(Very Belated) Islay Whisky Festival 2018 - Part 3

What was supposed to be one blog post has turned into at least three, now. Thanks for sticking with me. Hopefully I'll get us back home in this one... let's see how I do

Tuesday - Laphroaig (technically)

Tuesday is Laphraoig day however because I'd already bought my bottle earlier in the week, and because most times I've been to that day it hasn't been that great, and also because I was finally feeling better we chose to completely miss the day and do our own thing.

Looking along Bruichladdich pier with the Paps of Jura behind

A really stunning location for this distillery

Thelma venturing into the water

About as deep as I got

After a relaxing start, with no alarm call (always a pleasure) we made our way Bruichladdich to pick up the festival bottle without the queue, and also to enjoy the beautiful location. It was deserted and we spent a little time paddling and wondering around admiring every stunning angle of the place. It really is one of my favourite spots on Islay. The water is totally clear but very very cold.

Louise in midair chasing Thelma chasing the ball

Thelma pounces on the ball

Louise sniffing around the sand dunes

Pensive Beard and the lighthouse

The graveyard above the beach

From here we made our way across the island and parked up by the singing sands. We actually stopped to pour the diesel from the jerry can into Thomas which was a really messy process without the correct nozzle attachment. With this done we went onto the lovely sandy beach there and threw the ball for Thelma and Louise to chase, while paddling a bit ourselves to wash the diesel stink off our hands and feet.

The old tomb, such a great location

A big coo chewing the grass

Walking the path up towards the monument

Looking down to the sea from the cliffs (and nearly being blown away)

Ireland in the distance (before and after photoshop cleaning up)

Looking at A taking a stroll

Taking lunch

On our way back to the car, looking back at the monument

Apparently there was a Golden Eagle near those distant cliffs

Cows enjoying the view

Strolling back along the path

From there we headed further up the road towards the American Monument, stopping on the way to visit the ancient looking gravesite by the side of the road. We parked up and overtook the RSPCA tour that was just getting going from the carpark, warlking along the well prepared path towards the monument. It was a stunning day, though the strong winds that had been pretty continual through the week were really strong on the edge of the cliffs. We strolled around for a little while, and I got a super-zoom picture of Ireland, and then settled down for our lunch just tucked down out of the wind. I then relaxed while A took the puppies off for a stroll. It was an absolutely wonderful time and a perfect way to spend a lunch and time aftewards. We then strolled on further along the circular walk, going past a group of bird spotters watching a golden eagle on the distant cliffs, and enjoying seeing the huge Highland Cows, and goats, that were roaming the moorland.

Tuesday night and Wednesday - Bowmore and Islay Ales

On our way back we went to Bowmore planning on doing some shopping, going to a pub for food, and getting back to the distillery for about 8pm to start queuing. This plan did not work out.

Wrapped up warm for Bowmore queue

As we drove past the distillery just looking for somewhere to park we saw that there was already a queue, and not a small one either. We wouldn't even get to be under the porch! I jumped out the car and went to take a place while a struggled to park up. Craziness; I've never seen it like it was. We actually have no pictures as it was a surprisingly uninteresting night. The fact that so many had come so early meant the "usual crew" were not together at the front and the party just never got started so both of us got into our beds (I was inside the bivvy) and slept the night away. The next morning we got our tickets, though a very large number of people queuing actually missed out - the queue eventually went all the way to the high street and down towards the quay! We were first in line, however, to the queue that matters - the one to buy the bottle, so I ended up buying two of the expensive one and they were the lowest purchased numbers for this year.

The Islay Ales yard

Walking through Islay House grounds

The kitchen gardens for Islay House, now a community project

The traditional Islay Ales celebration photograph

From Bowmore we went straight to Islay Ales where I helped set up as I like to do, showed A around the beautiful grounds of the Islay House (that is just behind where they are) and took her to the kitchen gardens which is a magical place. They now supply quite a few places on Islay with freshly grown produce. There are a few art supply places in the yard the party takes place in and A enjoyed visiting them all, even buying some art supplies which was great. We spent some lovely time with Mox and his Mrs once more, but were driven off eventually by the terrible band and the fact we needed to go get showered and ready for the evening. Islay Ales special beer for the day was AMAZING and I have a box of it downstairs now waiting for Christmas.

At the table, having a great time

My starter - scallops

Lamb for main course, as usual

A dark chocolate tart for dessert

The cheese board I could have had

Wednesday night we were booked into the Port Charlotte hotel for our traditional Friends meal. This year we were few in number however the night was really awesome and the food was, as always, outstanding. Islay Bart had brought his lovely new young lady, the first time I'd met her (or any of us had, actually) while Kevin had his mate Dave who was a top bloke we had had a lot of fun with during the week. We headed back to the campsite very satisfied, and had a Caravan Whisky Tasting until it got too dark to see (we couldn't get any electric working in the caravan) which was a fantastic time, with Steve and his Minions joining us as well.

Thursday - Kilchoman

Kilchoman is my favourite distillery on the island and I always look forward to their open day. I also always try to be front of the queue there but with the later night the night before we decided to just see when I woke and go as quickly after that as possible...

In my rightful place at the front of the queue

We were only alone for about 20 minutes or so

The line of cars extends down the road

Thelma getting filthy during play

People queuing for the festival bottle

They've got a brand new combine harvester

... of course I was up really early and we were first in line. A had a little snooze in the car while I set up by the gate and read. It was a bit chilly to start, the worst day of the week, and there was actually some rain which was not welcome, however soon enough more people arrived and the staff were in early, waving as they drove past. We drove up to the carpark this time, not being in a hurry to leave and also because of the puppies so they could go in the car if it got too much (which it did with there being a few other dogs around. We stayed actually a little longer than planned, saying goodbye to Kevin and Dave, and to Stevie and his Minions, who were getting a ferry that afternoon. I had to get my picture taken next to the big combine harvester; this business is doing really well and fair play to them.

Overcast as we got to Machir Bay

Reflections of the bluffs in the wet sand

Surf, and a crazy person out in it

Puppies having a great time on the beach

My attempt to recreate the 2015 picture

The picture from 2015... some difference...

The shipwreck seems to be sinking into the sand

A set up to do some painting outside

Puppies exploring the dunes

Such a talented woman; I am very proud of her

Once we had said our farewells to everyone we packed up and finally made our way to Machir bay. It was a chillier day than Friday, when I had originally hoped to get there, but still lovely and the puppies had a great time chasing a ball and running around on the sand. I attempted to recreate the picture from three years ago of them with the shipwreck, and both of them stacked it into deep water when they misjudged a jump. It was lovely but then we went back to the car, got A's art stuff, and set her up at a particularly stunning spot in the sand dunes. She painted while I snoozed and the puppies explored. Such a peaceful way to spend an afternoon.

Relaxing with a cup of tea with Bart

Taking a stroll around their land

Louise is my celebration here

Having such a great time with this one

The happy group, around a loaded table

With the painting done we packed up and went back to the caravan to get a shower and get ready for the meal at Steve's house that night. We found it without getting lost and enjoyed a lovely evening with friends in a stunning location (the house looks out across the bay and the pictures that he posts on facebook on a daily basis make me very jealous) and then had a really lovely meal inside to hide from the mozzies. The selfie was taken by Bart as I completely failed to get everyone in shot.

Friday - Bunnahabhain

Bunna is similar to Caol Ila in that there is a bus laid on to take you down the narrow road to the distillery, and this means that I rarely rush to get there. This year I had already bought the festival bottling however I heard that there was a Distillery Day special release, and promised to get one of each for Mox, and so this delay to reach the bus cost me a long time queuing.

A enjoying the mussels

Puppies with the tall ship in the background

The tall ship, Thalassa

By the shipwreck

We did have no rush down, which was nice, however the shop only had one till and I was stood for about 1.5 hours to get the bottles. With them purchased I could finally enjoy the location (though the weather wasn't as perfect as when we'd been down earlier in the week) while A enjoyed some mussels as is traditional on Bunna Day. I was able to leave my purchases with Konrad, my mate the photographer who we had seen throughout the week. I do hope he gets to visit us sometime. Typing this reminds me I need to ask him for the picture he took of us in the Kilhcoman queue. We strolled round the headland to the Bunna Shipwreck, which was a bit tough in the footwear we had chosen. When we went to pick up our stuff before heading back to the car Konrad gave us a lovely gift of a print of one of his pictures, which was so awesome of him.

Walking towards Finlaggan Loch

On the administrative island the daises mark the path

One of the ruined buildings

Thelma cautiously paddles

The Loch is very reedy and peaty

Beautiful gardens at Bridgend Hotel

About to enjoy my pie and chips

Digging into another awesome hot chocolate

The sun goes down in a stunning display

After lunch at Bunnahabhain we made our way back to the car via the minibus and then drove to Finlaggen, the Isle of the Western Kings. We were lucky to arrive when there was no one else in the visitor centre, so got a short walk around with the lady there, and then make our way across the marshland to the island to find that it was deserted also. We strolled around taking our time and enjoying the peace and quiet, and sense of history. On our way back to the car we met up with Derek and Fiona and a few others who had decided to make the same tour. We wrapped up an absolutely wonderful day by booking in to the Bridgend Hotel for dinner, a place I always try to visit but had thought we wouldn't manage to fit in. The gardens there are stunning and we had time before our table was free to sit in them and enjoy them. The drive back topped everything off with a stunning sunset. That was a day to remember!

Saturday - Ardbeg

As is always the case, all too soon it was Saturday and the final day on the island. It always seems to take ages to get to Wednesday then the last few days fly by. That is the nature of holidays, though; they end.

The dressed up staff from Ardbeg gather to welcome us

Distillery dressed up, in a slight fog

Smokies on the go

We packed ourselves up at the campsite and were in no rush at all to get to Ardbeg but still arrived before the doors opened. There was a queue, but it was OK (and our friends were right at the front taking spot number one; I was proud of them) and after the welcome message from a crowd of Ardbeg employees dressed in crazy 70s outfits we went inside where I joined the queue for a bottle. It's so unusual, being far back in the queue, but it was a good thing this time because I got a nudge to get the really special bottle they were selling, a single cask and the first time for 10 years one has been released by Ardbeg. The rest of the time there was spent sat on the green, eating Ardbeg Smokies (Louise enjoyed her share but Thelma refused!) amd generally relaxing. We had left the caravan in a carpark on the way to our ferry but when we got there some jobsworth was complaining it was a private carpark - there were no signs but never mind. We got to Port Askaig in plenty of time and had fish and chips on the lawn, though I was still full from my Smokies. Soon enough we were sat on the ferry and sailing away from Ardbeg, feeling a bit sad to be leaving but what a great time it had been!

The journey home

And so that was that. Now the minor task of driving back across Europe but first we had two awesome visits to make to some of A's friends. The drive down was easy but we did see something sad. As we were going past Loch Lomand there was an accident in the distance and it turned out to be one of the motorbikers we had seen on Islay, I was on nodding terms with him, and his bike was in a ditch. He was stood up and looking OK but it was really sad to see someone's holiday end like that.

Waberer's truck in the rain

Milestone mileage reached

The rest of the drive down was through very heavy rain until we got near Manchester then it brightened up. We were heading towards London to our first stop which was to Dee and we had a lovely time, took the puppies for a walk around their area through some parks, sat in the back garden in the sun and drank whisky; I shared some that I'd bought on Islay and they enjoyed it. We then had a chinese, much to A's delight, and slept really well in the caravan. The next morning we spent the morning trying to find someone to look at the indicators on the caravan as between Islay and London one had stopped working. Eventually we found a lovely bloke who saw us at his house, on his day off, and tracked the problem down to a leaking seal around the light fitting and some corrosion on the light bulb clamp. That took an hour of him fiddling to find. Anyway with a now fully functional caravan we headed further south to our next stop. We arrived a bit early and I got a kip while A went to find the shops and have a walk. When her friend got home I went to meet them and we had a lovely time again, good food and good company. We were going for the night ferry so weren't stopping overnight but still left a bit later than planned. Good company is like that.

Glorious weather for the most part

But then it rained, and how!

Romanian mountains

The dam on the Danube

Friendly dog at the parking spot

We managed to get on an ferry almost immediately and were across and into France during the night. Our plan was to drive up to Mechelen for breakfast with Cis. We made it with some rests but were later than planned as I was pretty exhausted and needed to stop and sleep a couple of times. We were there in time to meet his wife just as she was leaving for an appointment and then sat for a lovely breakfast prepared by Cis and served with English tea. He then gave us a walking tour of his lovely house that he is nearly finished building and then we had to get on the road to continue our drive. We made superb progress and were bouncing along happily all the way across Europe. There was a cloud burst of stupendous proportions as we left Austria and entered Hungary; it has been 30 plus degrees and sweltering and then it was 15 degrees and raining so hard we almost had to pull over. We made it to Romania with no dramas and took the shorter route through that avoided all the pain of the bad roads and is so much quicker. We stopped at the wishing well halt place that I'd stopped with my parents at on the first drive but when we went to look at it we found it nailed shut and a with a prostitute stood by it. There was very friendly dog in the car park that A fed and then we were back on the road. Nearly home.

Crossing the bridge to home

Sat in the garage, reading

A in the shade doing a painting

Louise waiting for A to get back from the shop

And again, just waiting for A

Annandale water; the painting that A did

We got to the Bulgarian border and queued up in the slow moving line of cars. The temperature rose and was soon above 40 degrees but eventually we were at the front and through really quickly. It was slightly later, after we'd stopped for fuel and when we were about to climb into some high mountains that I noticed something was wrong with Thomas - the engine temperature was reading low and the battery indicator was dropping. I diagnosed a busted alternator and we struck out for the nearest town, sadly over about 80km of steep, winding, terribly surfaced mountain roads. We made it but it took two garages and two rude "go away" responses before we pulled up at a place where they said "sure, pull him in" and got to work straight away. We put the caravan on the road outside, which was very convenient, and settled down to wait. There was a shop within walking distance that we went up to, the staff were really helpful and welcoming, and all in all if you were going to break down it was far from the worst place to happen. The delay in total was just over 24 hours as they had to order the part, but the cost was less than expected. A even left a painting there as the owner commented on the one she was doing at the time so she gifted it to him.

Once we got on the road I drove pretty much non-stop to get home, arriving eventually at about 1am. Our house sitter was still up and we had a brew before I had to go and sleep.

The holiday was amazing, every moment is treasured. I'm glad I have finally made time to go through the pictures and write up these three updates. I hope you enjoyed reading them as well. Cheers.