Day 10, August 5th, Bridgend, Islay

We flew to Islay this morning. The views of the mainland were mostly blocked by clouds, but we did get some pictures of the coast and the islands. There are sand beaches on the west shore of Islay.


We got a shot of the Mull of Oa and the monument there as we passed over.


We arrived a little after 9:15 and got our rental cars, a Volkswagon van and a Volkswagen Golf. It's been interesting driving on the left. The driver is getting numerous reminders. We wandered around Bowmore for a while and then had lunch at the Loch Side restaurant. It was here that Bill got a dram of Bunnahabhain 12 year. He thought it was pretty good.


Then we headed to the Bridgend Hotel and got checked in. More skeleton keys. This is a neat old place too.



We walked to the Islay Ales brewery and sampled some of the beers there. They make some good ones. On the way we saw a sign for the community gardens with a welcome to come in and walk around. We found that they are growing lots of fresh produce for the community.


After we got back to the hotel, We sat down in the bar at the hotel to make plans for tomorrow. We ended up going back to town for dinner - the hotel dinners were larger than anyone wanted. We split up between the Loch Side and an Indian place. Back to the hotel for a nightcap. Jack wanted to try the Whisky that Bill had, but found that the hotel bar was out of it. They did have the 18 year, so that made a more than acceptable substitute for only a little more money (the 25 year was 24 pounds for a dram, so we didn't try that).

Tomorrow we are going to the Mull of Oa and then on to Ardbeg Distillery for a tour.