(New) IslayBlog.com, a blog about the Isle of Islay, Scotland
Cask Strength since 2006
John Munday and his best friend went to Islay in March 2022, staying at Easter Ellister Farmhouse. They mainly went for the whisky, but there were also visits to the beautiful beaches and some paddleboarding. Oh, and they were lucky enough to enjoy some amazing weather:
I hope you enjoyed the lovely views from the air and from the water, from the distilleries and from the beaches, all in glorious Islay sunshine. Nice work, John!
This one took me a bit longer to edit than expected, so it’s only going out quite late this Sunday evening. But I hope the wait was worth it and you’ll enjoy this video of a drone flight around Lagavulin Bay. Obviously views of Lagavulin distillery and Dunyvaig Castle (well, the ruin of it). But there’s more, as I flew around the whole bay, so you get to see the Islay Marine Centre, Stormpods, the village of Lagavulin and more. There are also brief distant views of Texa, towards Port Ellen and over to Ardbeg.
And of course there’s something else: How good are your eyes (and attention)? Did you spot the Seal on the rock in the bay? If not you might want to watch the video again and see if you can spot it this time.
I’m hoping to edit another Islay video next weekend as well, but as usual no promises. The topic of the video will probably be Saligo Bay, but I haven’t made a final decision yet.
This video was in a way seven years in the making. as I filmed the footage back in June 2015, edited a teaser in early 2016 and then … progress stalled. Not sure why, for some reason I didn’t edit the full version ‘director’s cut’. But now it’s finally done and I can share 7 minutes of great views around and over Port Ellen from the air with you. The flight starts at Carraig Fhada lighthouse, we then move over to the Port Ellen maltings and distillery warehouses before finishing off around the centre of Port Ellen. I hope you enjoy the views:
As the footage is from 2015 some things have changed in the meantime, one of the main changes I can think of will be Port Ellen distillery which is currently being rebuild. But of course there will be a few more. The character of the place as such won’t have changed though and the views are great in any case.
I’m hoping to continue the current run of a new video every week next week as well, but I can’t promise anything. If I do there’s a good chance of another visit to Saligo Bay in some form, possibly with a sunset in 360° or a sunny beach walk.
Time for a short visit to Islay’s neighbour Gigha. Most people (well, at least those who have travelled to Islay by ferry) will have seen the Twin Beaches near the northern end of the island, this drone video filmed on a beautiful bright sunny day gives you some brilliant aerial view of it. Not to mention other nice views of Gigha:
I hope you enjoyed the video and the Dolphins showing up in the second half.
Taking you over to Islay’s neighbour Jura for an interesting drone video today. The views are mainly of Craighouse, the Bay of Small Isles and the Corran Sands, with the famous Paps of Jura featuring large in the background. And there’s something special about the music playing:
Visitors to the Corran Sands might have recognised where the music came from, as it says in the description:
Original music performed on 2 Sonic Sculptures by Giles Perring at Corran Sands by Sebastian McCallum, Philippa Gregory, Sally Truswell and Joe Truswell
From the video description
I think not many videos can claim this….
Dolphins can be spotted around Islay fairly regularly, in the Sound of Islay where they sometimes play with the ferry and other ships, sometimes in Loch Indaal, or during a ferry crossing. The video I came across yesterday seems to have been filmed from a yacht and possibly also a drone flying above them. Enjoy:
I hope you’ve enjoyed the video, I found it very calming and relaxing, watching the Dolphins as they were swimming, jumping and playing.
In his day job he’s a taxi driver on Islay, but when he’s not behind the steering wheel Stuart is on the controls of his drone. As his job takes him all around Islay he has some opportunities to film all around island, showcasing some of the best of Islay. You can find his pictures on his Islay Drone Photography Facebook page. Not everyone is on Facebook, so luckily he’s also sharing some of his videos on YouTube. Like this one of the Laggan river:
Or this great 360° view of the Rhinns of Islay lighthouse on Orsay:
Or an Otter hunting for food on the wild shores of Islay:
I hope you enjoyed these picks, you can find plenty more on the Islay Drone Photography YouTube channel. Videos of Islay’s distilleries, beaches, roads, landscapes, villages and more.
Let’s visit some Islay beaches from the air. Stuart Lewis visited Islay in 2018 and filmed a variety of beaches ranging from the Singing Sands over Kilchoman beach to the small beach at the pier in Port Charlotte from his drone. Take a look:
I hope you enjoyed this aerial tour of some of Islay’s beautiful sunny beaches. Which beach is your favourite?
Quite tired tonight after an exhausting week, so no difficult posting tonight, just a simple video with a bunch of nice Islay views. There are plenty of drone videos out there now, I think this is one of the better ones. Nice and calm, allowing us to really enjoy the views of some of the famous sights of Islay:
I hope you enjoyed the views of the Rhinns of Islay lighthouse, Portnahaven, Bowmore (incl distillery and Round Church), Seal Bay on the south coast and the American Monument on the Oa
Probably one of the most popular walks on Islay, the walk out to Soldier’s Rock on the Oa. Some great views to be enjoyed, in this video enhanced by some drone footage. After leaving the Oa there are also views from the south coast around Lagavulin.
One thing I would have done different though, I wouldn’t have walked through the cows with their calves. I have a very healthy respect of cattle, in particular when with calves, and if at all possible give them a wide berth. Simple self preservation.