Islay - ' Queen of the Hebrides'

If you read the ‘About Me’ page you’ll soon work out that Islay feels like home - filled with family connections and memories over many years. So you can be sure you’ll get lots of insider information!

For most people, the island of Islay is associated with whisky distilleries - all those magical western seaboard names of single malts from Bowmore to Bhunahabhain. (Don’t worry - I’ll soon teach you how to pronounce it!)

The Heritage of Islay

Kildalton Cross

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But as well as a working island, Islay has a lot of heritage: seat of the Lords of the Isles, the Clan Donald, at Finlaggan, as well as early religious sites: Kilnave, Kilchoman and Kildalton with its great ringed cross, a breathtaking piece of 9th-century sculpture - probably the finest of its kind in the whole of Europe. Other aspects of ‘my’ heritage you can discover at the Museum of Islay Life. And there’s lots of interesting old and atmospheric places: standing stones, deserted villages…

Golf, wildlife, boat trips

But Islay is an active island too - famous for its golf, with a great course at Machrie, and there are some beautiful beaches where you can hear seals sing (well, howl, actually). And that’s a reminder of the wildlife here: wading birds, geese and much more. The island has a choice of wildlife boat trips - a great way of getting some close-ups!

Finally, a special theme for 2018 is the programme of events on Islay to commemorate the centenary of the end of the Great War.