One of the perks of being on Islay is the chance to visit a few neighbouring islands such as Jura, Colonsay and (indirectly) Oronsay. Where Jura is only a 5 minute ferry trip away from Port Askaig, the Isle of Colonsay requires a bit more planning. With the latter it all comes down to finding a nice day to make the trip from Port Askaig to Scalasaig, the main settlement on Colonsay. Make sure to check the weather beforehand. If the return ferry is on yellow alert you'd better stay on Islay to avoid cancellations and the chance to be stuck on Colonsay as it only sails to Islay twice a week, on Wednesday and Saturday. There is a daily ferry service in the summer from Oban to Colonsay.

Kiloran Bay Colonsay

The Isle of Colonsay is easily accessible on foot, by bike or by car. There is one main circular road, single track, covering most of the island with a few minor roads going to Kiloran Bay in the north and Oronsay in the south. It's an ideal island for cycling and it's highly recommended to take your bicycle to Colonsay, it's free to take it with you on the ferry and you save £35.50 on ferry fares for your car. Alternatively you can hire a bike on the island for £10 a day. Read more...

It's time to share a great Islay video with you. It's an exceptional good video as it contains some crips shots from a drone, but most of all it's from a stunning part of Islay not known with many folk. It shows parts of The Oa and the walk up to Soldiers Rock, an impressive Sea Stack within 20 metres from the cliffs. The drone footage is mostly of Soldiers Rock, the stunning surrounding landscape and Port Ellen. This one is highly recommended :-)

The Cantilena Festival is a week of classical music concerts in venues throughout Islay. It consists a mix of professional players and young professional musicians who are senior students of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS). The Festival gives Islay the opportunity to hear live classical music and, just as important, gives these young people a chance to work and learn from experienced musicians. The concerts are informal and there’s always a chance to chat to the players and learn how passionate they are about their music.

Sunday 7 July sees the start of the Festival when the opening concert in the Columba Centre, Bowmore, will feature our professional players in works by Mozart, Schumann and Shostakovich. This is followed on Monday evening at Laphroaig Distillery and our Young Professionals’ Showcase. Come along and listen to our extremely talented young professional musicians from RCS show off their skills in a varied programme.

Tuesday evening’s concert in Lagavulin will include works by Corelli, Vivaldi, Rossini Mendelssohn, and little-heard Scots composer Thomas Erskine and features all the Cantilena players. Back in Columba on Wednesday, Daniel Silcock, a senior piano student at RCS will return to Islay to present a recital of Debussy’s Preludes. The second half of the evening will feature chamber music by Brahms and Beethoven. Continue reading....

I was invited today, Wednesday, by a few lovely ladies from the Rhinns who run the "Friends of Portnahaven Church Charity". The charity's aim is to keep the beautiful church in Portnahaven in a good condition for everyone to enjoy. The Portnahaven and Port Wemyss parish church, designed by Thomas Telford, is one of the few Telford churches in Scotland from which the design has been mostly unaltered. Islay has two other Telford churches, on one the Oa which is now ruined and the Kilmeny church near Ballygrant.

Maintaining the church is a very costly affair. 2011 for instance saw repairs to the Roof, the Skews and the Bell Tower costing well over £11.000 and in 2013 a further £8000 was spent in the upkeep of the church. And all this money has been raised locally. But more funding is needed if we all want to keep on enjoying this pretty church with its pink and white interior. And you can help! Continue reading....