Islay

The 'whisky holy land' at the southern tip of the Inner Hebrides, with peaty distilleries such as Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg lining the coast, plus Celtic crosses, wild beaches and wintering geese.

Islay lies at the southern end of the Inner Hebrides off Scotland's west coast. Covering about 620 km² with around 3,200 residents, it is nicknamed the 'Queen of the Whisky Isles'. The island has about ten working distilleries, famed for their heavily peated style: east of Port Ellen on the south coast, Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg are linked by a coastal path and known as the 'Kildalton Three'; the main town of Bowmore has Bowmore Distillery and its landmark Round Church; on the west side of Loch Indaal are Bruichladdich and Kilchoman; and on the north-east coast, Caol Ila, Bunnahabhain and Ardnahoe look straight across to the Paps of Jura. Beyond the distilleries, the island's Atlantic west coast has vast beaches such as Machir Bay and Saligo Bay; the Kildalton Cross and Finlaggan, seat of the Lords of the Isles, bear witness to Celtic and medieval history; tens of thousands of Greenland geese winter at Loch Gruinart every year; and the cliffs of the Mull of Oa and the seals at Portnahaven are also popular. Getting there: drive about 3 hours from Glasgow to Kennacraig, then take the CalMac ferry (about 2 hours) to Port Ellen or Port Askaig — book a car space well ahead in summer; alternatively, fly from Glasgow to Islay Airport in about 40 minutes. Buses on the island are infrequent, so driving is most convenient, but you can't drive after tasting — ask distilleries to bottle a sample to take away (a 'driver's dram') or hire a driver. The climate is cool, windy and wet; Apr–Sep is best. During the Islay Festival of Music and Malt (Fèis Ìle) in late May, distilleries take turns hosting open days, and accommodation should be booked six months ahead; geese can be seen from October to April. Allow 2–4 days, and set aside half a day for the 5-minute ferry to Jura. Distillery tours generally need to be booked on their websites, and opening hours are shorter in winter.

Top sights

• Laphroaig Distillery – The first of the 'Kildalton Trio' on Islay's south coast, a whitewashed distillery famous for its intense peat and medicinal character.
• Lagavulin Distillery – An old peated-whisky distillery on the shore of a bay. Its 16-year-old expression is a classic, and the ruins of Dunyvaig Castle lie across…
• Ardbeg Distillery – The easternmost of the three distilleries on the south coast, with very high peat levels. The Old Kiln Café inside the distillery is a popu…
• Bowmore Distillery – One of the oldest distilleries on Islay, located by the sea in Bowmore, the island's capital. Its warehouses overlook Loch Indaal.
• Bruichladdich Distillery – The 'progressive' distillery on the west shore of Loch Indaal, known for its signature lakeside blue. It also produces the botanical gin Th…
• Kildalton Cross – A complete Celtic stone high cross from around AD 800, considered the best-preserved early Christian cross in Scotland.
• Machir Bay – A 2-kilometer golden beach on the Atlantic west coast of the island, framed by dunes and powerful waves. It is Islay's most beautiful beach.
• Kilarrow Parish Church (Round Church) – A round parish church completed in 1767 at the top of Bowmore's main street. It is a landmark of Islay.
• Kilchoman Distillery – A farm distillery opened in 2005, where everything from growing barley to bottling is done on the farm. It is very close to Machir Bay.
• Caol Ila Distillery – A distillery tucked beside the Sound of Islay and the island's largest producer, with a large window in the still room that faces the Paps…
• Bunnahabhain Distillery – A distillery in a bay at the northeast tip of the island, known for its gentle, lightly peated style. There is a shipwreck on the beach.
• Ardnahoe Distillery – A distillery that opened in 2019, with floor-to-ceiling windows in its tasting room framing the Paps of Jura, a major draw in itself.
• Port Ellen Distillery – The legendary 'ghost distillery', closed in 1983 and reopened in 2024, whose old bottlings fetch astonishing prices at auction.
• Dunyvaig Castle – Ruins on a headland at the mouth of Laphroaig Bay, once the seaside stronghold of the MacDonalds, the 'Lords of the Isles'.
• Kilchoman Old Parish Church & Cross – A 14th-century stone high cross beside a ruined church above Machir Bay, with a graveyard overlooking the Atlantic.
• Saligo Bay – A wild bay north of Machir Bay, with black rocks and dunes, and fewer visitors than Machir Bay.
• Finlaggan – The power centre of the medieval 'Lords of the Isles', with the remains of a chapel and palace on an island in the loch.
• Museum of Islay Life – A local museum housed in a former church in Port Charlotte, telling the stories of Islay's farming, illicit distilling and shipwrecks.
• Port Charlotte – A white-walled fishing village on the west shore of Loch Indaal, widely regarded as Islay's prettiest village, with a small beach and seafr…
• Portnahaven & Port Wemyss – A twin fishing village at the tip of the Rinns peninsula, where grey seals often bask in the harbour and can be seen up close.
• RSPB Loch Gruinart – A Royal Society for the Protection of Birds reserve where tens of thousands of barnacle geese winter each year, a spectacular sight.
• The Oa & American Monument – A lighthouse-shaped memorial on a clifftop, commemorating American soldiers who died in 1918 in the waters offshore after two troopships we…
• Singing Sands (Tràigh Bhàn) – A secluded white-sand bay near Port Ellen where walking on the dry sand makes a 'singing' sound.
• Islay Woollen Mill – An old woollen mill in a river valley near Bridgend, which has woven tartan for films such as Braveheart.
• Kilnave Chapel & Cross – A medieval roofless chapel on the shore of Loch Gruinart, with an 8th-century stone cross standing in its graveyard.
• Isle of Jura (Craighouse & Jura Distillery) – A wild island just a 5-minute ferry ride from Port Askaig, with more deer than people, where George Orwell wrote Nineteen Eighty-Four.
• Paps of Jura – Three conical quartzite peaks on Jura, whose silhouette is a landmark visible all along Islay's coast, and whose climb is gruelling.

Where to eat

• Peatzeria – A family-run pizzeria in a former church on the seafront at Bowmore, topping its pizzas with Islay scallops, lobster an…
• Lochindaal Seafood Kitchen – A small seafood restaurant run by a father and son in Port Charlotte, famous for platters of local catch that must be b…
• An Tigh Seinnse – A small pub at the harbour in Portnahaven, at the southwest tip of the island. Reopened under a new team, it is praised…
• Port Charlotte Hotel Restaurant – A family-run hotel restaurant on the shore of Loch Indaal, using local beef, lamb, venison and seafood, with over 300 s…
• Ardbeg Old Kiln Café – A café in the old peat kiln of the Ardbeg Distillery, the go-to lunch stop on a day trip to the south-coast distillerie…
• Kilchoman Distillery Café – A café in an old stable at the Kilchoman farm distillery on Islay, where the Cullen skink is considered the island's be…

Itineraries

• Arran and Islay Whisky Island Hopping – Loop from Glasgow using two island ferries to see Arran's standing stones and castles, and Islay's peaty distilleries.