www.tsallenphotos.com

Always a little sad to leave a new friend. That is the way I think of Islay as a new friend. She opened her doors to Katy and me and showed us all that she had to offer. From the incredibly friendly people – didn’t matter where you were, the people of Islay are outstanding. To the extraordinary landscape and history. If you have the opportunity to come to Islay, take the time to explore and see what God has done with this island. Take your time; it’s easy to get around, so don’t rush it. Around every hill, every curve, every stop for a question is another treat. Yes, Islay is known for its great scotch, so please experience that as well. But understand there is much more. Maybe it was the season, but I was not ready for all of the vivid rainbows. Even as we were about to board our plane this morning, Islay gave us one last rainbow, sort of its way of saying goodbye.

The good news is that we will be in London around noon. Okay, early afternoon. We did have to take one more COVID test so that we could fly home on Friday. They make that easy by having testing sites at the airport. So we got testest before jumping on the Heathrow Express to London’s Paddington Station. From there, it was a short taxi drive to our hotel. I forget how much I enjoy London. We even got a quick glimpse of Princesses Anne as her motorcade drove past. On our last trip to London in the summer of 2019, Big Ben was covered in scaffolding. I thought I heard that the work on Big Ben was almost complete, but everything but the face is still covered up. Still awe-inspiring and the scene of one of my favorite photos that I ever took.

On this trip, Katy and I have hiked some of the best landscapes on the Jurassic Coast and Islay. But today, we are doing an urban hike for dinner and making a few stops for a pint or two. One of Katy’s all-time favorite restaurants is Dishoom, and because it’s Katy’s favorite, it is one of mine. We had an hour wait, but worth every second.

The thing that brought a smile to my face was how lively London was; traffic, people going places, friends greeting each other, queues for the Theater. If you didn’t know about the pandemic, you would have never known from how London was getting about.

JC and Islay Day Twelve

Day Twelve (Monday)

Today is bitter-sweet. It is our last day of exploring this extraordinary island Islay. No distilleries today, just historical sites and seeing this incredible landscape. Again, we allowed the morning to come to us. Breakfast at the Inn before heading out to the Church on the south end of the island. The cross in the churchyard has been there for 1,300 years. After spending some time there, our next adventure was to head to the American monument. But we decided to head further south and see the coast before heading to the monument. At first, the drive was regular, but then we ran into a traffic jam (sort of). We had some cows in the road that thought we were part of the herd. I can’t blame the cows; they do have a fantastic view.

The American monument was stop number two. For whatever reason, I thought that we would be able to drive right up to it. I wasn’t expecting the mile hike. Though it was a nice walk, and we needed the steps. The views were outstanding, and even the little rain didn’t slow us down.

With the day running down, we headed to the north end of the island to see if we had time to jump over to Jura and possibly see a little of that island. We arrived around 2:45, and the next ferry left at 3:15. We were the first car in line. The guy we gave our money to was surprised that we were not spending the night because the return ferry was running at 3:45, 4:45, and 5:45 – not much time to explore. However, it ended up being the right amount of time. The 20-minute drive around the island to the town was spectacular, and we got there before the distillery closed and Katy even got a pint of beer from the bar before headed back and made the 4:45 ferry. We even had a few minutes to spear. I have to say that the drive was incredible. Katy captured some great photos and even a video, but you’ll have to wait to see that later.

We had dinner at the Islay Inn, mainly because it was the only place open because Sea Salt is closed on Monday nights. But that was ok for us because the Islay Inn’s food is excellent and the people there are even better. Finally, we strolled, knowing that this was our last pint at No 1 Charlotte. However, we didn’t want the night to end. If you are ever in Port Ellen, you must stop by the pub at No 1. Charlotte – Ann is the best!

JC and Islay Day Eleven

Day Eleven (Sunday)

We did not set the alarm again today, mainly because we didn’t need to. I used to wake up naturally around 5:30 am. But since the pandemic, it’s now around 7:30 am. So on this trip, I’ve been waking up around 6:30 am. And we are usually out of the house around 10 am, but today we had to be on the road around 9:15 am to make the long drive to the north end of the island. We have a warehouse tasting at Bunnahabhain. We stopped in yesterday, and they said that we had to signup online but thought there was space for us. So I’m glad that I tried to book it while we were there because it said it wasn’t an option online because they were full. So they told us just to show up about 10:15, and all would be good.

I’m falling in love with Islay. A small island that is only about 20 miles from top to bottom, and Bowmore, the capital, is 10 miles from anywhere. There are only a few roads, and most are single-lane, yet it’s effortless to get about. So, back to the day; We are taking a shortcut that takes us around Bowmore. Not like an interstate looping around a major city, this is a 9-mile single-lane road that avoids the few shops in Bowmore. Unfortunately, as with most of our days here, it is spitting rain. Not hard, but just enough. As we were driving along and taking in the fantastic views (btw- we only two cars passed us on the road), a rainbow appeared. At first, you could see just a tiny piece of it, but it was very vivid. We stopped to take a photo. As we continued, it got more prominent and more vivid. Again, we would stop and take a picture. As we were getting closer to Bunnahabhain, the rainbow became grander and even doubled itself. Again, we stopped, and this time I pulled out the Canon. It’s like this rainbow was taking us right to the distillery. We are now getting so close you can see where the pot of gold should be, but it would move and lead us right into the parking lot. Not sure anyone could have started the day off any better.

I’ve been drinking scotch for a long time, but I’m not a details guy, and so I don’t pay much attention to what I’m drinking. So it wasn’t until 2019, when we took the scotch tour in Edinburgh, that I even knew that scotch had different regions. And that was when Islay became a must for me. So I’ve had bottles of Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Lagavulin, and Kilchoman. I knew that Bowmore was scotch but never had it. On our first anniversary, Katy and I did a tour of Glenfiddich distillery, which has been my go-to ever since (almost 30 years.) But recently, I’ve been drawn to Ardbeg and Kilchoman. So when the rainbow led us to the pot of gold at Bunnahabhain, I was excited to see what they had.

As I said the other day, in my opinion, the best way to dive into scotch is by paying for the warehouse tours. I highly recommend the distillery tours, but most distilleries have the same process – just different setups and volumes. The warehouse tour is where you meet the whiskey and get to experience a variety of styles. Besides tasting the whiskey, all tours do a great job of providing history, so they become history lessons. As the rainbow must have known, today’s tour was a grand slam. The details, the storytelling, the putting you right in the barrel was fantastic. At Bunnahabhain, they mainly use different types of sherry barrels, and we got a detailed lesson in the sherry region of Spain. The other nice thing about the warehouse tours is that they are small and get to know the other folks. We have met several folks multiple times. So you build up a connection, and some we have exchange emails—just a joy to expand the discussion.

Though we have benefited by having a rental car, I would hire a driver for the days we do the warehouse tours on our next visit. Katy became the driver, and so she had her samples in small bottles to drink at home. It’s just not the same as consuming while in the warehouse.

With not much more on our schedule for the day, we had lunch at the Bowmore Hotel. If you have a chance, you must stop in. The display of scotch is awe-inspiring. We were able to grab a late afternoon nap and then hiked most of the Three-distillery hike, where we saw three more rainbows. Finally, we had a small dinner at the Islay Inn’s bar. The food is so good. No 1 Charlotte Street is where we like to end the night. The tiny little pub is attached to the hotel. The bartender, Ann, is charming and provides good information. I talked to her about the rainbows, and she mentioned white rainbows that they get every so often.

JC and Islay Day Ten

Day Ten (Saturday)

The goal of Saturday was to drive around the island. Just a relaxing day of taking in the scenery from the island. No breakfast, just jumping into the car at 10 am and heading north. The first stop was the Information Center in Bowmore to get more information about the ferries. The first stop was a huge blessing. Unfortunately, the lady at the Information Center provided heartbreaking news, and it turns out our plan to Campbeltown wasn’t a good plan. Because Campbeltown is part of the mainland, we will have to check with our rental car, and we have to book the ferries in advance. But the wonderful lady didn’t leave us with bad news; she provided additional ideas of what we should do while on Islay, and we are so happy that we stopped by. Before leaving Bowmore, we walked to the Peatzeria to see if we could book a dinner reservation. Success, 6 pm Katy and I will be dining at the Peatzeria.

Leaving Bowmore, we continued the rainy morning on the A846 around Bowmore. The A846 is the main road around the west side of the island. The drive is right along the coast, and even in the rain, it is very remarkable. While driving, we decided to go out to Kilchoman to see if we could schedule a tasting for the time we had left on the island. Unfortunately, they did not, but we did get coffee, and I purchased a tee shirt. But the drive off of A846 to Kilchoman was fun because it’s about 4 miles of one-lane road with pullover areas every so often. You would think that would be a big hassle, but the truth is the pullover areas are very efficient. Plus, the views are priceless.

Back on the A846, we continued west to the A847 and headed to Portnahaven. Though the sky was still gray and spitting a little rain, we parked and walked down to the bay. There were about ten seals just chilling in the water, looking at us like come out for a swim. Had the sun been out, the seals would have been on the rocks just below us. With the joy of seeing wildlife, we continued.

Instead of turning around, we continued on a one-lane road to view the West coast. Once again, the views are breathtaking, and we only saw two cars on the 40 minutes (actually, I’m not sure how long) drive looping back to Port Charlotte. We made a few stops along the way to get photos.

With plenty of the day left (it might have been around noon), we decided to head to the North end of the island. We drove to Port Askaig and parked to have a walkabout. We first checked the ferry to Jura and found that you pay on the ferry, and no booking is necessary. We walked over to the only pub and had a snack. Also, I captured more rainbow photos. I thought Hawaii had a lot of rainbows.

Since we were in the area and had plenty of time, we drove out to Ardnahoe. Once again a single-lane road with breathtaking views. There we got lucky and booked a tour at 4 pm. Then, having just over an hour before the tour, we drove another two miles to Bunnahabhain. I will say that this drive provides some of the best views. It helped because the rain had stopped, and the sun was out and shining on the hills of Jura. Honestly, a blessing to have had the opportunity to see God’s gift. There we were able to book a tasting for Sunday at 10:30 am. It’s a good thing that we stopped by there because their website says that the tasting was full. But Colin said, no worries, they will make room for us.

We returned for our 4 pm tour at Ardnahoe, the newest distillery on the island, and will not have a product to sell until the end of the month. To be a scotch, it has to be in a barrel for three years and one day. The tour was fabulous, very informative, and refreshing. I became a big fan of theirs.

At first, I thought we were going to have hours to kill in Bowmore before dinner. But, as it turns out, we arrived just in time for our reservations. The bartender at Glasgow airport highly recommended the Peatzeria, and it didn’t disappoint.

JC and Islay Day Nine

Day Nine (Friday)

Thursday night, looking at the weather forecast for Friday, Katy and I were trying to figure out the best game plan for Friday. Knowing that we had two tastings back-to-back, the best scenario would have a driver drop us off at first and then pick us and take us the second and then pick us up to take us back to Port Ellen. The most straightforward plan would have to walk the three miles to Argbeg, walk to the second, and then walk back to Port Ellen, but that plan was the least favorite because of the weather forecast of rain and wind. So the final option was to drive, and one not fully participate in the tasting. Because we couldn’t hire a driver, we went with the last option; And it worked out fine.

We started the day off as we have most days, just relaxing, reading, writing, and slowly drinking coffee. No rush at all. We only had three things were on our schedule for the day; Argbeg at noon, Lagavulin at three, and dinner at 8:40. So with plenty of time, we walked to our go-to place for a full Scottish breakfast at 10 am. God greeted us at our front door with a fantastic rainbow.

With Laphroaig sitting the bar very high, we were excited to see how Ardbeg and Lagavulin will compare. First up is Ardbeg; Since we drove, Katy decided that I could taste and that she would do the driving – I love that woman! Unlike Laphroaig, Ardbeg doesn’t provide any samples to go. You can only sample on-site. They do this because folks were selling the samples for big dollars, and they didn’t like that. Laphroaig mentioned that some sold theirs for big dollars and embraced it. These tastings are not cheap, and your sort of paying for it anyways. We did not pay for Katy to sample. However, she got to sip on some and experience most of the tasting. Once again, the 90 minutes flew by. We got to experience six different scotch. The fourth sample was from a 33-year-old single sherry cast. Only 415 bottles were produced, distilled in 1975 and bottled in 2008. That is the best alcohol that my lips have ever touched. I like these intimate tastings because you are free to ask questions and even re-sample if necessary. I felt it necessary to try that sample for a second time. As we were walking out, the group thanked me for having to re-sample the 33-year-old scotch.

Lagavulin tasting was much different than the other two because it was in a meeting room, and every sample was ready. Though I wasn’t a fan of their selection, the discussion and education were maybe the best. The good news here is that Katy got a bottle for her samples to take home, and we all got a 250 ml bottle of a single cast 9-year-old. As I mentioned, I wasn’t a fan of their selection for this tasting, but this 9-year-old is very good. It’s smooth and behaves like a 20+-year-old scotch. It’s not that I didn’t like their scotch; Laphroaig and Ardbeg provided samples that you can’t find anywhere else.

We safely made it back to Port Ellen, and though the weather changes every few minutes, we could have done the walk without getting too wet. Changing the topic from scotch to food, I’ve had some incredible scallops in my day, but the scallops on Islay are hands down the best!

JC and Islay Day Eight

Day Eight (Thursday)

Let the fun begin. We started by easing into the day, didn’t leave the house until around 10 am. First, we went out to Ardbeg to schedule a tasting for tomorrow at noon. Then we went to our tasting at Laphroaig. There Katy and I and two others had a fabulous time tasking from three different barrels.

Though I was driving, I got to smell and have a small tasting. Of all three samples we tasted, we got to get 250 ml of our favorite to take home in lovely bottles. Mine was the first; Katy’s was the last. Though I did enjoy the second one, we felt that the second one was closer to what we could get on the shelves back home. If you ever have the opportunity to spend the money for the warehouse tasting, it is worth it. I was amazed that it took about 90 minutes for us to sample the three barrels. These samples are not whiskeys that you’ll see in the store, and the history and conversations – even among the four tasters were very enlightening. Even though I wasn’t consuming like Katy, it was delightful and educational. I have to say that Laphroaig set the bar high for the rest of our tours.

After the tasting, we traveled the ten miles to Bowmore for lunch and a walk around. Once back in Port Ellen, we chilled for a while, a.k.a napped. Before leaving the house, we were trying to plan for the coming days while on the island. The thing that surprised me was that even though there are only 3,000+ folks that live on the island, you have to schedule everything ahead of time. Maybe it is because of COVID, but you have to book a table to get dinner, and it is tough to do on the same day. Even though we have a car, we failed to schedule a taxi for Friday’s tasting because you have to book so far in advance. We thought about walking the three-mile out and three miles back, but since Friday is supposed to be raining and very windy, we agreed to drive.

So with Friday planned out, Katy and I took a little walk around town and were planning on getting takeout for dinner. But we instead went to Islay Inn’s bar and had a wonderful dinner and drinks. Afterward, we went to #1 Charlotte Street, our last stop for the night pub. Then, while enjoying some fine pints, we planned that Saturday would be a driving day to see the whole island and that Monday would take the ferry to the island south of here.

JC and Islay Day Seven

Day Seven (Wednesday)

Another long day of traveling, but once again get to see some of the incredible beauty that God has to offer. The plan for the day was to drive 2+ hours to London Heathrow, drop the rental car off, and then fly up to Glasgow and then to Islay.

Always sad to say goodbye, but Weymouth was such a great host. Our Airbnb was very friendly, and the owners were very kind. It had rained before we got on the road at seven, so the streets were wet, but it wasn’t raining, just the spray from the road. The traffic wasn’t bad, and we had no issues returning the car. Other than that we didn’t put petrol into it. Because the queues were too long because of the gas shortage (perceived.)

We arrived at Heathrow airport way too early, but we weren’t sure if we needed to do more COVID testing or not, so we errored on having more time than rushing it. We didn’t, and so we chilled for a while. Not a big deal – had breakfast and read.

The flight to Glasglow was non-eventful. So we landed around 2 pm and as we exited the plane, we noticed that all the gate areas were empty. So we walked to all of the gates, and all of the stores were closed up, no vending machines, and most of all, no people. But finally, we saw a security guard and asked him, and he led us to an area away from the gates but had pubs and stores and most of all people.

This trip is becoming a rainbow trip. We saw a few on the Jurassic Coast, but there was one at the Glasglow airport, and this one Katy took from her seat on the flight to Islay. Like I said earlier, God is showing his beauty.

Islay is very small, and it was the quickest time to get our rental car. All I did was show my driver’s license, and I had the keys before the luggage was ready. Our house has a great view and is very spacious. We kept it simple last night and had an excellent diner and then surprisingly met two young kids (well, at least they were born in the ’80s) and had a wonderful time talking about life and having lots of laughs until the pub closed around 11 pm.

JC and Islay Day Six

Day Six (Tuesday)

Looking at the weather since we arrived, Tuesday looked like an all-day rain. So we plan to take a train from Weymouth to Plymouth. Though much quicker to drive, maybe a two or 2.5-hour drive, we decided to take the train, which is 4 hours, but much more relaxing. This plan worked out perfectly because it was an easy train for Bruce to catch from Exeter to Plymouth. Katy and I arrived in Plymouth around 1 pm and Bruce around 2:30. Katy and I spent the time waiting on Bruce at the Ship Inn down by the harbor. We had a good time trying their local beers and talking to Alan, who has never been to the states but has a Chicago Bears tattoo. He explained that was because as a kid he was a fan of William Perry, a.k.a. The Fridge.

When Burce arrived, it was raining cats and dogs, and so we met him at the Box. An excellent museum and – wait for it – a great exhibit about the Mayflower. I find it interesting that our kids still love going to museums even though there are hundreds of pubs all around. I know that I never thought about going to a museum at their age.

After the Box, we did stop by a campus pub – the University of Plymouth, for a pint and some pizza before we started the 4-hour trip back to Weymouth.

So, as you can see, a quiet day for our final day in Weymouth. Since it’s early and we are flying up to Islay, a fantastic Scottish Island. I’ll share a picture that Katy captured from our two-hour drive to Heathrow. The image that Katy took

JC and Islay Day Five

Day Five (Monday)

If you noticed the trend, hard day of hiking and then easy day, it continued on Day 5. So on Saturday, another easy day, we wanted to visit Bride Valley Vinyard. The website said they were only open from 11 – 2 pm, and it was already 2:45 pm, so we tried to call. Not sure why, but the calls did not go through. So we come back to Weymouth. Before heading out, I emailed the Bride Valley, just saying that we are sorry that we missed them and if there was any way to come out and just have a look around. The next time they would be open, we would be in Scotland. I sent the email Saturday early evening and got a response early Sunday morning. Saying yes, they have a private vendor tasting and that we could come out around 1:30 – 2 pm on Monday.

On Sunday we needed to find something to do in the morning with the news that the Vinyard was on the table. We were leaning towards staying in Weymouth and maybe kayaking or seeing if we could get on a boat. But what I didn’t share from Sunday was that when we returned from Portland, our flat in the Airbnb didn’t have electricity, so we had to call the owners. They were on it, and they allowed us to shower in another flat. While we were in that process and fixing the electricity issue, our discussion went to what we had done and our plans. They mentioned the Jurassic Coast to the west is the best to find fossils. So instead of saying in Weymouth, we decided the day plan would be to visit Charmouth.

Once again, no hurry in the morning. We were on the road by 10 am. Charmouth was about 30 miles away, an hour’s drive. From there, we were able to visit the Heritage Center and walk along the coast looking for fossils. Knowing that Bride Valley was about 13 miles away, but traffic was getting crazy because of the gas shortage, we decided we needed 45 minutes to get there. Come to find out, Maps re-routed us away from the traffic, and we got there in about 30 minutes. Once we turned off A35 on-to the road to the Vinyard – it was all one lane (though traffic is still two directions) with many pull-off spots. Fortunately for us, we didn’t see anyone else. Katy took some fantastic photos because the road is so traditional English.

Bride Valley Vinyard, all I have to say is “Thank You!” These people are so lovely, beyond words. Since we were a little early, we parked on the street and walked through the stone gate. I would have pulled in, but the width and angle of the turn into the stone gate were a little intimating to me, so I just parked on the road. We walked in, and it’s a beautiful facility. Felt like no one was there, but as we headed to the tasting room, I heard some behind a door. I knocked and scared the shit out of Mo. She was focused on something at the computer and hadn’t heard us come in. We introduced ourselves. I was surprised that Mo was a woman; I had it in my simple mind that Mo would have been a guy. Mo is one of the most excellent persons you will ever meet. She welcomed us with open arms and took us upstairs. She gave us the history of the vineyard and Steve Spurrier. Though Bruce had told us to watch “Bottle Shock” and maybe even reminded me, I never put Bride Valley Vinyard with the person in the movie. But yes, this is the Steve Spurrier that in 1976 got the french to admit that Napa wines were just as good – universally known as “Judgment of Paris.”

Mo said that there was a restaurant here for a tasting. A method to sell their wines to local restaurants. She said that we could either do our tasting inside, or join the folks from the restaurant. Making it easier on Mo and Graham, we decided to join the folks from the restaurant. Come to find out, it’s the only Michelin restaurant in Dorest – the Catch at The Old Fish Market. They were nice enough to allow us to crash their party. The tasting was great, the wines were first class, and Mo and Graham and the folks from the restaurant were world-class. I wanted to purchase a few cases, but I was limited to four, seeing how we are heading to Scotland in a few days. We are taking those on the train this morning. The Dorset Cremant is for Katy and me to have on the morning train, we are giving the Pinot Noir and the Pinot Noir Rose to Bruce to take back to Exeter, and then we will have the last Pinot Noir on the train back. Before leaving, Mo told us to go to Hive beach and take the coastal road back to town. Once again, great suggestion. I was driving, so you had to see Katy’s pictures. Some of the best views in the world.

To continue the great day, we meet up with our new friends David and Julie for dinner. The plan was to eat at Parkers, but they were full, so we made the walk to the esplanade and found a place. We had good food and great conversation. We then walked to Waterloo for one last drink and laughs. David and Julie are heading home today.

JC and Islay Day Four

Day Four (Sunday)

So I started the day off by watching Ted Lasso while Katy got another hour of sleep. Then, we went to breakfast to plan not just the day but the next couple of days. Looking at the radar, it looks like Sunday and Monday will be dry days, but Tuesday is calling for rain all day. Since we have been to the east, we thought Tuesday would be a good day to keep the car parked and take a train to Plymouth, actually in the Cornwall area. Also, that morning, I had emailed Bride Valley Winery to see if it was possible just to stop by and look around.

So after breakfast, we stopped by the train station to confirm what we thought was a good plan for Tuesday. We went ahead and purchased the round-trip tickets, so Tuesday is planned (for the most part). We text Bruce to meet us in Plymouth on Tuesday instead of coming to Weymouth on Monday. So it’s all coming together.

But for the day at hand, the plan is to hike 8+ miles around the island of Portland. What a great find. Though it was 9.25 miles when all was said and done, the views were amazing. Though you have some inclines, it’s not a strenuous hike at all and not like the hikes we had done two days prior.

Safe to say, it was an early night for us. Just a couple of pubs and then back home. But two things did happen. One Bride Valley Winery responded to my message and said that even though they are closed on Monday, they have a vendor tasting and can join them. And two at the Waterloo, we had another great time with our new friends and will meet them tonight for dinner.

JC and Islay Day Thirteen

Day Thirteen (Tuesday)