Church in Kilmeny, Bruichladdich Open Day

Mike here ... this being written at about 9:45PM on Sunday the 23rd, but probably not posted until Monday.

We had a busy day which started out with worship at the Kilmeny Parish Church, which dates back to about 1800. After the service we chatted for a while, outside, with a few of the parishioners and we were invited to pay a visit to one of the couples' homes. So, we will make the time for that ... it was a blessing and it is
exactly why we so enjoy Scotland. An added bonus is that The Gaelic is spoken in their home !!!



Following church was open day at the Bruichladdich Distillery, where we had lunch served up by the Nippy Chippy of fish and chips, meatburger (it seems a hamburger is in fact ham), 2 egg/spring rolls, CocaCola and Irn Bru for drinks. After that we met up with Gordon and Margaret Campbell and their friends Norrie and Claire. The weather was nice, but a bit breezy. We took a tour of the distillery, listened to music, watched highland dancing, etc. We also ran into Simon Brooking, who invited us to attend "The Gathering" of Friends of Laphroaig even though we were too late to have our own special commemorative pair of Wellies. So we did that at about
7PM then stayed for a while at the ceilidh afterwards.





When we left the ceilidh, and got into our car we were approached by a young man who asked if we were going to Port Askaig, which is approxinately 20 miles. We told him that we were not going to Port Askaig so he thanked us and began walking away. Jacqueline suggested that we could offer him a ride to Ballygrant which is on the way to Port Askaig. So, I rolled down the window and yelled "Oi, mate, we can take you to Ballygrant if that is helpful." He thanked us and got in. His name is Edward, he is Australian and he is actually staying in the Ballygrant Inn just down the road from us. Not sure why he mentioned Port Askaig ... perhaps because Ballygrant is not as well known as some of the other locations. In any case we were very blessed by his
company for the 30-45 minute drive. If you are wondering how it can take 30-45 minutes to travel less than 20 miles, it's because the roads are Islay roads and unless you are a tourtist there is nae hurry. One thing worth mentioning were the daft sheep that were wandering about in the "low" (there is also a "high road"and they are both on Islay, in Scotland) road. They are not easy to see in fog and at "dusk", but see them I did and I am thankful.



Tomorrow we will spend the morning in (Bogh Mor) Bowmore poking around while we wait for our laundry and go to the bank to convert some $ to pounds. We will also look for a bottle to share with Gordon, Margaret, Norrie, Claire, Maggie and Robin when we visit Samhchair to say "hi". If you've read OorAlbaBlog for long you might remember that last year we stayed at Samhchair, and that is where we met Gordon and Margaret.

Maggie and Robin were our hosts and asked us to visit them next time we were on Islay. Norrie and Claire are friends of Gordon and Margaret, who are becoming friends of ours. It helps that four of us share an appreciation of whisky, and all of us a love of Scotland and its history. Between Bowmore and Samhchair
we plan to revisit the American Monument on The Oa, and try to locate one of the abandoned villages near Kintra. It promises to be another busy day.

Drive frae Wishaw, Ferry tae Islay

Approx 8PM, Sat 22 May 2010

Jacqueline here; just beginning to recover from jet-lag and already missing Michelle and Marshall Cross, our dear friends in Wishaw, near Glasgow. Last night our home-away-from-home was a caravan in a garden near the ferry landing of Kennecraig (near Tarbert). This place had special significance to Michael and me so we knew we were highly blessed. The caravan sat down a gated woodland walkway, amidst shrub groves,
carpeted with bluebells and ferns. A wee brook circled round the back just beyond a daisy-dotted lawn. Our hosts were clearly gardeners, bird and critter lovers with many feeders hanging about where colorful birds flitted and fed; baby bunnies munched on the new grass and we were told to watch for deer in our backyard come morning. Lambs could be heard crying out to their mammas in the pasture beyond the woods. Inside the caravan we relaxed in a sun-drenched sitting room with hot tea
and ginger snaps upon arrival. I could have spent the rest of my days in this
lovely peaceful place but we were up at the crack of dawn today to catch our ferry to Islay.

We met up with Gordon & Margaret Campbell and their friends Norris & Claire who we
visited with throughout the 2 hour cruise. The weather has been fantastic; sunny, warm and clear. Once on Islay, we had lunch at Lagavulin Distillery's Open Day, then re-traced our steps of a year ago by visiting the remains of Kildalton Church with its famous Celtic Cross and ancient cemetary. We drove to Balygrant where our flat is located and now look forward to a good-night's rest and worship at nearby Kilmeney Church of Scotland in the morning, followed by Bruichladdich's Open Day festivities. Till then, cheerio!



Mike here:

I am posting this from the bar in the Ballygrant Inn, which has free wi-fi (I think though they expect you will purchase a dram, or a beer). More than 200 malts available for the tasting. My dram is Bruichladdich Peat because I've never had it and it was reasonably priced. I am "itching" to dram Ardbeg's Lord of the Isles but at more than 20 pounds per, I think I'll pass. J is back at our wee flat resting. It was a long day and she is tired. So am I but I want to update the blog, so here am I.



Yesterday's drive from Wishaw took about 4 hours (of driving time) but the scenery was spectacular; I think. I did not dare take my eyes from the road to look around all that often. I have not driven a manual transmission for some time and shifting with my left, driving on the left, steering wheel on right ... Well, I am grateful the drive was not longer because I was very tired when we arrived at our destination. In about 10 days I'll do it again, but in the other direction !!!



Outside of Glasgow the route I chose is primarily coastal but a significant portion (the A814 along Gare Loch and Loch Long) is rather narrow (not much more than 2 cars wide) and very windy. On one side are cliffs and the other a stone wall, then the Loch. Yikes. I would have liked to take a picture but there are few places to stop and those that exist come up very quickly and then are gone. So, no picture of that section but I did attach a picture of the A83 as it runs West between Arrochar and Loch Fynne. We stopped at a vantage point known as "Rest and Be Thankful". Well, we did and we were !!!

If you care to look at a map and follow the route (assuming I am correctly remembering from memory ... I do have it written down at the flat): M8 through Glasgow to A82 to A814 to A83.