Outdoor Photography: Island Journal Pt 15

In Outdoor Photography magazine, Issue 143, September 2011, T remembers Islay.

Islay - day 9 - Ballygrant, Port Askaig, Caol Ila

Ballygrant - yellow poppies in dry-stone walls - woodland walk - successful search for a cuckoo - lilly pads bobbing up like fish - tour of Caol Illa - a double taste of fermentation in a tin beaker - coffee with a backpacker at the Bridgend Hotel - blue spray rhododendron control 

Islay - day 8 - Loch Gruinart

RSPB Loch Gruinart rookery

The Flats - ferry friends - RSPB walk - one man's love for bats, moths and lichen - a glorious tree creeper - swallows, sand martins, house martins and swifts in fast forward - lunch in a farmer's field - coffee and a bus ride home   

Islay - day 7 - Bruichladdich & Bridgend

Bridgend bluebells

Walk to Bruichladdich - sunglasses in a wash back - taste of the rocks - whisky sofa to coffee corner - windy beach to Bridgend - lunch on a bench in the wood - grey wagtail crossing the river - Islay House Square - free beer

Islay - day 6 - Bridgend & Bowmore

Bowmore Distillery water pipes

Bridgend woods - butterflies warming up in the sun - cashmere scarf at Islay Woollen Mill - birdwatchers carrying out a count - wrong turn among the trees - lift from a Romanian chef wearing shades - Bowmore distillery tour - a whisky between four - round church  

Islay - day 5 - to Portnahaven via Lossit Bay

Lossit Bay

Agitated cows - field of daisies and lambs - beach you want to run to - shoes and socks off - icy water - road to Portnahaven - Mediterranean feel - resident seals on the rocks - elderly TV critics on the bus

Islay - day 4 - to Machir Bay & back

Four layers, and two pairs of trousers - hot - circular farm dwelling - leech - Machir Bay - hot - fine mist of sea spray - shipwreck - roofless church and fertility stone - hot - buzzard on a fence post - lighthouse and Port Charlotte - hot

Islay - day 3 - on to Port Charlotte

Wowpaca

Islay - day 2 - the distilleries

whisky barrels

3 distilleries in 3 miles: Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Ardbeg - two single malts before 11am - William from Montreal - a handful of peat smoked barley - our first otter sighting after 7 weeks - clootie dumpling and cream - Slumdog Millionaire inside a lorry

Islay - day 1 - the Oa peninsular

Kilnaughton Bay

Porridge - a dog called Islay - a stream darkened with peat - gannets plunging into the sea - boggy heath and scratchy heather - frustrated wanderings without a track - a near miss fording a stream - marsh marigolds in a protective wire nest - the scent of garlic and coconut - burgers in the rain  

Colonsay - day 7 - ferry to Islay

Colonsay Estate Garden Cafe

Rain, rain, rain. Wait, wait, wait - lemon drizzle cake and coffee - stories exchanged - radio silence - rough sea - straight road