Haven't written in a bit because we have been adventuring as usual! we took the 4 hour ferry from Isle of Islay to Oban, on the mainland of Scotland. It was a beautiful ride, super windy and felt like classic Scotland. Everyone has been telling us the nice weather we have had is rather unusual so it was nice to feel the "real" weather a little bit. We stopped in at Oban Distillery, of course, and then headed up the coast to Skye. We got in late-ish to our B&B and Peter greeted us saying "I thought I was expecting French people!" Because of our last name. :)
We are in the cutest little B&B on the harbor at Portree. Excellent full Scottish breakfasts every morning. Our hosts have been super helpful in suggestions for our day trips.
Yesterday we made it to Talisker Distillery, #10! We took in the gorgeous scenery, got a little lost in the hills, literally, and enjoyed walking through the town. We also did a short hike to the Fairy Pools (aka waterfalls) which were beautiful. The clearest water I have ever seen, in a series of waterfalls through a small valley, with sheep grazing at the foot of the mountain. :)
Today we went and hiked up to the Old Man of Storr, among the sheep! Some of those sheep were braver than me with how high they were climbing. Gorgeous hike, cant wait to share pictures! Got lost again trying to find another hike, found Kilt Rock, another waterfall this time shooting over a cliff into the sea. Had a picnic by another harbor town, found a brewery (more on their lackluster beer later) and then came back early to pack :(
Was up to the guys to figure out how to get all their Scotch in our bags for the trip home...
Tomorrow we drive to the Inverness airport, fly to London, then to Iceland for 17 hrs. Then from Iceland home. Probably wont have WiFi in between, but who knows. We get home Sunday eve!
Showing posts with label distillery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label distillery. Show all posts
Friday, October 18, 2013
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Bunnahabhain is a fun name, but Bruichladdich is better.
What a day! We enjoyed a lovely breakfast here at the B&B, full Scottish country breakfast with eggs, potato cake, beans, bacon and sausage, coffee, tea, OJ and toast. Kept us fueled for our morning of exploration.
We drive to the wildlife sanctuary and saw the thousands of Barnacle Geese who have come down from Iceland. Never have seen that many birds at once. Was quite the experience to hear them and see them take off when startled...there is a Golden Eagle that likes to dive into them and Jeff and James saw him startle he geese a few times but I didn't catch it. We walked out to a hide closer to the Loch they were all on, and the hide overlooked a cow pasture and the cows came straight up to the windows of the hide. It was super fun and relaxing. Beautiful skies and weather again! Drove through the countryside, seeing the other side of the Island, toward the Atlantic. Gorgeous blue ocean, ended up near a sandy beach! Grabbed some lunch from a distillery's cafe and picnicked beside the water. Gorgeous. Then I got a chance to drive so the guys could enjoy their Scotch freely. Easier on the small one lane roads, eased into it before we made into some bigger towns, but it is really quite easy on this island. Never-ending stunning views ... Learning a lot about the scotch whiskies, finding several new favorites. At Bruichladdich Distillery, Jeff decided on a type of Scotch to get, and he got to fill his own bottle straight from the cask! So exciting. Then we stopped by the Islay Woolen Mill, the smallest textile mill in all of Britain. We met the owner, and he showed us around, from his old spinning machines, to the weavers. He makes all the wool tartans for the distilleries on the island (they each have their own) and has made wool items for 17 movies, including Braveheart. I found my wool blanket! He grabbed it from upstairs and stuck a label on just for us. Now enjoying our last evening on Islay, before our 4 hour ferry journey to Oban and drive up to Isle of Skye tomorrow. I left out details of some of the other distilleries we have gone to, because we officially hit all 8 on the island in these 2 days! Big check off Jeff's bucket list.
We drive to the wildlife sanctuary and saw the thousands of Barnacle Geese who have come down from Iceland. Never have seen that many birds at once. Was quite the experience to hear them and see them take off when startled...there is a Golden Eagle that likes to dive into them and Jeff and James saw him startle he geese a few times but I didn't catch it. We walked out to a hide closer to the Loch they were all on, and the hide overlooked a cow pasture and the cows came straight up to the windows of the hide. It was super fun and relaxing. Beautiful skies and weather again! Drove through the countryside, seeing the other side of the Island, toward the Atlantic. Gorgeous blue ocean, ended up near a sandy beach! Grabbed some lunch from a distillery's cafe and picnicked beside the water. Gorgeous. Then I got a chance to drive so the guys could enjoy their Scotch freely. Easier on the small one lane roads, eased into it before we made into some bigger towns, but it is really quite easy on this island. Never-ending stunning views ... Learning a lot about the scotch whiskies, finding several new favorites. At Bruichladdich Distillery, Jeff decided on a type of Scotch to get, and he got to fill his own bottle straight from the cask! So exciting. Then we stopped by the Islay Woolen Mill, the smallest textile mill in all of Britain. We met the owner, and he showed us around, from his old spinning machines, to the weavers. He makes all the wool tartans for the distilleries on the island (they each have their own) and has made wool items for 17 movies, including Braveheart. I found my wool blanket! He grabbed it from upstairs and stuck a label on just for us. Now enjoying our last evening on Islay, before our 4 hour ferry journey to Oban and drive up to Isle of Skye tomorrow. I left out details of some of the other distilleries we have gone to, because we officially hit all 8 on the island in these 2 days! Big check off Jeff's bucket list.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)