Category: Mainland Excursion/Travel

An excursion to the nearby mainland (e.g. Argyll or Kintyre) or information about travelling to Islay

Two MV Isle of Islay new ferry videos

Islay News

Almost there. If all goes to plan the new Islay ferry perfectly named MV Isle of Islay will go into service by the end of March 2026, ie a week from writing this. It’s been a bit of a wait, but finally it’s coming to fruition. I expect there will be quite a few videos over the coming weeks and months, I hope to travel on her at least once in April. In the meantime two videos I’ve found recently. The first one is a tour around the almost completed ship, giving a fairly good overview (even though it seems to have been filmed with a camera from the 1990s):

MV Isle of Islay, a quirk tour around CalMac’s newest vessel

The second is more of a slideshow about the build of the new ferry, mixed with a few short video clips. Anyone who has been following the construction will probably have already seen most if not all of it, but I think this is a decent summary:

Construction of the MV Isle of Islay | Islay’s newest ferry

That’s all for today, looking forward to see many more videos and pictures of the MV Isle of Islay (and hopefully soon the MV Loch Indaal as well).

Islay ferry MV Hebridean Isles to be retired

Islay News

An era is coming to an end. For many years the MV Hebridean Isles was one of the ferries on the Islay route, I’ve done many many crossings on her, don’t know how many. Initially it was together with the MV Isle of Arran (still in service, at times still on the Islay route), more recently with the MV Finlaggan. With the two new ferries coming into service later this year and next year this is now coming to an end.

Picture of the ferry MV Hebridean Isles in the Sound of Islay, a lighthouse in the distance
MV Hebridean Isles in the Sound of Islay

In November the MV Hebridean Isles will be retired after 38 years in service, as reported widely:

As someone who likes to be outside during a ferry crossing if possible I will certainly miss her. While I’m not sure about the exact layout of the two new ferries I believe they will be more like the MV Finlaggan in regards to outside spaces accessible to the public, much more limited than the older ferries.

Nice Islay International Airport intro video

Islay on Video

With Islay obviously being an island there are only two ways to get to it: Across the water or through the air. Coming by air unless you arrive by helicopter the only place to arrive is Islay International Airport. Found a nice video with a great introduction and overview of it:

Islay Airport

For more visit the Islay International Airport page on the HIAL website.

Fixing the road to Islay?

Islay News

Unless you’ve only ever flown to Islay you will almost certainly have driven the A83 and with it the drive up to the Rest and Be Thankful. A very scenic drive, but also a drive regular users know with a lot of problems. Problems in the form of landslides. A couple of years ago I missed (or did it miss me?) a landslide only by a couple of hours. Roadworks. detours and more have been going on for many years now. But maybe maybe this will finally be resolved now.

Earlier today I spotted a report on the BBC website, Rest and Be Thankful: £470m tunnel to protect vehicles from landslips. In a nutshell: Transport Scotland has developed plans to build a just under a mile long open-sided shelter/ tunnel to protect the road from being blocked by landslides. For more details there is a virtual exhibition of the A83 tunnel plans. And for some eye candy there is a (virtual) fly through of the preferred solution:

Flythrough – Long Term Solution Preferred Route – A83 Access to Argyll and Bute

Some will probably say, “Oh, I’ve been saying that for years!!”. Either way, I hope this moves forward quickly now and work starts soon. In any case I suspect it will take a few years to complete a project like that.

A Fyne Venison Weekend

Islay Fun

On my journeys to Islay I usually stop at Fyne Ales to buy some of their beers and if available some meat. For obvious reasons that isn’t happening at the moment and hasn’t happened for a while. I’ve previously ordered some of their beers online, last week I decided to add something else, some meat.

Picture of vension burgers, sausages and steaks from Fyne Ales
Fyne Ales venison selection

I ordered a Venison Sizzle Box, which was dispatched and arrived this week, just in time for this weekend. The box includes steaks, burgers and sausages. Of course I also ordered some of my favourites beers, namely some Jarl, Avalanche and Easy Trail.

While most of the box went into the freezer for later consumption I kept one of each for a “Fyne Venison Weekend” this weekend. I started with the steak, which turned out very nice. Lean yet juicy, very tender. Great taste. Tomorrow I’ll have the burgers and I’ll finish on Sunday with the sausages.

Drone video of the Rest and Be Thankful (Route to Islay)

Islay on Video

While we obviously can’t travel to Islay when I’m writing this I hope there will be some travel possible in H2 2021. Until then we have to enjoy videos in the safety of our homes. Here’s one of the well known Rest and Be Thankful on the A83, the main route to Islay. It doesn’t mention any of the troubles with landslides and other problems, so if you want to forget about all that this is a nice enjoyable view:

Rest and Be Thankful

I hope you enjoyed the video and it gave you a bit of an escape.

Time for a pint of Harviestoun Heaven Cent

Islay Links

This evening marks the start of my two week staycation in West Berkshire. As I wrote earlier I’ve decided not to travel to Islay as originally planned. Since I’m not going to Scotland I’ve ordered a bit of Scotland to come to me. And yes, there is an Islay link here….

Picture of a mini keg of Harviestoun Heaven Cent and a glass of real ale
Harviestoun Heaven Cent

The beer I’m enjoying this evening (with a nice pizza, although sadly not from the Peatzeria) is a Harviestoun Heaven Cent. Now you might say, Harviestoun Brewery, isn’t that in Clackmannanshire? And you would be right. However, the IPA in question was created by Lisa Matthews. And you probably guessed it, yes, the youngest Scottish female brewer grew up on Islay.

While I’m not an expert I think Lisa did a fantastic job. To me it tastes very well balanced, just right between the bitterness and the fruitiness (or whatever you call it). I love it. While I ordered it blind I’m pleased that I took the risk and trusted Lisa doing a great job. I’ve got two mini kegs (which is how I was able to take a picture of a closed keg and a full glass next to it), one for this weekend, the other one probably for next weekend. I hope it will become part of the regular line-up at Harviestoun.

Watch a sunset over Islay, Jura, Gigha and Cara

Islay on Video

Well, that didn’t entirely go to plan. When the Coronavirus lockdown started I had high hopes and plans to blog here more often and share all kinds of things. Initially that went reasonably well. And then I kind of lost my mojo as the weeks dragged past. Haven’t posted here since late April. But I’m feeling like I’m slowly getting my mojo back, so let’s give it another go. Starting with a long video hopefully helping you to wind down after a long day, best watched in full screen mode with a drink of your choice:

This video was filmed at the start of the lockdown, but even with some of the easing of the restrictions most of us won’t be able to watch a sunset like this for a while. Thanks to Scott for sharing.

Rachel’s stained glass birds

Islay Links

This isn’t strictly speaking an Islay post, although I came across it because someone mentioned Islay in a comment to it. I’m not even sure if Rachel has ever been to Islay. Either way, Rachel makes birds from stained glass and I think they look absolutely amazing. The birds include Choughs and Hen Harriers, birds frequently spotted on Islay. If you know your birds you will spot the Chough in her tweet immediately:

For more of Rachel’s work including the already mentioned Hen Harrier and also some Greenland White-fronted Goose head over to Rachel’s website. It is being rebuilt as of writing this, but you can page through two excellent albums of her work.

Flying Edinburgh (EDI) to Islay International Airport (ILY)

Islay NewsSome good news for Islay visitors planning to arrive by plane. So far most scheduled flights to Islay (i.e. not the Colonsay/Oban route) were from Glasgow Airport (GLA) only. That’s about to change: From March 2019 travellers will also be able to fly to Islay International Airport (ILY) from Edinburgh Airport (EDI). From the Loganair press release:

Picture of an incoming plane over a bay with a beach
A plane coming in to land at Islay International Airport (ILY)

A 34-seat Saab 340 will fly the Edinburgh to Islay route – the capital city’s first ever scheduled air link to the Inner Hebrides. The service will commence on 25 March and will operate up to daily, offering new links from Edinburgh to the “Queen of the Hebrides”, which is experiencing significant growth in tourism and business following the opening of new hotels and growth in the golfing and spirits distillery sectors.

I think this should open up some new routes and opportunities in particular for visitors from further afield, I believe from some countries there are no direct flights to Glasgow, but there are to Edinburgh.