Caol Ila and the Sound of Islay – Port Askaig and Finlaggan
A day by car, from Bowmore and back.
The route
The Sound of Islay is the narrow strait between Islay and Jura, where the tide runs fast and the Paps of Jura rise beyond the far shore.
Caol Ila is named after it in Gaelic and stands right on its shore. A few miles inland, on a loch among the fields, are the islands where the Lords of the Isles once held court. This is a day for one distillery and the quiet north-east corner of the island around it.
Before you go
Book the Caol Ila tour first and set the rest of the day round its start time; its opening days change with the season.
The day
Islay
The day starts and ends in Bowmore and is short at the wheel, under an hour and a half in all. The distillery is its one fixed point; the rest is unhurried, with Jura across the water for much of the way.
1 hr 22 min at the wheelAbout 35 miles
Caol Ila Distillery
An attraction
It's 23 minutes' drive from Bowmore up the A846 to Caol Ila, whose name is the Gaelic for the Sound of Islay. The distillery has stood on that shore since 1846, and its whisky goes into Johnnie Walker. Book the tour before you fix your day. With a tour after midday, go to Finlaggan and lunch first, then come to Caol Ila for your tour and leave Bunnahabhain out. The side roads here are single track with passing places. Whoever drives drinks nothing.
6 min by car
Port Askaig
An attraction
Port Askaig is 6 minutes' drive on, up to the main road and down the hill: a hotel, a shop and a pier, with Jura about half a mile off across the Sound. Lunch is at the Port Askaig Hotel, which serves food through the day; ring ahead. If it's full, the Ballygrant Inn, 7 minutes' drive on and just past the Finlaggan turning, serves lunch too. For the mainland ferry, check on CalMac's site which Islay port your sailing uses, and allow for the drive from it.
10 min by car
Finlaggan
An attraction
It's 10 minutes' drive to Finlaggan: a little over two miles from Port Askaig, before Ballygrant, turn right at the sign; the road's last stretch is gravel. This was the seat of the Lords of the Isles in the 1300s and 1400s, with ruins on two islands in the loch. A field path and a timber walkway reach Eilean Mòr, the larger, in about ten minutes; the smaller, Eilean na Comhairle, is the Council Island. Go in daylight.
16 min by car
Bunnahabhain
An attraction
Drive 16 minutes back along the A846 and north on the long road to Bunnahabhain, for the Sound and the Paps of Jura from further up the shore. The road ends in the yard of Bunnahabhain distillery, which is another firm's: ask at its shop where to leave the car, then look from the shore by the pier. In the short days of winter, or if the afternoon has run late, leave this out and drive from Finlaggan straight to Bowmore, 21 minutes.
27 min by car
Bowmore Round Church
It's 27 minutes' drive back down that road and along the A846 to Bowmore, where the Round Church stands at the top of Main Street. It was built in 1767, round, the story goes, so the devil had no corner to hide in. Go in if the door is open. From the church the street runs straight down to the pier on Loch Indaal. Dinner is at the Bowmore Hotel, which serves from 5.30pm, with Peatzeria on Shore Street as the second choice. Ring ahead for either.
If it rains
Rain changes the morning little: the tour and lunch are both under a roof. At Finlaggan the path and the walkway are open to the weather, so take waterproofs, and the visitor centre is the shelter when it is open. If cloud is down on Jura there is no view to drive for, so leave the road to Bunnahabhain out and go from Finlaggan straight to Bowmore, 21 minutes, for the Round Church and an early table.
Worth a detour
- Ardnahoe Distillery
Ardnahoe stands beside the Bunnahabhain road, 13 minutes' drive from Finlaggan and 5 minutes short of the road end, so stopping adds next to nothing at the wheel. It is another firm's distillery. Its shop opens from 9.30am to 5pm and its café from 10am to 4pm, Tuesday to Saturday, with coffee, tea and soft drinks as well as whisky; both are shut on Sundays and Mondays.
- Persabus Pottery, Ceramics and Art
Persabus is a farm 3 minutes' drive up the hill from Port Askaig, with a pottery and art studio where pieces are painted by hand. The studio opens from noon to 4pm, Tuesday to Friday, and noon to 3pm on Saturdays. Finlaggan is 9 minutes on from it, so calling in adds about 2 minutes at the wheel.
