It is well known that it’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock’n’roll.
Rewording AC/DC I’d dare to say: it’s a long way to Islay if you come from Skye.
It takes almost 4 hours to travel by car from Skye to Oban. Then it takes another one hour and an half to get the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry boat to Islay. The crossing is about another 2 hours.
But it deserve such a long travel: Islay is such a beautiful place – and it is so different from Skye – and the sea crossing – it you are lucky enough to find a sunny summer weather – is a joy for the eyes.
We left Skye in the morning and considering that ferries for Islay depart very early, we took the opportunity to visit the lovely town of Oban – and obviously the namesake very famous whiskey distillery – and to spend the night in a picturesque and small fishermen village named Tarbert.
Oban is really worth a visit: the distillery is quite small because the whole town had grown around its building. The weather was the craziest we went through during the entire travel: sunny, then rainy, then sunny and rainy – with huge cold water drops – at the same time.
But the best thing is the fishermen harbour where you can have a quick, inexpensive and delicious lunch at the Oban Seafood Hut. We ate freshly caught mussels, oysters and shrimps for less then 10 pounds.
Tarbert is lovely too: we stayed at the Knap Guest House placed in a Victorian villa in front of the harbour and we had a yummy Scottish traditional breakfast home-made by the super kind owner Alastair. And so I learnt that eggs with smoked salmon are better if they are all scrambled together. Terrific!
I already told that the crossing from the mainland to Islay was a very pleasant journey. I usually adore travelling by boat, and the northern sea always has the power to charm me, especially if surrounded by islands with high cliffs. I spent all the time taking pictures of the breathtaking sea views and landscapes of both Islay and Jura islands – the last one is really wild and almost uninhabited.
Enjoy the pictures and stay tuned for the next post: more Isle of Islay’s distillery and sea to come!
Imago Volant 