When a picture says more than a thousand words, a map with links will say more than a large menu on the Islay Info website. That was my intention when I built the new Discover Islay Map. No matter how well laid out one makes a website's menu, there is always too little space to mention everything in one go, especially with such a huge amount of pages. Hence the new map with many colourful markers and photos. The new Discover Islay Map is created using Google Maps and it's a public map, which means you can access it also outside our Islay Info website or embed it on your own site.

Each marker on the map has its own photo and will link to an article or page on the Islay Info website or Islay Blog. For first time Islay visitors, and hopefully for others too, this will hopefully be a very pleasant way to discover the island and get some further inspiration for lovely walks, places to see and things to do. It's a work in progress so it will be updated quite frequently. Below is a preview of the map, fully functional, a larger one is available on this page. Enjoy!

Tag: discover islay map

There are some lovely walks to be made from Ballygrant. One of my favourites is the circular walk from Ballygrant to Caol Ila/Port Askaig using the footpath next to the mainroad on the way back. This walk is around 7 miles and can be a bit too long when you're walking with kids. There is also a shorter version which is 4 miles, that's the one we walked today. The weather was fabulous, blue skies, sunshine and a bit chilly but it's still winter after all! If you want to do this walk yourself you can follow the directions below.

You can park at Ballygrant Hall or take the bus. From the hall take the single track road leading into Dunlossit Estate (Mulindry). Keep left at the fork in the road and take the first forest track on your left. Follow this track for a few hundred metres and go left when you reach Loch Ballygrant. This is a beautiful mixed woodland area with lots of wildlife and it's quite sheltered too. You can follow this track for a mile until you reach a track and gate on your left. This gives access to a farm track leading over farmland and ends up at Keills Farm. Continue reading...

The Youtube channel wilderness walker has a nice video titled "Grand tour of Islay" with some nice views of the An Cladach Bothy, north from the bothy at Proaig. A bothy is a shelter in a remote area where walkers can find a place to sleep or shelter. Bothies can't be booked, you just show up and use it, if available of course. Islay has only just these two bothies, one can be found at Proaig and one further north on Dunlossit Estate. You can actually see An Cladach when you're on the ferry to or from Port Askaig, not far from MacArthurs Head Lighthouse. The video shows a stay and comfy night, well at least I assume, in the bothy and some other views of Islay. Well worth watching so enjoy!

Tag: bothy an cladach video

Is this a booming time for Islay Whisky or what? New distilleries and plans for new distilleries seem to spring up like mushrooms as the demand for Islay Single Malt Whisky is growing year after year. A few weeks ago I wrote about the possiblity that Islay could have fourteen whisky distilleries in the near future, that Ardnahoe will start production this year and Bunnahabhain Distillery has plans to completely renovate their distillery. And now Ardbeg Distillery has announced that it will double its production due to meet rising demand. Work to achieve this will be completed in 2018 according to a press release. The world’s passion for Ardbeg has surged since 1997, when the Distillery -then closed- was bought by The Glenmorangie Company and reopened.

Since its renaissance, Ardbeg has enjoyed year-on-year growth, due in no small part to its loyal following, the Ardbeg Committee. This project will double production capacity, increasing the number of stills from two to four while continuing to craft whisky using the same artisanal methods. Marc Hoellinger, President and CEO of The Glenmorangie Company, said: “We are delighted by Ardbeg’s success since 1997 – and by the growing passion for our whisky from fans around the world. Ardbeg has been distilled on Islay since 1815 and, with a new still house, we will pave the way for future generations of smoky malt whisky lovers to discover The Ultimate Islay Malt.”

Tag: ardbeg whisky