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Beer taps and shelves of bottles behind the bar at the Ballygrant Inn.
Isle of Islay

Ballygrant Inn

A family-run inn near Port Askaig with rooms, home cooking and an award-winning whisky bar.

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Welcome

The Ballygrant Inn is a family-run inn in the north of Islay, just outside the small village of Ballygrant and three miles from the ferry at Port Askaig, which makes it a handy first or last stop on the island.

It has comfortable modern rooms for around eighteen guests, a restaurant, and a whisky bar that has won awards, its long back bar lined with single malts.

The cooking is home-made and uses the best of local and Scottish produce: Islay beef, lamb and venison, and scallops, crab, lobster and langoustine from the waters round the island feature regularly on the menu. The bar also pours local ales, wines and spirits, and is as popular with people from the island as with visitors. It is open Monday to Saturday from 11am to 11pm and closed on Sundays. In the season it is best to book a room ahead, on 01496 840277. The inn is a good base for the distilleries of the north, Caol Ila and Bunnahabhain.

A short drive awayPersabus Pottery, Ceramics and ArtA pottery and art studio on a working farm near Port Askaig, where you can paint your own pot.5 min by roadSee itMasked woman packs boxes in a pottery studio lined with unglazed ceramics and paint bottles
Before you go

Open Monday to Saturday, 11am to 11pm; closed Sunday.

In the season, book a room ahead (01496 840277).

Getting there
CalMac ferry from Kennacraig to Port Ellen or Port Askaig, or fly from Glasgow to Islay Airport.
Hours
Mon to Sat, 11am to 11pm.
From the ferry
3 miles from Port Askaig.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
11am–11pm
Tuesday
11am–11pm
Wednesday
11am–11pm
Thursday
11am–11pm
Friday
11am–11pm
Saturday
11am–11pm
Sunday
Closed
Where it is

Ballygrant, Isle of Islay, PA45 7QR.

Close byNear Port Askaig.
  1. Two crumbling stone gables of a ruined castle rise beside a lochFinlaggan Castle2 miles6 min by road
  2. FinlagganFinlagganThe loch where the MacDonald Lords of the Isles ruled the western seaboard, with a walkway to their island and its chapel.2 miles6 min by road
  3. Port AskaigPort AskaigIslay's northern ferry port, a tiny white village on the Sound of Islay, half a mile across the water from Jura.3 miles6 min by road
  4. Caol Ila DistilleryCaol Ila DistilleryThe distillery on the Sound of Islay near Port Askaig, the Islay Home of Johnnie Walker, looking across to Jura.3 miles8 min by road
  5. Bunnahabhain DistilleryBunnahabhain DistilleryIslay's unpeated exception, at the end of a long road on the Sound of Islay, looking across to the Paps of Jura.6 miles18 min by road
Directions
Masked woman packs boxes in a pottery studio lined with unglazed ceramics and paint bottlesShoppingPersabus Pottery, Ceramics and Art2.3 miles
Peatzeria's whitewashed building on Shore Street, Bowmore, with its belfry and pointed windows.RestaurantsPeatzeria7.7 miles
The whitewashed front of the Bowmore Hotel on Jamieson Street, its name across the gable.RestaurantsBowmore Hotel7.8 miles
The long white building of the Celtic House on the corner, its windows along two streets.ShoppingThe Celtic House7.8 miles
The Harbour Inn and its neighbours by the harbour in Bowmore, the loch beyond.RestaurantsHarbour Inn7.9 miles
Bowmore, Isle of IslayAttractionsBowmore7.9 miles
Bowmore Distillery, Isle of IslayAttractionsBowmore Distillery7.9 miles
Camus an Staca standing alone on the moor above the Sound of Jura.AttractionsCamus an Staca8.6 miles
White-washed Bruichladdich Distillery buildings with turquoise-framed windows and a tall chimneyAttractionsBruichladdich Distillery11 miles
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