This is part 2 of the Islay leg of the trip. Before reading this check out UK tour – Islay part 1 – JellyfishKing Travel.
Day 3 we drank more whisky!
Bruichladdich, Kilchoman, Bowmore
After other big breakfast with whisky again, a sunny morning greeted us for another full day. The three distilleries were on the today’s agenda were a little unknown for me. I’d certainly head of them, but was unfamiliar with their range.
First stop wasn’t a distillery, however. Jamie took us to the Islay Woolen Mill. The mill is famous for providing their products to big movies such as Braveheart, Rob Roy and Forest Gump. The mill itself is very pretty, surrounded by a fast flowing river. In the past the river was used to drive the looms.
The first whisky today was a full tour of Bruichladdich Distillery. If you’re having trouble trying to pronounce the whisky names this YouTube series may help, or visit the distilleries in person! The Bruichladdich was comprehensive and even included a taste straight of the wort vat. This is the mashed barely and yeast liquid waiting to be distilled into a spirit. It tasted like a home brew beer. The whisky tastings here were sensational, however I was disappointed when I saw the prices. My favourite was the heavily peated Octomore. But at £175 ($350) a bottle it was out of my budget range.
Bruichladdich is also where The Botanist Gin is produced. I tasted some of their gin range. I was surprised to discover an Aged Gin. I’d never heard of a gin being aged before. It’s put into whisky casks for three years giving it’s taste a whisky influence and a coppery colour. I bought a bottle of it, embarrassed that my first purchase in Islay was gin.
We pushed on to Kilchoman Distillery, where we had some lunch. Lunch was a choice of soup and sandwiches. I had the Cullen Skink again. After lunch was a full distillery tour. Jamie suggested that if we’d had enough of the whisky making process, he could drive us down to Machir Bay and have our drams on a Scottish beach. All but two of us opted for the beach. That was a unique and fabulous experience. Dad chose to have a rest and stayed in the bar on a comfy seat. We returned and John and I both bought a bottle of their Sanaig.
The final distillery of the tour was Andrew’s favourite Bowmore, right in the town itself. Bowmore is one of the oldest distilleries in Islay and the town of Bowmore grew around it. We had three tastings. All were great including a 25yo. I didn’t check the price of that, but I guessed it’s eye watering.
That concluded the whisky part of the tour. There was certainly plenty of excellent whiskies to sample. It was thoroughly enjoyable, made better by a nice people in the group and Jamie’s organisation, knowledge and humour.
Dinner at Peatzeria was nice and simple where were shared some pizza. We finished with some Scottish tablet ice-cream. The name Peatzeria is a derived from the island’s peat used in many of the distilleries to get the smokey flavour into the whisky.
Islay to Edinburgh
We’re up earlier today as we need to catch the ferry back to the mainland. After another whisky breakfast we said goodbye to Andrew and Alison and made our way to Port Ellen taking a different ferry from the one that brought us here. It was a glorious bright and sunny day. Once on the mainland we made our way to Inverary for lunch. We secured a table in the beer garden of the Inverary Inn and enjoyed a nice lunch. Loch Fyne was looking picture perfect in the sun.
We skirted Loch Lomond, the largest lake in Britain. Jamie told a story of two brothers captured by the English. One of them was to be executed and the brothers agued who it should be. One struck the other unconscious so he would be saved. When he regained consciousness he found a note from his brother saying he’ll take the low road back at meet him in Scotland. In Scottish legend, anyone who dies outside Scotland takes the “low road” back to their homeland, where they will finally be at peace. This was the inspiration behind the song The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond.
O ye’ll take the high road and I’ll take the low
And I’ll be in Scotland afore ye
We stopped in the town of Luss so we get a photo on those Bonnie Banks.
We took a south route back to Edinburgh through Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow. We said goodbye to some of our new friends as they ended their tour there.
We got back to Edinburgh around 6.30pm and sadly our tour ended. What a magnificent tour it was. Expertly organised and full of interest and experiences, not to mention lots of whisky. Jamie, our tour guide was first class. I would not hesitate to recommend this tour to anyone.
Graeme met us at Deacon Brodies with our suit cases and Clive, Anthony and I said goodbye to Dad and John and caught an uber to out AirBnB near Tyncastle Park the home of Hearts football club. We got a questionable take-away and hit the sack early.
Back home
We caught an afternoon flight back to London and stayed one night at an AirBnB in Stanwell, quite close to Heathrow, as our flight back to Perth was early the next morning. Even though our accommodation was ten minutes from Heathrow Taxis and Ubers were charging us £40 ($80 AUD) for the privilege. Robbery! The next morning we were up at 6am and caught an Uber £32 this time. to Heathrow Terminal 2 to begin the long trip back to Perth via Singapore. Singapore Airlines were excellent as usual and had us back in Perth on schedule. Although it felt like the weekend was stolen.
Wrap up
The whole trip was spectacular. It really was a whirlwind visit with a lot of activities crammed in. Highlights of the trip for me were:
- The London Eye with Anthony
- The Royal Mile bevvies with Dad, Clive, John, Anthony and Graeme. Then dinner and kick-ons with Anthony and John.
- The morning revisiting Blackwood Cres, Sciennes, Meadows and Greyfrairs Bobby with Dad.
- Lagavulin Warehouse Experience and drone flight.
Other thoughts:
- Travelling with 5 men was difficult at times. It’s hard to find things that we all wanted to do. There were differences in opinion at times. But nothing serious enough to be unpleasant. Thanks everyone for their effort to get along.
- Travelling with an 82 year old was challenging sometimes. Dad had trouble walking at pace and with stairs, uneven roads and footpaths. Everyone pitched in to make sure he didn’t fall over and allowed him time to rest. I’m very glad to share this experience with Dad. I know it meant a lot to him to visit the motherland for the last time. I can tell he had a good time, so thanks to the group for their patience.
- London – expensive; Edinburgh – more expensive; Islay – even more expensive. If you’re planning a trip to the UK, prepare to pay through the nose.
I enjoyed the trip very much. I hope to visit Scotland again soon.
Previous Blogs for this vacation:
UK tour – London – JellyfishKing Travel
JellyfishKing Travel 