Islay

Islay lies in the Inner Hebrides, south-west of Jura and forty kilometres north of Northern Ireland. The island measures almost 620 square kilometres and has a rugged eastern coast rising to Beinn Bheigier. Its western peninsulas are separated by Loch Indaal and Loch Gruinart, while the fertile south-western arm is called The Rinns. The south coast is more sheltered and wooded, and the far south-western peninsula is The Oa, the closest point in the Hebrides to Ireland. Islay has been inhabited since prehistoric times and was later part of the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata. The Clan Donald Lordship of the Isles had its centre at Finlaggan during the later medieval period. The island’s main villages, Bowmore and Port Ellen, grew in the 18th and 19th centuries, and today Islay is known for whisky distillation, agriculture and tourism. About a quarter of the population speaks Scottish Gaelic, and the island supports wintering populations of Greenland white-fronted and barnacle geese. Visitors find a varied landscape of mountains, sea lochs and raised beaches formed by past ice ages. The island has numerous small freshwater lochs, including Loch Finlaggan and Loch Ballygrant, and burns such as the River Laggan and River Sorn. The coast is indented with bays like Aros Bay and Claggain Bay, and uninhabited islands lie offshore. The mild Gulf Stream climate brings rare snow but frequent winds, especially in winter.