Islay2 | Islay and Jura; Visit these Islands.

The Isle of Islay

‹ Islay House Square • Islay Woolen Mill ›

Links to pages in the Place Guide

Islay is a small Island almost directly west of Glasgow. We are the southernmost of the Hebrides and are properly referred to as the "Queen of the Hebrides". Our shores are washed by the warm currents of the Gulf Stream leading to mild if stormy weather. Just over three thousand people live here, our main industries being whisky, farming, fishing and tourism. The island is interesting from a geological, historical and wildlife point of view.
The administrative capital of the island is Bowmore. Situated centrally in the island it has the banks (the Bank of Scotland and the Royal Bank of Scotland), the tourist information office, most of the shops, the largest (hollow laughter) supermarket and the bulk of the hotels. One of the features of the island is the wide horizons and spectacular sunsets. There are several on these pages including the one below. The picture opposite is of one such in Bowmore in the spring of 2001, click on the image for the full-sized photograph.
Fishing has always been a popular pastime on the island, there is fine fishing in the rivers, lochs and in the sea. Rivers and lochs are owned by the various estates which charge a small fee for fishing, I can provide more information on this if you e-mail me. The image opposite is of Islay’s deepest loch taken by Jenny. Ardnahoe loch is steeped in legend, the story of the water horse is told around campfires as a classic scary tale. Nowadays a salmon fish farm is on the loch and escapees from here make for some impressive catches for the fly fisher. Again the full-sized photograph can be seen by clicking on the image.
Spectacular sunsets meet visitors as they drive from the ferry, this one from the long strand overlooking the Oa short walk through the woods from Bridgend. From this point wild geese and ducks are often seen, Islay is famous for its bird life. A friend more talented than I has rendered this as an oil pastel painting and I have it on my wall.
Near Bridgend is the large edifice of Islay House, overlooking Lochindaal it is visible from many parts of the Island. There are many pleasant walks in the surrounding woods which are mostly owned by Islay estates; a large local landowner.
Our sister island of Jura is separated from Islay by the narrow Sound of Islay. Jura is always worth a visit when you are here to see this largely unspoiled wilderness. There are only about 200 people living on the island, most concentrated in the village of Craighouse. There is a distillery, beautiful gardens, the house where George Orwell wrote 1984 and the fabled whirlpool of Corryvrechan. The image is by Jenny looking across the sound, clicking on it will give the full-sized photograph.
The water around Bowmore is shallow and warm with a pleasant sandy bottom. At the slip in the summer many will be found bathing including the odd dog. And this is a very odd dog, belonging to my neighbour; Cindy is "the waterdog", she lives to swim. I even have a pome about her somewhere.