Fall in love with the Isle of Islay

Things to do on Islay

The Isle of Islay has three distinct areas – Port Ellen, Portnahaven and Port Askaig, along with the capital Bowmore. Each with their own character – and whisky style to explore. You will need at least three days to visit the Isle of Islay, longer if you want to tour all the distilleries.

Port Ellen and the Mull of Oa

(‘Porth-eilan’ and ‘Mull of o’)

Islay’s south-west corner is the island’s most dramatic. Head to the village of Port Ellen and then drive out on the remote Mull of Oa where you can walk to the American Monument along the Oa cliffs. Look for sea eagles soaring overhead and wild goats and highland cows ambling across the path. The Oa monument, built to commemorate two shipwrecks on Islay in 1918, can be seen right across the island and the story of those lost on the Tuscania and the HMS Otranto is truly humbling.

Back at Port Ellen, the entrance to the harbour is guarded by the lighthouse at Carraig Fhada built in memory of Lady Eleanor Campbell, wife of the founder of the village. Take a walk out to the lighthouse and round the cliffs to Singing Sands, keeping an eye out for dolphins in the bay! 

The Rhinns of Islay and Portnahaven

The Rhinns of Islay sit to the islands northwest and the promontory stretches the length of Loch Indaal to the famously pretty villages of Portnahaven and Port Wemyss. The Rhinns is a special protection area and the RSPB have hides at Loch Gruinart; in winter Islay is home to far more Barnacle Geese than people…

My favourite walk on Islay is the coastal path between Portnahaven and Port Wemyss for beautiful views of the Rinns of Islay lighthouse on the island of Orsay and nosy grey seals popping out of the water in the bay.

Islay’s best beach is arguably Machir Bay – a sweep of perfect sand, dramatic cliffs and crashing waves backed by huge dunes, it is well worth the drive to get to. Machir Bay is close to Islay Cottages accommodation at Kilchoman.

Port Askaig and Ardnave Point

Port Askaig sits on the island’s stunning east coast and serves the ferry to the mainland and across to the Isle of Jura. From the Bunnahabhain distillery walk out towards Rhuvval Lighthouse which sits on the Island’s most northerly point and watch the storms roll in across the sea from the Isle of Mull. Keep an eye open for the Bunnahabhain Otters, made famous by BBC’s WinterWatch.   

Bowmore

Bowmore is the Island’s capital, and is a bustling little town with pubs and restaurants, a supermarket where the whole of Islay seems to meet, a pharmacy, a swimming pool, the Bowmore distillery and a Peatzeria! Bowmore’s central location is a great base for exploring the island – most villages, beaches and distilleries are no more than 30 minutes drive.

Bowmore’s main street is dominated by the Kilarrow Parish Church, otherwise known as the ‘Round Church’ built along with the rest of the planned Bowmore ‘new town’ in 1776. It’s said that the church is round so that there are no corners for the devil to hide… personally, I believe that the devil would have more fun in one of the distilleries!

Whisky on Islay

There are 9 whisky distilleries on Islay with at least another 3 on their way. You will need plenty of time to get around them all – and enjoy the fantastic hospitality and tours they offer. Whisky is about more than alcohol – in Scotland, it is the water of life. However, in Scotland the drink drive limit is basically zero so you will need a designated driver – thankfully the distilleries now allow the driver to take their drams away.

• The south coast of the Isle of Islay by Port Ellen is dominated by three of the Island’s whisky giants –  Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg – all famous for that Islay peaty taste. Laphroaig has a great visitor centre and peat kilns and Ardbeg, a well-regarded cafe. The distilleries can be reached on foot via the Three Distilleries Pathway – a 3-mile walk connected by the local bus to get you back.
• The Bruichladdich distillery sits on the shore of Loch Indaal by Port Charlotte and is one of the island’s most modern and innovative distillers. Bruichladdich make the world’s peatiest whisky – the incredibly smokey Octomore.
• Port Askaig has two distilleries – Bunnahabhain and Caol Ila which both sit on the Sound of Islay and have wonderful views across the water to the Isle of Jura. Bunnahabhain is the most remote distillery on the Island and produces a whisky quite unlike the rest of the island – their 18-year-old sherry cask non-peated whisky is my favourite whisky if you ever see me in the pub.
• The Bowmore Distillery is Islay’s oldest licensed distillery is located in the centre of the town and has a lovely tasting room with views across the loch. Look out for their Port Cask from 1989 – it is delicious!  
• The island’s smallest distillery – Kilchoman Distillery is a tiny farm distillery and only distillery which doesn’t sit on the Islay coast.
• Islay’s newest distillery – Ardnahoe – has just opened its doors and begun production at Port Askaig. The distillery has tasting rooms and a cafe, along with tours. However, you will need to wait three years to taste their whisky!

How to visit the Isle of Islay

Getting to Islay is easy – either catch the ferry to Islay with Caledonian MacBrayne or fly to Islay from Glasgow with LoganAir. The flight takes around 40 minutes.

The Isle of Islay Ferry

Catch the ferry to Islay with Caledonian MacBrayne (‘Calmac’) from Kennacraig on the Kintyre Peninsula and in summer from Oban via Colonsay. The crossing costs £91 for two people and a car and takes around 2 hours.  There are two ports on Islay, Port Askaig and Port Ellen.  Sailing to Port Askaig the crossing will take you through the Sound of Islay with an incredible view of Jura’s three famous hills – the Paps of Jura.

As Islay is often bashed by humongous storms in winter, for UK travellers, Calmac has a text alert service which updates you on cancellations and route changes. For the Kennacraig service text “Calmac subscribe 09’ to 60030. Calmac will also give you a call if your ferry is cancelled so make sure you leave a phone number with your booking.

Where to stay on islay

Islay has a total population of just over 3000 people, so the island’s main settlements have a local, village feel. There are lots of options for Islay accommodation. The main towns on Islay are Bowmore and Port Ellen, with smaller villages at Port Charlotte and Portnahaven*.

Self-catering cottage on Islay

To immerse yourself fully in Islay life stay in a cosy self-catering islay cottage. Dundonald Cottage is located right on Bowmore’s main square and just steps from the pretty harbour. The cottage has two bedrooms, a cosy lounge with a peat fire and the most wonderful view across Loch Indaal to the Paps of Jura, a view you could spend hours watching from the kitchen table. For those who prefer to get away from it all, Islay Cottages also have self-catering accommodation on Islay at Kilchoman Cottages close to the island’s best beach, Machir Bay, and the Kilchoman Distillery.

Where to eat on Islay

Peatzeria, Bowmore

The wonderfully named Peatzeria is located on Bowmore’s Shore Street and serves Italian food that could grace the top ten lists of any major city. The restaurant is located within a 1900’s church and the interior has been beautifully re-purposed as a stylish restaurant space which both reflects Islay’s character and the sheer quality of the food on offer.

Whilst the menu might tempt you with its array of luxury seafood pizzas (lobster, scallop, and crab, smoked salmon and mussels all make an appearance) it is in the classic dishes that the cooking truly shines through. Meatballs are dense, rich and truly spicy, and served with moorish garlic-soaked bread, you’ll be desperately scooping up the sauce with your fork. A special of asparagus, mushroom and pea agnolotti didn’t last long, the dish was both incredibly fresh and greedily indulgent.

Peatzeria serves both traditional and romano pizza bases – try the hearty ‘Black and Red’ – Stornoway black pudding, goats cheese and caramelised red onion chutney. The pizza bases are as good as any I’ve tried and the toppings top notch. Make sure you try the peat smoked chips! If you aren’t quite able to finish, takeaway boxes are on hand. Outside, Peatzeria has seating on the loch-side and an outdoor pizza oven, hurry up summer, I want to go back!

More reasons to visit Islay

Whisky, waving, wildlife, and walking – the Isle of Islay offers up a truly unique Scottish island experience. Add in the incredibly warm welcome from the locals and you’ll quickly be working out how to miss your ferry back to the mainland. Islay – you stole our hearts.

Love from Scotland x

Looking for more Scottish islands to visit? 

Thanks to Islay Cottages for having us to stay. We loved Dundonald Cottage and didn’t want to ‘move out’. To Sharon and Paul from Peatzeria – thank you for making us feel so welcome and your incredible food. Please open in Edinburgh. Paul, enjoy your Lagavulin under the next meteor shower. To the staff and regulars of the Bowmore Hotel – we will be back – we still owe you all a few drinks. Sláinte!

Read more: things to do in Argyll and Bute.