Photos and the City

Tag: Islay

The Singing Sands

We’re looking back towards Port Ellen but walking away from it towards the Singing Sands. It was a sunny and warm day, and the beaches were pretty full.

I started my walk to the beach near Port Ellen Cementary and followed the path around the bay.

Carraig Fhada Lighthouse

The lighthouse was commissioned by the Laird of Islay, Walter Frederick Campbell in memory of his wife Ellenor who died young in 1832 – Port Ellen is also named after her. Unlike most lighthouses, the Carraig Fhada Lighthouse has a square shape.

Around the next corner, I got my first glimpse of the Singing Sands – a stunning, secluded beach where the sands seem to sing when you move on.

On the way back…

04/06/2024
Port Ellen

Welcome to Port Ellen. This lovely town is in the south of Islay, built around Leodamais Bay Port Ellen was founded in 1821 by Walter Frederick Campbell who named it after his wife.

Today Port Ellen is the largest town in Islay and has quite a few distilleries.

28/05/2024
Rinns of Islay

I continued my drive around the Rinns of Islay. From the South head back to Port Charlotte along the western coast.

The Rinns of Isay is a peninsula in the west of Islay.

Lossit Bay

A short walk on the beach in Lossit Bay.

Kilchiaran chapel

Bruichladdich – Port Charlotte

There are nine working distilleries in Islay, the first one I visited was Bruichladdich in Port Charlotte on the way home.

Bruichladdich was built in 1881 by the Harvey brothers. The Harveys were a dynastic whisky family that had owned two Glasgow distilleries since 1770, and they used an inheritance to open up a third one in Islay. Back then, it was a state-of-the-art, modern working distillery, especially compared to other ones in Islay, which started in farmhouses.

23/05/2024