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Finlaggan, Caol Ila and The Strand, Islay

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Picture of two small islands with ruins of houses in a loch (lake) Finlaggan. Home to the Lords of the Isles. A place I've visited many times, yet like to return to again and again. My first stop for the afternoon. The sun had just come out so I decided to postpone lunch and walked straight down to Eilean Mor.

The walk to the island initially goes across a field to the loch, then over a small footbridge. It looks quite nice through the reed, the tops of the ruin just visible.

I don't really know why, but somehow the place has something special, a special atmosphere. I walked around for a while, looking at the ruins of the building, thinking how this small island in a small loch on Islay once was the centre of power for a large part of Scotland.
Picture of an island with ruins of old buildings Picture of ruins above some reeds
Picture of a ruin of an old house Picture of the ruins of an old settlement, mountains in the background
Just south of Eilean Mor lies Eilean na Comhairle, the council isle. It is not accessible for the normal visitor, but you can make out the remains of a causeway. Excavations have shown that there once was a castle on the island. From both islands you can see the Paps of Jura in the distance, providing an impressive background to the buildings.
Picture of a panoramic view over the ruins and another small island
Picture of a whisky distillery (Caol Ila on Islay) Lunch was at a bench and table near the visitor centre before I left for the next place on my list to visit today: Caol Ila distillery near Port Askaig.

Caol Ila is an interesting sight: The old whitewashed warehouse next to the modern and industrial looking stillhouse, quite a contrast. And the impressive view over the Sound of Islay to the Paps of Jura.

The distillery was closed to visitors and there isn't a big visitors centre anyway, so I just had a look around. I enjoyed the view over to Jura, the Paps free of clouds despite quite a few clouds having moved in by now. The sun still occasionally came out for some hazy sunshine.
Picture of a modern stillhouse at a distillery (Caol Ila on Islay) Picture of two nicely shaped mountains on the other side of a sound
Picture of a ferry (the Isle of Arran) leaving a small ferry terminal As I was in the area I briefly dropped down to Port Askaig, watching the ferry leave for the journey to Kennacraig. The next day I would be on the ferry back to the mainland. It was also one of the last opportunities for me to see it this way, as construction work to rebuild the pier was going to start later in the year.

But my time on Islay wasn't completely over yet, I still had a bit of time left in the afternoon. I drove over to Bowmore and then to The Strand. The sun didn't come out as much as I had hoped, but I still had a nice time at the longest beach on Islay. It was a calm and mild afternoon with some nice late afternoon light despite the clouds.

Finally I returned to Bowmore to meet with Rae from Islay Quilters for a chat, then drove back to Port Charlotte. A nice last dinner before going to bed for the last night on Islay.
Picture of a view over a beach Picture of a view over a beach
Picture of a panoramic view over a beach in the late afternoon light
If you are interested in more information about Islay, Colonsay and Jura you might also be interested in my Isle of Islay, a visit to the beautiful island off the west coast of Scotland pages. There you will find many more pictures and further information about Islay, Jura and Colonsay.

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