I’ve shared a few sailing to/from/around Islay videos over the years, so why not a few more? Here are two videos of the SY Sula, first sailing (and motoring due to lack of wind) from Largs to Port Ellen, then continuing from Port Ellen to Kerrera. Some great shots in nice sunny weather with some great drone footage, but also some grey damp weather. Starting with leg 1:
Sailing to Islay, Scotland [Ep 16]
Then leaving Islay with leg 2:
Sailing to the Isle of Kerrera, Scotland [Ep 17]
I hope you enjoyed the videos, not long now until the warmer and hopefully sunnier days of spring and summer, possibly with some nice sailing trips?
From planes to drones with a nice video mostly showing one of Islay’s nicest beaches from the air (you also get a few impressions of Lagavulin distillery). I’ve walked this beach many times, during the Islay walking week, on my own, with my sister Imke and with my late parents. The last one means it has some special memories for me, as it was my mother’s last and my father’s only Islay visit. The beach is around Killinallan Point, stretching out to Gortantaoid. While filmed on a mostly overcast day the views are still beautiful:
Islay, Scotland | Stunning Remote Beach, by Drone
If you decide to walk here look out for the tides, it’s much easier to walk at low tide as during high tide the water can come quite close to the dunes. For a circular walk you can walk on the track to Gortantaoid and return via the beach or vice versa.
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:
To move on from the AI nonsense I started the year 2024 with let us change to something more wholesome and real. How about a video by Purple Heather Scottish Tours of driving around Islay and spotting various wildlife and farm life? Here you go:
WILDLIFE AND ROADS ON ISLAY #video #scottishwildlife #driving
And the bird at the end according to a Google Lens search is probably a Helmeted Guineafowl or something related. Not native to Islay….
Regular readers will remember an earlier post about Islay Drone Photography. Earlier today I came across a new video by him I really liked. It’s only a short clip, but it brilliantly shows some of the impressive tidal currents at The Kettle just off Orsay with the Rhinns of Islay lighthouse:
Islay 4K Drone footage
I’m not sure what (if anything) came of it, but that illustrates why there was talk a while back of potentially creating tidal power generation off the south and west of Islay (in addition to the ones long planned in the Sound of Islay). There certainly is a lot of power out there!
As the title says, some nice calming Islay inspired music today, only released a few days ago. The work is by Hania Rani in collaboration with Islay’s Bowmore distillery. The video shows many scenes on Islay, in particular around Saligo Bay (the poor piano carriers must have had their work cut out…). Lean back and enjoy:
Bowmore x Hania Rani — The Boat
I hope you enjoyed the music and the video, you can read more about the collaboration on Two Sensorial Spirits.
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!
Not one but two videos today, brought to us by David Campbell also known as The Budget Biker. As you’ve probably already gathered he rides a Royal Enfield Meteor 350 at the moment, looking at his channel he has used other models before. His adventures started in Australia before more recently moving on to Scotland. And of course no visit to Scotland would be complete without a visit to Islay and Jura:
Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Explore Scotland – the islands of Islay & Jura part 1
And straight on to the second part with the main part of his visit:
Royal Enfield Meteor 350 | Explore Scotland – Islay & Jura part 2
The beach around the two minute mark is of course Kilchoman beach and I think he made the right decision not to climb the wall at the church, as sadly it has become quite dangerous in recent years with the risk of falling masonry.
I’ve very much enjoyed the two videos, I think they have a great being on the road vibe. I’m not entirely sure, but it looks like after exploring Scotland and in particular the Scottish islands he might have moved on to Northern Ireland as I write this. Either way, if you’re interested in more of his adventures check out The Budget Biker channel on YouTube.
Haven’t posted much here this year and the last post so far this year was the traditional April Fools joke. Time to change that and get going again a bit more. How about a nice Islay video with some nice wildlife shots? Some good views in this one, especially towards the end, so make sure you watch it all:
Islay | 5 Minute Road Trips EPISODE 5
Billy Heaney visits Cornabus Farm and a variety of other places on Islay’s south coast as well as on the Rhinns of Islay, spotting a good mix of wildlife, in particular birds. And as I said, the best of his spots is at the end of the video.
