After all that Islay ferry video fun earlier it is now back to some more text about Islay. Some nice music is playing, I've got a large cup of tea, a few scones, some chocolate biscuits and also a wee dram of Islay single malt for once it's all done. Time to attempt to summarise what the blogs have been writing about Islay this week:
Let me start with a bit of technology, the latest news from the wave power station near Portnahaven received quite a bit of coverage: Argyll and Bute harnesses wave power writes Secret Scotland. Ron has some pictures of the event. Even a Hungarian blog picks it up and writes Megkezdte a termelést a legnagyobb brit hullámturbina
Staying with a language I can't read, let alone speak, there's the blog of Peter and Veronika. I believe they are either Czech or Slovakian and write something about Islay: Presúvame sa do Škótska na ostrov ISLAY. They have been to Islay at least once, as the pictures prove: Nech sa paci, fotky!! (more here: Uz sa chystame domov... pomalicky. and here: To Slovensko nase. They also write about Moving to Scotland - Isle of ISLAY, but I'm not sure if those are plans or if they've moved already.
In last week's roundup I mentioned Douglas' Sea kayaking with SeaKayakPhoto.com. There were a few more Islay related entries this week:
- Pennies from heaven in Kildalton church yard.
- Sand, sea, sun and blue sky on Islay!
- and Shaggy dogs on Eilean Imersay, Islay
Someone called Ron (no, not the one of IslayInfo, another one) also recently visited Islay and Jura, on the yacht Kaemara: Through the Sound of Jura to Craighouse, Jura, then on to Port Ellen, Islay. On Islay he and his crew visited Bowmore, the west coast of Islay and the American Monument. From Sweden the S/Y GICA visited as well and they simply report of Islay & single malt whiskey.
Tom from the ardblog looks back at his holidays on holiday and is trying to find a few other visitors: Wanted! Folgende Islay-Reisende. If you recognise any of them (or even are one of them) please get in contact with Tom.
The Alternative Anna was going to post pictures from her Islay trip, but it looks like she ran into a few problems. Hopefully I can mention her again in the next roundup, then with pictures.
Now on to birdwatching and wildlife:
First something in French. Don't get confused by English title, the text is in French: Volontariat RSPB Scotland - Islay, United Kingdom Travel Blog.
Islay Birder John Armitage is back on Islay, but with bad weather there wasn't very much to see. It got worse before it got better, culminating in a brilliant day with various waders and a frustrated osprey.
Ian's Islay Birds blog also has news of the Osprey, this time it being mobbed by a Black Backed Gull. There are not only birds to be found on his blog, no, he also treats us to a Golden Ringed Dragonfly. Michal in the meantime went out to Killinallan and Gortantaoid, coming back with a picture of a Ringed Plover.
Scott and Bron are finally Fenced in at last while the Bruichladdich Blog spots an Apparition. Ron writes about Land Management Pigs at Dunlossit Estate.
I guess this leaves the whisky. Let me start with an entry I've been waiting for quite a while: Drinking in the UK, Part Four (the road to Islay) (Part 3 was written in January...). The Dryckesportalen writes about Kilchoman. The Moldy Chum in the meantime exclaims Gaston! We're going to need another case of Laphroaig. Hm, I think that's a case of IWOOT! Well, may be.
The last blog entry I'm going to mention today left me wondering if I'm a commentator, influencer, evangelist or critic. And will me writing about the Isle of Islay have a ‘ripple effect’ on Jura and Colonsay? Just like writing about Laphroaig on Ardbeg (even though I'm actually drinking a Bruichladdich Peat just now)? A little Background on SMFA (aka Social Media Footprint Analysis) doesn't really answer it, but uses Islay whisky as an example.
So that's all for this week. I was listening to ‘Träumerei im Kaffeeehaus’ and ‘Lieben Sie Strauß?’ by the Bremer Kaffeehaus-Orchester while pulling this roundup together. I've already mentioned which whisky I enjoyed while finishing this entry, so the only thing that remains is the regular reference to the Scottish Roundup. This week with After Glasgow and, sorry, no, there is no distillery on Eilean Mhic Coinnich.
03/Aug/2008: Islay Blogging Roundup #42
Islay Ferry Crossing Video
For some people the journey is the destination. For me Islay will always be the destination, but the journey to Islay is part of the destination. A big part of that journey is the ferry crossing from Kennacraig to either Port Ellen or Port Askaig. On a dull and grey day the journey can be quite boring, but on a nice and sunny day I think the ferry to Islay is one of the best in the world:
DirectFerryCrossingToTheIsleOfIslay,Scotland
While the real crossing takes more than 2 hours I've condensed it into just under 9 minutes. In my first/second attempt at video editing I've tried to focus on the main events and most interesting sights during the journey to Islay. I'm also trying to tell the story of a crossing, I hope my attempts give a good idea of what happens during it:
The journey starts just past the West Loch Hotel where the A83 crosses a hill to then give a nice view over West Loch Tarbert. Then the arrival at Kennacraig swiftly followed by boarding the ferry and leaving Kennacraig to Islay.
The ferry travels down West Loch, upon leaving the loch great views of the Isle of Jura as well as the Isle of Gigha present themselves. Because of the ferries movements various car alarms go off below, their motion sensors being triggered repeatedly.
We pass another ferry, the Hebridean Isles, on her journey from Islay to the mainland. A fishing boat at work can be seen while there are further nice views of Jura and the coast of Islay. Then something a lot of people on the crossings are waiting for, the southern distilleries come into view. Good views of Ardbeg and in particular Laphroaig.
Last but not least we arrive in Port Ellen. We round the buoy marked ‘Port Ellen’ and turn into the wide bay before berthing at the linkspan. After driving off the ferry we have arrived on Islay.
Now I hope you like the video and it gives a really good impression of the crossing to Islay. The sound isn't perfect, that's still something I need to improve on. Haven't fully figured out yet how that all works. But I'll get there. Any feedback would be welcome.
The CD playing on my stereo while writing up what you can see in the video was The Subways - Young for Eternity.
03/Aug/2008: Islay Ferry Crossing Video
Saturday, 02/Aug/2008
Buy an Island off Islay
Pretty much anyone can own a football club today. To be a little bit special I think you need your own island nowadays. Ideally a Scottish island, may be close to Islay, Caribbean islands are a bit last year. Well, how about this one, just off the west coast of Islay:
Assuming you have £100,000.00 (and probably a bit more for various fees etc) to spend Eilean Mhic Coinnich (Mackenzie Island) is currently for sale (found via Press & Journal). It is only a few minutes away from Islay by boat, just west of Portnahaven at the southern end of the Rinns of Islay. You propably won't get many paparazzi finding their way here.
Admittedly it has a few drawbacks: There are no mains services (i.e. water, electricity, drainage) on the island, but then again there isn't even a building. As it is designated as a Site of special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Special Protection Area it is unlikely that anyone would be granted planning permission anyway.
The wildlife should be pretty spectacular though with breeding Greylag Geese and Arctic Terns. There are Grey Seals, Otters and various other birds as well. Not to forget sunsets similar to the one above.
Oh, and the CD playing while thinking about buying Eilean Mhic Coinnich and deciding that I don't really have £100,000 to spare was The Beach Boys - Made in U.S.A..
02/Aug/2008: Buy an Island off Islay
Friday, 01/Aug/2008
Friday Islay Picture (67)
Is it Friday again already? Well, then it's time for the Friday Islay picture. And a bonus Colonsay picture. How does that sound? Good? Well, may be not so good, as I've decided to post a not so nice view from Islay. Not that you can see something like this only on Islay, no, you can see it on many beaches and shores in the UK and around the world. Something like this:
So why post a picture like this, not something nicer?
Earlier this evening I found the Flotsam and jetsam art with a message pool on Flickr, created by Islay artist Becky Williamson. In it Becky collects pictures of various sculptures she created using man-made flotsam and jetsam. Or to put it bluntly all the rubbish washed up on our beaches. A lot of it probably almost indestructible, which will blight our environment for a very long time.
On Islay among others the canoe club does regular beach cleans, but wouldn't it be nicer if these weren't necessary? While it probably will be impossible to completely avoid it (e.g. a fishing boat losing a part of equipment in stormy weather) I'm sure it can be reduced significantly.
With that thought I'll leave you for the weekend, have a great weekend, whereever you are and whatever your plans are! Oh, the CD taking me into the weekend while pulling this entry together is King of the Surf Guitar: The Best of Dick Dale & his Del-Tones.
01/Aug/2008: Friday Islay Picture (67)
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Thursday, 31/Jul/2008
Bonus Islay Hotel Panorama
As the setup of the new laptop progresses I've installed the latest version of Panorama Factory today. Then I thought, might as well use it for another Islay panorama straight away. May be a bonus panorama to the 3 Islay Hotel Panoramas I finished last weekend?
This is the back of the Under Construction Islay Hotel, Isle of Islay, July 2008 in a 180° Quicktime VR Panorama. I've added it as a bonus panorama to the Islay Hotel Port Ellen Panoramas collection. Thought some of you might find it interesting to see how it looks from the other side, considering that most of the pictures so far have been from the front.
Time, weather and steep learning curve permitting I hope to do some video editing this weekend. I shot some material during my recent visit to Islay, but it needs some serious editing before I can unleash it on to the unsuspecting public. In other words, no promises that you'll get to see anything this weekend, but fingers crossed you might.
No CD again while creating the panorama and writing this entry about it, instead I'm listening to BBC 6 Music again.
31/Jul/2008: Bonus Islay Hotel Panorama
Wednesday, 30/Jul/2008
Mid Week Islay Picture
Sorry, still not much time for Islay blogging today. I'm making good progress with setting up the new laptop though, this is already the first new IslayBlog.com entry I'm writing on it. I've got access to my Islay pictures and the latest version of Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 is up and running. Kind of a version of the Friday Islay Picture here is a mid week Islay picture:
A fishing boat off the south east coast of Islay. Those with good eyes will have spotted McArthur's Head with the lighthouse at the entrance to the Sound of Islay towards the right. I'm probably not the only one who quite likes the sight of a fishing boat followed by the sea birds hoping for some ‘free’ fish. Somehow one of the symbols of the sea for me.
OK, back to setting up the laptop. No CD playing while setting up the laptop, picking out the picture and writing this entry, but BBC 6 Music on the radio.
30/Jul/2008: Mid Week Islay Picture
Tuesday, 29/Jul/2008
A Big Ardbeg in Australia
Sorry, not much time for Islay blogging today. My new laptop arrived today (so that I can do faster bigger better more colourful nicer Islay blogging soon ;-)) and I spent quite a bit of time starting to set it up. But I'm not going to leave you without your daily dose of Islay. Mixed with a bit of Australia today:
The video is obviously a reference to the Mór Ardbeg, the huge bottle Ardbeg brought out a while ago. What I'm not sure about is whether this is some official effort or if it was made by an Ardbeg fan?
29/Jul/2008: A Big Ardbeg in Australia
Monday, 28/Jul/2008
Islay Sheepdog Trials
Islay has its fair share of sheep living on the fields and hills in many places on the island. There are also quite a few dogs on the island, several of them working dogs, sheepdogs. Sometimes there are a number of visiting sheepdog. For example during the recent ‘Annual Sheepdog Trials’ at Whin Park Bridgend.
Before leaving for my visit to Islay I had noticed the listing for the ‘Annual Sheepdog Trials’ on the ‘What's On’ page of the Ileach. Having only ever seen snippets of those trials on television I decided to keep them in mind and to visit them if possible. They were scheduled for the day I was leaving at the end of my holiday, passing a several signposts for them in the days before reminded me of the event.
As the weather on the days turned out very nice (although quite windy) I decided to at least give it a quick look, even though I didn't have much time left before I had to be in Port Askaig for the ferry leaving Islay. It was certainly a good decision, the 45 minutes were well spent. Very interesting to watch! I managed to capture one run on video:
DirectSheepdogTrialsOnTheIsleOfIslay,Scotland
Apologies for the sound quality, it was a quite windy day and the field where the event took place was fairly exposed. Unfortunately the microphone on my camera didn't cope very well with the wind, despite the ‘wind screen’ being fitted to the microphone. But it also picked up the commands the dog owner gave to the dog quite well, so I decided to stick to the original sound. I hope you'll still enjoy the video.
To finish another picture from the event, dog and owner working together to herd the sheep into the enclosure:
The CD playing while writing this entry was an old classic: Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run.
28/Jul/2008: Islay Sheepdog Trials
Sunday, 27/Jul/2008
Islay Blogging Roundup #41
Now let's see if I can still do this. It's 3 weeks since I last wrote an Islay blogging roundup, roundup #40 on the 6th of July. With the summer holiday season I would expect a slowdown in (Islay) blogging activity, but there should still be something to report on. In particular after 3 weeks of inactivity. So, with my fans trying to circulate some fresh air in the flat after todays heat, here's what I found in the blogs mentioning Islay:
Let me start with the quirky and the youngest blogger I think I've ever linked to. Anna Bridget is only 7 months old, so I suspect she's getting a bit of help from a ghostwriter. Anyway, she has a birthmark in the shape of Islay, something probably not a lot of people can claim.
I've just returned from a holiday on Islay, others have done the same or are about to leave for their holidays on Islay. An American New Zealander visited Scotland including Islay early in July. The Bubbblegun Boy is also back from Islay after a camping and fishing holiday.
The Alternative Anna first hinted of a holiday on Islay early in July, then last week she announced her holiday plans and this weekend she's on her way home again. She promises a ‘proper holiday report’ for later, so I've got something to link to in another roundup.
Not sure when this was, but I'm guessing during a visit to Islay in June or early July: Posthegemony posts a picture of the phonebox near Carnduncan. I think that's possibly the most photographed phone box on Islay. Yes, I've got one somewhere as well.
On to sea kayaking around Islay. Douglas Wilcox of Sea kayaking with SeaKayakPhoto.com has finally been to Islay and posts a series of entries from that visit, as to be expected with great pictures:
- Over the sea to the fair isle of Islay
- The Sound of Islay
- Of an Islay bothy, fishing rods and buoyancy aids.
- McArthur's Head lighthouse and the mouth of the Sound of Islay
- Big skies above Proaig Bay, Islay
- Landfall at Claggain Bay, Islay
He's taking a break from blogging this weekend (presumably he's away, kayaking or climbing somewhere), but I expect further entries from the tour. Douglas also mentions a Tragedy in the Sound of Islay, unfortunately an angler died after getting into trouble in the Sound of Islay.
The For Argyll website (partly run by Radio Fyneside) is increasingly mentioning Islay and Jura in their postings, last week including celebations on Jura and the new ferry terminal in Port Ellen.
OK, time for some whisky mentions. The Germans go first, whiskymagazin.de continues their series about the Feis Isle bottlings with part 4 and Bunnahabhain. Their Neuigkeiten der Woche (News of the Week) also include a number of Islay mentions. One of which is the following (although they weren't aware of the follow up when they wrote their roundup):
The Blogger writing The Dram Club recently spent a month on Islay. Towards the end of his stay, on his birthday, he visited Laphroaig. What he experienced there made him Annoyed at Laphroaig. Now either someone at Laphroaig is reading blogs or his complaints were passed on, but when he returned home there was something waiting for him. Good news not only for him, so now All is forgiven Laphroaig.
Caskstrenght.net has slowed down under the summer heat, although they used a recent spot of bad weather (was that when I was struggling on the M6?) to taste the Bruichladdich Peat. The verdict is positive, something I can agree with after picking up a bottle during my holiday.
Not strictly a whisky entry, but for Ardbeg lovers (Hi Tom) this entry about animations might still be interesting: Animation Blog: Selina Wagner "A Knotty Escapade", "Feeling Ropy" & "Hair of the Dog"
Tom also seems to take a break, although he did write an entry just as I was leaving for my holiday: Geheimnisse um Port Ellen (Mysteries around Port Ellen).
The Bruichladdich blog mentions New Summer Releases from the Laddieshop. That's after Seeing the Wood from the Trees before the news that the New Washback was Completed. Ron also has a few pictures.
He recounts Racing the Sound of Islay with a few pictures and tells people hot to Drive Safely on Islay's Roads.
Scott and Bron continue reporting about Life on Islay, telling us What Bron's been doing (quite a lot) and writing about Gridlock on Islay.
Last but not least the wildlife, in particular the birdwatching: John Armitage is still away (but should return today), but the Islay Birds is holding the fort and keeps us updated: A young corncrake was spotted through the kitchen window of one of the cottages at Kilchoman House Cottages (knowing the cottages I believe either Fieldgate or Shepherd's cottage, keep that in mind when booking ;-))
In the nice weather the seals are lazy as well, while a recent survey brought a variety of birds (but a lack of Shelduck ducklings). There's also a very interesting story about an Eagle, an Adder and a Hare. Not giving anything away here, follow the link and read it at the Islay Birds blog.
With that I close this weeks roundup, as usual the quick reference to the Scottish Roundup: A number of entries in the last three weeks, including Loves! Labour’s Lost!, Glasgow East by-election special, The Battle For Baillieston (oh, and rest of Glasgow East as well) and A few admin notes.
The CD playing while putting this roundup together is the same as yesterday when I was working on Islay Hotel panoramas, it is R.E.M. - Accelerate. That's all.
27/Jul/2008: Islay Blogging Roundup #41
Saturday, 26/Jul/2008
3 Islay Hotel Panoramas
That was quite a productive Saturday today: I managed to complete three Islay panoramas. They are all of exactly the same place, yet each looks quite different. The reason is simple, they show the progress of the building work at the former Islay Hotel in Port Ellen over the last 10 months. Here's a quick preview of them, three views of the Islay Hotel building site in one picture:
For an overview please visit the Islay Hotel Port Ellen Panoramas, all three panoramas are linked from there. Or if you're too impatient just follow these links: Islay Hotel Oct 2007, Islay Hotel Apr 2008 and Islay Hotel Jul 2008. I'm hoping to add the next panorama by the end of October, after my next visit to Islay, planned for late October.
I hope you will enjoy the panoramas and that they give you a good overview of the progress at the site. At this point I only have views of the front, although I also have pictures for at least one panorama of the back of the building (from July 2008). I'll add that over the next few weeks and look at my older pictures for previous views.
The CD pumping out of my stereo while preparing panoramas and writing this entry about them was R.E.M. - Accelerate
26/Jul/2008: 3 Islay Hotel Panoramas
Friday, 25/Jul/2008
Friday Islay Picture (66)
Late, but still: After a week's break because of my holiday we have another Friday Islay Picture. One that links to yesterdays entry as well as some plans for the next few days. It's a view from the top floor of the Islay Hotel in Port Ellen over Port Ellen Marina and the harbour with the ferry terminal:
Now future guests at the hotel probably won't get exactly this view, but a very similar one. This was taken from the top floor of the building site two weeks ago. Once the roof is erected the view won't be as free as it is now, but looking out of one of the windows should still be fairly similar.
There will be changes to the view starting next summer though: Design of new CalMac ferry drives harbour development at Kennacraig and Port Ellen terminals. With work at Port Askaig finally approaching completion Port Ellen will see the next harbour and ferry terminal redevelopment in preparation for the new Islay ferry coming into service in 2011.
The ‘reclaimed land north of the current pier’ I believe will be in the gap between the silo and the row of houses (if you look closely you can just make out the bridge of a ferry behind the silo). Quite a lot of change for Port Ellen coming up there.
With that thought I leave you for today, have a great weekend whereever you are and whatever your plans are! I'm planning to do some work on panoramas of several stages of the rebuilding of the former Islay Hotel. Fingers crossed it all goes to plan and I can show you something over the next few days.
25/Jul/2008: Friday Islay Picture (66)
Thursday, 24/Jul/2008
Islay Hotel Attracts First Regular Visitor
Some of you will be expecting an update about the latest progress at the Islay Hotel in Port Ellen. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you for a little patience, but I plan to publish something interesting this weekend. Fingers crossed it all goes to plan. In the meantime I'm glad to inform you that the new hotel has already attracted its first regular visitor:
I don't know its name, but this rabbit is a regular visitor to the hotel. I saw it myself both times during my two visits to the hotel, unfortunately I failed to take a good picture then. As far as I know it belongs to the Askernish B&B next door, but seems to escape fairly regularly (which wouldn't surprise me: I had a rabbit when I was a child, that was a bit of an escape artist). May be it is still used to the times when the site was derelict and free for it to roam? Which brings me to some interesting pictures I found earlier today: 11 pictures of the derelict Islay Hotel in August 2006.
The rabbit will probably have to share the hotel with visiting yachtsmen, who I would expect to frequent its restaurant once it is opened. It isn't ready for this years visit, but may be next years Classic Malts Cruise participants will try it out?
Here you can see them at Port Ellen Marina, which is only two minutes walk from the hotel. Some of the hotel guests will get a very nice view over the marina, more about that later.
No CD today, just listening to BBC 6 Music while hoping to entertain you with the wee rabbit.
24/Jul/2008: Islay Hotel Attracts First Regular Visitor
Wednesday, 23/Jul/2008
Port Askaig, Islay, 40 Years Ago and Today
No, that's not Port Askaig 40 years ago on the right, that's Port Askaig last Saturday. I took this picture as I waiting to board the ferry, leaving Islay at the end of my holiday. So what does it have to do with Port Askaig in 1968, 40 years ago? While I was away Kenneth Connell posted a picture of Port Askaig, Islay, in March 1968 to his Flickr set 1968. In the set is also a closer look at work on the pier, which started all of this.
In the comments there's some interesting discussion and information, during which I offered to upload my picture with a very similar view for comparison (You can find it here). We cross linked the pictures, so you can switch between them to your heart's content.
The picture and Neil F King's background information about the work are very interesting keeping in mind the work currently going on in Port Askaig. The pier has been rebuilt over the last two years, work is currently progressing on the pier buildings. But that's another story, before I finish this entry let's go back 40 years again with 3 more pictures of Port Askaig in 1968: Looking towards Jura from Port Askaig in 1968, the Lochiel arriving in Port Askaig and a closer look at the Lochiel arriving at Islay.
PS: Other pictures from Islay in 1968 are: Bowmore pier, Bowmore Main Street, Islay Airport car park and plane and a BEA Viscount at Islay airport March 68.
The CD playing while I was comparing pictures and writing this entry was The Fratellis - Here We Stand
23/Jul/2008: Port Askaig, Islay, 40 Years Ago and Today
Tuesday, 22/Jul/2008
How to Spot Granny's Rock on Islay
Earlier this year Ron was wondering where and how to spot Granny's Rock, the interestingly shaped rock formation above Machir Bay on the west coast of Islay. He mentioned the picture I took during the Kilchoman and Kilchiaran walk in 2005. Walking past Granny's Rock during my recent week on Islay I thought I can do better than just that picture and help him and others trying to spot it. So I took lots of a pictures and recorded a few videos. Here's my first attempt at a Granny's Rock on Islay video:
DirectGranny'sRockOnTheIsleOfIslay
Approaching it from Kilchoman Beach I think the best spot to see it is probably where path goes into a S-curve, two 180° bends. Just below ‘Creag Bealach na Caillich’ if you look it up on a map. Look towards the ‘Bealach na Caillich’, where the path crosses the top towards Kilchiaran. On the left hand side are some cliffs/crags. Starting at the bottom of the rocks just follow up the line until you're almost at the top and you will spot the silhouette of Granny's face. In particular the strong nose, the mouth and square chin. You can even see the tongue in her mouth.
I hope you find the short video helpful, does it help in spotting it? I'm still learning how to record video, so please excuse the sometimes slightly shaky panning and abrupt zooming. Certainly something I need to improve on, but for now it's the content of the video that counts most.
Now this isn't the only way to spot Granny's Rock. Alternatively there's also a view of it coming from the other side, from Kilchiaran. You can see how she looks then in the picture on the right. More about that in another Islay video some other time.
22/Jul/2008: How to Spot Granny's Rock on Islay
Monday, 21/Jul/2008
Back From A Week On Islay
So there we are. I'm back after a week on Islay. A comparably wet week on Islay, at least compared to most of my previous visits. With the rather damp weather for large parts of the week I didn't get as much walking done as I had hoped, but I still had a great time. I just did other things, including a lot of reading. I read 4 books (none of them Islay related) and relaxed. But the weather wasn't all bad, to compensate for all the rain, mist and fog I also had views like this on occasion:
As you can see the reappearing wreck is still visible. Actually, there's even more of it visible now compared to back in April. I'll post a follow up entry with more pictures some time over the next few weeks.
What else? I did a bit of ‘birdwatching’, well, kind of. Regular readers will know that I don't consider myself a birdwatcher and don't know much about birds, but I blame my hosts Ian and Margaret of Kilchoman House Cottages for slowly developing an interest. There are bird books in all the cottages and I did use the one in my cottage (Saligo) to identify the Islay Birds I had seen (and sometimes photographed). I've recorded some video footage of the buzzard above, I think some of it will even be usable. More of that once I had the time for some serious video editing.
When I arrived on Islay as well as later in the week I had a look at the progress of the Islay Hotel in Port Ellen. Roland was so kind to give me a guided tour of the site, including a view from top. More about that later, but they certainly are impressive. Again I've recorded some of it on video, once I've got the editing done I will publish it online. If you look closely on the picture you will notice the Spot The Whisky Barrel barrel at the entrance to the site office. If you are on Islay over the next few weeks visit Alison (if the barrel is outside of the door she's in the office) and get your ticket. Alternatively just do it online.
Anything else? There's a lot more, too much to mention it all in this entry. There will a full travelogue at some point (once I've completed all the other outstanding ones...), but some other highlights included: A fantastic dinner at Paul and Joan's an taigh-osda in Bruichladdich. Watching James (contact JW Watersports on 07748-782949 for bookings and further information) teaching windsurfing on Loch Indaal and his students making great progress. A late afternoon walk at Kilnaughton Bay in beautiful sunshine after a rainy morning. And much much more.
21/Jul/2008: Back From A Week On Islay
