An interesting Islay travel report from the Scotsman: As the ferry steers its way through the Sound of Islay towards Port Askaig, you are sailing into a whole new world. On the right is Jura, home to 188 people and 5,000 red deer, the place George Orwell came to write 1984; to the left is Islay, which after the neat townships of Arran looks much more the way you imagine the Hebrides should look.

The name Laphroaig is Gaelic and means “The beautiful hollow by the broad bay”. Laphroaig is one of the oldest distilleries on Islay and this story shows that, despite whisky distilling is often romanticized, it was also a dangerous occupation…

It was 2005 and our second trip to Islay and Scotland after our honeymoon in 2004. It all started on the luxury cruise ferry from Rotterdam to Hull. After a stroll on the deck we went inside to the ship’s bar and ordered ourselves a few drinks. A beer for me and Manuela had Baily’s with Ice. We enjoyed our first day of holiday and watched the sun setting over the North Sea while Manuela chewed on her Ice Cube.

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