Back in mid June, when I picked up my sister Imke from the ferry having arrived in Port Askaig, I spotted a nice looking sailing ship in the distance. Despite being tired after a long day of travelling from Germany my sister agreed to wait until the ship had passed for a closer look. The ship turned out to be the French ketch Fleur de Lampaul. I was able to take a few pictures and record footage for a short video, which I’ve now finished:
Ketch Fleur de Lampaul in the Sound of Islay, Scotland
While only short I hope you enjoyed the view of the ship slowly and quietly gliding past on its way south. I think it’s nice and calming in our hectic world. What do you think?
Found a rather nice Islay and Jura drone video this evening. It was filmed and edited by Phil Curry, you can find quite a few drone videos on his channel, from Scotland and many other places. But as this blog is about Islay (and Islay’s neighbours) we of course focus on this video:
Islay & Jura 2023
Beaches, dolphins, a walking excursion to the Corryvreckan whirlpool north of Jura, lighthouse, hills, many great views of Islay. I hope you enjoyed the video.
With Christmas just around the corner I remembered I should write about an Islay present some of you might like, available at The Celtic House in Bowmore. I came across them during my visit in June and have one hanging on my wall at home. It’s a replica Islay road sign, in my case pointing to Port Charlotte:
Replica Port Charlotte road sign
I think they are really well done, they even have some rust spots even though they are not made of metal. I’ve put it next to my Gaelic map of Islay and Jura:
Replica Port Charlotte road sign next to Islay and Jura map
The attribute “stunning” I often feel is overused and through that sadly devalued. But when I watched Donny Wilcox’s videos from Islay, Jura and Colonsay this evening I couldn’t think of anything else but “stunning” several times. Some really amazing views and different perspectives, views I’ve never seen that way before. Let’s start with Islay and Colonsay:
The Gurnard at Sea in 2023 Part Four ..Islay and Colonsay
Now let’s rewind to Donny’s arrival on Jura, his base for his time in the area:
The Gurnard at Sea in 2023 Part Three ..The Jura Area
And to close some more of Donny’s time on Jura, exploring Loch Tarbert:
The Gurnard at Sea in 2023 Part Five ..Loch Tarbert, Jura
I hope you enjoyed Donny’s videos as much as I did, the great views from the air, the sea and the land. Many thanks to Donny for sharing your adventures!
Found two beautiful videos tonight which I’d like to share with you. They are both from the YouTube channel DiveClyde which mainly focuses on narrated scuba dive videos. At least two of their videos (I haven’t gone through all of their videos yet) feature Islay, Jura and Gigha, the topic of this blog. The first one covers a trip from Campbeltown to the Southern Skerries of Islay with some of the wildlife including Seals and Otters:
Sailing Scotland – Campbeltown to Islay
For the second video we cross over to Gigha and then to Jura for some fascinating scuba diving views and more, including a bonus view of a Sea Eagle:
Sailing Diving Scotland – Sound of Jura
I hope you’ve enjoyed the videos, I loved the views of the Otters and the various fish under water.
Sam Holmes is crossing oceans in questionable sailing vessels (his own words). For this video he didn’t cross an ocean, just the North Channel between Ireland and Scotland. Watch his video and learn what else he did on Islay apart from eating Haggis:
Islay, haggis & whisky 🏴
After leaving Port Ellen he continued through the Sound of Islay, stopping at Bunnahabhain (and visiting Ardnahoe):
Sailing the Western Scottish isles in search of more whisky
I hope you enjoyed Sam’s adventures on and around Islay. I always enjoy the different views and perspectives you get from a sailing boat.
During my after work internet surfing I came across an interesting video, which then led to another video and also a blog post with more background. So I thought I might as well share it with you as well. As the title says, it’s about paddleboarding, a very popular sport these days, and as in this case it took place on Islay there was also some whisky involved. Let’s start with the second video I found, Meaghan and Neal’s adventures on Islay and Jura:
SUP Safari Scotland Ep 2 Islay and Jura
The other video (the one I came across first) just focuses on Claggain Bay and their paddleboarding there:
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:
The Isle of Jura
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
Islay is well known for its peat bogs and peatland, among other reasons mainly through its peaty whisky. But that’s not what this post is about, on the contrary, it’s about the preservation of the endangered peatlands. Islay is a key part in the CANN project (Collaborative Action for the Natura Network), which focuses on conserving peatlands and wetlands across Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
The CANN Project Short Film – Combatting Rhodi on Islay
For more background and context also watch The CANN Story – April 2021, which gives an overview of all the projects in Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland.
To spread the word and increase awareness the Islay & Jura Community Peatland Project was launched, which includes the Peatland Passport. This project will be run by the INHT until 2022, if you’re in Port Charlotte make sure to drop in at the INHT and pick up your passport (also available in various other places on Islay). If you are on Facebook you can also join the excellent Islay and Jura Community Peatland Project Facebook group, which has a huge variety of interesting posts with information, videos, online events and more.
Time for a visit to Islay’s neighbour Jura. I first spotted this on Facebook, then looked if I could find it on YouTube, which I did. The video in question is called “Across The Sound” and was created by Alfie Smith and Louis MacMillan. It shows Louis taking the Jura Passenger from Tayvallich to Craighouse and then going fell running on Jura, covering the famous Paps of Jura and Corra Bheinn. Just under 9 minutes well worth watching:
Across The Sound – Trig Point Films
The scenery is stunning, beautifully filmed by Alfie with Louis doing all the running. Not only that, there’s also some beautiful music by Talisk and Fourth Moon. I hope you’ll enjoy the video as much as I did.
