A Simple Life of Luxury

We headed off from the cottage at around 7am and dropped Pat off at the airport before boarding the ferry to Kennacraig… We were of course early at both the airport and the ferry terminal so had to wait around a little, but once back on the mainland we put our driving heads on and set off…

We made one stop just South of Glasgow after driving for about 3 hours for some snacks and then another quick stop when we reached the Lake District for Diesel. The the engine managment warning light came on in my car so we limped off the motorway switched off the engine for a minute and then continued on our way… Not long after it came on again so we had another unscheduled quick stop before getting on our way again. the car was OK from here on in and me made good progress… Morgan was really good all the way, but just before Machynlleth he was sick so we had one more scheduled stop to clean that up abd then we were home… All in all we were travelling for about 14 hours so it was amazing that morgan was so well behaved.

Dave and Sarah treated us to dinner when we got back too which was nice as it saved us having to think about it.

All in all a good holiday, around 1200 miles of driving, 4 ferry crossing, over 70 miles of windsurfing, lots of walks, quite a few geocaches, some whisky, some Islay ale, Deer, Seals, Peacocks and lots of other wildlife, sandcastles, standing stones, chapels, crosses and the usual unforgettable Scottish island laid back lifestyle…. We really do like the Scottish islands and recommend them to anyone…. Shame we had to come back to work and millions (slight exaggeration) of e-mails etc.

Well, the final day of our holiday was here already. The weather was fairly non-descript so I headed off for a walk around Ardnave Point whilst Anna, Pat and Morgan went to the Port Charlotte Natural History Visitor Centre, which was apparently really good. It isn’t huge but is full of well thought out interactive displays and activities. Morgan was too young for most of them, but it sounds like a really good place to spend an afternoon.

My walk was fairly uneventful but nice a quiet and then the wind picked up so I went windsurfing once again in Loch Indaal.

We then all had an lovely dinner in the bar at the Port Charlotte Hotel before heading back to the holiday cottage to prepare for an early start the next morning and the journey home.

Not such a nice day today, raining at first so we drove to the Oa Peninsula where I ran off into the rain and murk to do a quick geocache at the huge American Monument whilst Anna, pat and morgan sat in the car. We then stopped off at Kilnaughton Church near to Port Ellen before having another lunch in the Old Kiln Cafe within Ardbeg Distillery.

We then Took Pat to Kildalton Chapel, by which time the sun had some out so we also went to Clannaig Bay where Morgan threw stones into the river. On the way back we stopped off for a quick look at a ruined castle near to the Lagavulin Distillery and for some tourist style shopping in Bowmore.

Today looked a little less inviting for most as far as the weather goes. Grey and a little windy, which is perfect for me so after dropping Anna, Morgan and pat off in Bowmore I headed back around to the northern shores of Loch Indaal and spent all day windsurfing. First there was just enough wind so I was out with my new board and big sail, but as the day progressed the wind filled in and I changed down first to my 5.7m sail and big board then my 5.7m sail and smaller board then 5m sail and small board and eventually my 5m sail and bigger board…. See, it was worth carting it all that gear all this way.

The rain held off and I had a good day playing in the sea, covering 35.4 nautical miles in the process with a top speed of 28.8 knots.

Meanwhile Anna, pat and morgan had planned to wander around Bowmore, get the bus to Bridgend and wander around there then get the bus back to port Charlotte… All didn’t quite go to plan as the thought the missed to the bus in Bridgend so started walking towards the beach where I was so that they could get a lift back to Port Charlotte with me… Of course, as soon as they started walking the bus went past (they hadn’t missed it at all), and I was further away than they had anticipated.

Eventually the taxi driver that Pat had used to get from the airport saw them and took pity on them. She stopped and gave them a lift back home (free of charge as she was going that way anyway).

Pat once again babysat for us whilst Anna and I enjoyed a nice dinner in the bar at the Port Charlotte Hotel.

This was day 3 on Islay so we now had our bearings and knew where to go and what to do so were beginning to feel at home here. That is the nice thing about the Scottish islands, it doesn’t take long to really feel at home and almost as if you belong there. It may just be me that feels that way but they are relaxing, the people are friendly and once you know your way around you soon fit into the local way of life.

Pat had planned to do her own thing today so Anna, Morgan and I headed off from Port Charlotte with our first stop being Laggan Bay on the far side of Loch Indaal. There wasn’t quite enough wind for me to go windsurfing so we had a stroll on the beach and played with the sand. The sun was shining but it was feeling a little chilly today so we didn’t hang around too long.

We then headed off to port Ellen and out along the SE coast of Islay where we stopped at the Old Kiln Cafe in the Ardbeg Distillery for an early lunch… And quite a lunch it was too, I had a delicious ploughmans and as aways we received a warm welcome.

After lunch we headed off along the coast to Kildalton, passing loads of lovely rocky bays and coves, then went on towards Clannaig Bay where we parked up and I went for a little walked whilst organ slept and Anna had some time to herself.

On the way home we saw lots of deer and did two geocaches, one at the Laphroaig distillery and another near Port Ellen, then stopped at Laggan Bay again where Morgan ‘drove’ the car on the sands and watched an aeroplane take off from the airport.

In the early evening I went for a walk around Gearach Loch on the Rinns to the desered village of Grimsay and an impressive standing stone. Once again, a lovely place with a remote and wild feel to it.

Another decent day weather wise and we headed off to the end of the Rinns and Port Charlotte and Port Wemyss. Part of the plan was to see if we could get a fisherman to take us across to Orsay, but they were all already out at sea so we amused ourselves by wandering around the pretty little fishing village, watching the seals on the rocks.

We then had another picnic on the shores of Loch Indaal before heading off towards port Askaig We stopped for a walk at Finlaggan where we explored the historic sites that was once home to the Lords of The Isles. It is a lovely spot with lots of history for those interested in it and of course amazing views of Islay and off to the Paps of Jura. There is also a virtual geocache here so we checked out the various information boards to get the answers we needed to log it as a find.

After this we went into port Askaig and then drove back to Loch Indaal for yet another picnic (Morgan was quite taken with picnics by now!). I went out windsurfing but there wasn’t quite enough wind. We then went back to the holiday cottage and I went off for a walk up to the highest point on the Rinns, Benn Tart A’Mhuil. The route I had intended to take had a big sign on it saying ‘MOD leased property - no public access; so I skirted around that and took the most direct and therefore steepest route up. At the top I was rewarded by views of the whole of Islay, the Kintyre Peninsula, the tops of Arran, Ireland and Jura. I took the easy route back through the farm with the unwelcoming signs and made it through unscathed.

We had dinner in the cottage and then pat babysat whilst Anna and I went out for a quick drink in the Lochindaal Hotel… It makes a change to sepend some time together alone, although we did talk mainly about Morgan!

Our first proper day on Islay and it looked like nice weather so we headed off to explore. First stop was Machir Bay where I was surprised to find some surf. It is a lovely, exposed beach which as with most places in the Hebrides has a wild and remote feel to it.

After a little walk on the beach we took a short srive up to Kilchoman Church. Anna’s Mum is about to embark on Post graduate Studies into religious artifacts and may be using Islay as one of her main study locations so she was keen to take a look around some of the medieval sites on the island. We enjoyed wandering around them too, although I’m not sure Morgan gives then the respect they deserve!


We then drove down to Kintra at the southern end of Laggan bay where we played on the beach for a bit before stocking up with provisions in Bowmore and having a picnic on the shores of Loch Indaal. We then drove up the eastern side of Loch Gruinart where Morgan and I had a little walk down to the water and watched the seals whilst Anna and Pat sat in the car.

Day three of our holiday and it was goodbye to Mingulay B&B and a drive across Arran to Lochranza for a ick boat crossing to the Kintyre Peninsula.

We stopped inLamlash bay for a quick geocache and again in Locranza next to the distillery for another geocache then it was straight ohnto to little ferry for a quick and calm crossing followed by a short drive across the Kintyre Peninsula to Kennacraig. We then watched the boat come in before boarding and having a pleasant trip down Loch Tarbert and across to Islay.

Once on Islay we drove straight to Port Charlotte where Pat was already installed in the house that was to be ours for the week. The holiday cottage on Islay was really nice with excellent views out over Loch Indaal towards Laggan Bay and off to the Kintyre Peninusla and Arran in the distance. The house had everything we needed, was clean and comfortable and well stocked with everything you need for a holiday and plenty of extras such as games, books and maps. It had a washing machine and tumble drier, central heating and a coal fire with a well stocked coal bunker… perfect for those not so warm Scottish evenings! The owners were really helpful too and had bought a few essentials for us so that we had bread and milk etc waiting for us when we arrived… Again, accommodation that comes highly recommended by us!

We all had dinner in the Croft Kitchen in port Charlotte, before settling down for the night.

The photo below is the view from the living room.

Day 2 of our holiday dawned bright and sunny so after a nice breakfast at the B&B we headed off to the south of Arran and a play on the beach. Morgan loves the beach and was soon digging in the sand and playing in the water which felt cold even to me. Anna of course didn’t venture in!

After playing on the beach for a while we drove aound the SW of the island and stopped at Blackwatersfoot for a walk along the coast and a picnic in the playground. We then did two ‘its Good to Talk’ geocaches before dricing over the hills to Broddick. here we walked around the shops at the base of Goat Fell and sat on the beach for a while then went into Broddick for a snack, drove to Glen Rosa and then returned to our B&B.

We had dinner in the Eden Bar in Whiting bay and I then headed off for a walk to a point overlooking Holy Island where there was a viking burial ground and a geocache. Anna stayed at the B&B with Morgan where she was able to relax and read her book for a while.

Photos below are from The beach and then Broddick Bay.

We set off from Ynyslas bright and early at 5.30am with Morgan in his pyjamas and with only one stop on route arrived at Ardrossan with plenty of time to catch the earlier ferry to Arran.

It was quite a long drive so 1 stop was pretty good going considering the fact that we had a 2 year old with us. The ferry crossing was as calm as could be so we were soon in Broddick Bay on the Isle of Arran. We drove off the ferry and noticed that there was a geocache very nearby so parked up immediately and before we knew it cache one of our holiday had been successfully found… not a bad start!

We then headed off to another just outside of Broddick with views of Goat Fell high above it. We walked along a little track next to a and quarry where Morgan watched the digger at work, but were unsuccessful at finding the cache.

After this we drove down the east coast of Arran to Whiting bay where we found ‘Mingulay’ our B&B on Arran. We were greeted by Hugh with teas and cakes and soon felt settled in. Morgan liked the ducks on the duck pond in the garden and the views across Whiting bay from the lounge were spectacular. The room was comfortable, the welcome as good as could be and the food delicious… We’d certainly recommend it for anyone staying on Arran.

We then headed off for dinner, but the Eden bar in Whiting bay was full so we had a lovely chinese meal in the Chinese Restaurant instead.. Very nice. All in all a good start to the holiday.