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This tour takes you to a Scottish island paradise, with stunning scenery, ancient history, traditional culture and 8 of Scotland's finest whisky distilleries.
Day 1
After departing Edinburgh you will head north into the Highlands the landscape becomes more mountainous and your guide will tell the history and culture of this stunning part of Scotland. Passing Loch Awe and into Argyllshire, with some great photo stops along the way, you will arrive in the Victorian town of Oban where we'll tour the distillery and do a tasting before you have free time for lunch and some exploring. This is the seafood capital of Scotland so make sure you make the most of it. Your tour takes you to the ancient Neolithic landscapes of Kilmartin Glen. There are hundreds of ancient monuments and historic sites in this region, some of which you will explore. It is then a short drive down the Kintyre Peninsula to Kennacraig where you will board the evening ferry to Islay. The ferry crossing is around 2 hours and allows for some beautiful views of the islands of Gigha, Jura and Islay as well as the surrounding West Loch Tarbert. There is time to relax in the bar with an Islay whisky; grab some dinner from the restaurant and just soak up the sea air before you arrive. On arrival into Port Ellen or Port Askaig it is a short drive to Bowmore to check in to The Bowmore House or Freewinds for your 3-night stay.
* Accommodation is on a B&B basis in the Bowmore House and Freewinds. The price is based on 2/3 sharing a twin / double / triple room. There is an additional supplement of 85 GBP for single occupancy. Please note that if the Bowmore House is not available we will source alternative local accommodation of the same standard. ** Due to various reasons (weather, closures and special events) it may not always be possible to visit all distilleries mentioned. Please be aware that, if this is the case, we will ensure that suitable alternatives are found.
Click on each photo below for a larger image.
The maximum capacity of the tour bus is 16 passengers. We only had 15 people on our tour. That was fortunate as the window seat that I sat in next to my wife, Barbara, had a non-functioning seat belt. Seat belts are legally required in Scotland and it is the individual passenger that gets fined if not wearing one. The one open seat was the single seat across the aisle from my wife so that is where I sat for the entire 4 day tour. At least we still got to sit across the aisle from each other.
This first day is mostly just going to be driving from Edinburgh to Islay including taking the evening ferry to the island. It is quite a drive. Callendar was our first rest stop break and a chance to buy a quick snack.
We haven't taken the ferry to Islay yet so Oban is not an Islay Scotch Whisky Distillery, but it is the first distillery where we did a tour and a tasting.
They even serve Indian Food and it was quite good! There were many other hot and cold selections served cafeteria style.
I really am pretty sure that the bathroom of our room at The Bowmore B&B was bigger than our entire room at our hotel in Edinburgh! Hotel space in Edinburgh is at a premium, especially during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival that takes place for almost the entire month of August. A room this size in Edinburgh during August would cost a fortune! The last photo shows the Freewinds building across the street from The Bowmore. The Bowmore B&B and Freewinds have the same owners. Some of the people on our tour stayed at the Bowmore and some at the Freewinds. We would all get together in the dining room in the Bowmore each morning for a hearty breakfast.
Click on each photo above for a larger image.
If in this report you see any typos, misspellings, factual errors or other types of errors, please let me know.
Please include the web address (URL) of the report in which you found the error. Thank you! Send your email to:
