(Very Belated) Islay Whisky Festival 2018 - Part 2

As promised I'm back and at least going to try and finish this long update; yesterday we reached our point of arrival at Port Ellen on Islay so in this update I'll do my best go get us home again, but it may yet have to split down even more. I still have over 600 pictures to go through.

Friday - Arrival

The first thing we did on getting to the island was go and pitch up the caravan at the campsite; it was lovely driving from Port Ellen to Port Charlotte with A for her first time on the island, seeing the sights (and sites) that I know so well, and sharing the beauty of the place with her. It was love at first sight for her as well; this place is so worth a visit if you have never been.

Hot Chocolate Amaze Face

The sun goes down over the campsite

With the caravan situated, and the bill for the week paid, we headed up to Kilchoman for my traditional lunch at their cafe and with the plan to then go on to Machir Bay with the puppies and get a picture to recreate the one we have on our bedroom wall. Unfortunately my sore throat and cold came back with a vengeance and I actually could barely manage to finish my Culleen Skink and hot chocolate. We also had not been allowed to have the puppies with us at the table (they were allowed three years previously, I'm sure?) and were worried about them in the car. The food was lovely, though, and again sharing that was so cool for me. I just wished I'd felt better. We went straight back to the caravan afterwards where I rested and hoped to recover for the morning. The sunset was stunning and so it was time to sleep for an early start.

Saturday - Lagavulin

Visiting Islay with me during the Whisky Festival involves early mornings as I try to beat the queues and be as close to the front as possible. Saturday was a shock to the system for A and we were 6th and 7th in line when we finally arrived at the distillery at about 6.30; sadly I missed out on the super secret dram though some of my friends, who were ahead in the queue, let me sip from their dram and it was superb!

Stood at the front with the usual suspects

Looking out to sea from Lagavulin Quay

The puppies having fun on the green by Lagavulin

A queue finally developed

Fluffy water on the fast flowing stream

Coopering at Lagavulin

It was so lovely to meet up with Mox and Nik again, and also make friends out of faces I'd seen before, and we had a good time waiting at the front for the doors to open. A took a stroll with the puppies to get pictures down by the quay and generally stretched her legs and explored while I chatted and sipped my splash of whisky. As 10am approached the queue finally started to grow after a slow start. Then we heard the piper start up inside and so did Louise, who cocked her head and stared at the doors. A had taken position just a bit away, down the exit ramp, and we were both in tears of laughter when, as soon as the piper appeared through the doors and stood piping us in to the shop, Louise threw her head back and sang along at the top of her voice. She has a rather large voice for such a small puppy and she could be clearly heard over the top of the pipes. Several people in the queue were filming and taking photographs and afterwards she was a bit of a celebrity because of this. That puppy is awesome. After my purchase we took a stroll around the grounds, watched some coopering (though it wasn't a talking demo which was a shame) and then decided to head off to let the puppies have some play time.

Having lots of fun on a pebbly beach

Louise at full speed

A strolling along the beach

A peaty stream flowing into the sea

Thelma with her new frisbee

Happy Thelma with a tiny tongue tip showing

Louise is also very happy and licking her lips

Thelma barking at her new ball

We drove out past Ardbeg distillery and onwards down the lane I went two years ago with CJC. Finally we parked at the same place we had camped and took the puppy toy bag onto the beach. I was still feeling a little unwell and so didn't do much running around but I was having great fun watching both the girls running around having so much fun. Thelma even voluntarily went in the sea! Video evidence has been provided. It was a really awesome time, so peaceful and the weather was glorious and warm, but then we noticed Thelma was leaving bloody footprints and discovered that she had cut the pads of her feet on the pebbles so that prompted us to pack up to prevent further damage; she hadn't given any indication that she was hurt at all!

Driving back from the beach

A watching the seals through the binoculars

Cooling off in the waves

A large bird watches on

The colony on the rocks

Such an awesome thing to witness

Looking up towards the Circular Church in Bowmore

A very lovely dinner time

On our way back towards the campsite we happened to notice some seals sunbathing on rocks out in the bay so immediately parked up to look. It was magical watching them and A even got to get her binoculars out which proved very suitable. I attached the super zoom for my camera to get some closer shots as well. We stayed for quite a while before driving on. We stopped past Bowmore for some shopping, and saw my friends who live in the centre which was really nice. Unfortunately we weren't able to catch up with them at all during the week but it was awesome to say hello at least. Then it was back to the caravan for dinner (tasty pasta with some Islay Ales on the side) and a relatively early night as I was still feeling a bit rubbish.

Sunday - Bruichladdich

Bruichladdich day is a party day on the island, falling as it does on the bank holiday Sunday. I love it mainly for the Islay Pipe Band.

Tucked out of the howling gale at Bruichladdich gate

Louise is clearly very happy with her hat

Coaches pull up with people for the queue

As always it was a very good crowd

A joined another queue, for the toilet this time

The Islay Pipe Band (video below)

Thalassa spreads her wings for the open sea

It is not a crazily early start for Sunday as the doors do not open until midday so we made our way up there after breakfast and were first in line at about 8am or so. Not long afterwards we were joined by more people and the queue grew pretty quickly. It was VERY windy and we were pleased to be first in line and to get tucked around the corner out of the worst of it but still I had to wrap up, and keep the puppies warm as well. They were unhappy because a little puffball chihuahua dog was with the first people to arrive and the whole week there was a love/hate relationship going on there. The beach is close, and sandy, there however so A was able to take them for walks to stretch their legs and get them away from the little non-dog. It was predictably jam packed inside but we got a few beers, and a superb position for the band, and all in all had a really lovely day. I was feeling rather jaded and spent almost as much time on the beach with the puppies as I did in the yard but that also was fine. Because I had been unwell I had only had one beer, and that early on, so I was good to drive us home which saved a long walk. The tall ship was heading up the loch on its way to the next location and the super zoom got another outing.

It was a brilliant day, only spoiled by a group of Belgian idiots who decided to continue the party until the early hours, prompting a group of other campers eventually to run out of patience and ask them to shut up. They were very belligerent and one of them thought he was a big man and could lean on me; suffice to say I said my piece and went back to bed and the next morning had them thrown off the site. Idiots.

Monday - Caol Ila

Monday is always a more relaxed day as Caol Ila is not a distillery you need to rush to beat the queues. They have parking in a field on the main road and provide a free shuttle bus from there to the distillery down the very windy and narrow lane that serves it.

Taken from the quay at Caol Ila

Looking across to the Paps of Jura

We had a tour at Kilchoman booked on the Monday afternoon and were undecided if we'd try and do Caol Ila before or after that. In the end we were up early enough to get to Caol Ila first but only just; as we parked there was no one waiting for the bus but by the time we reached the pickup point there were about fifty people ahead of us! It was well worth it to get down there, though, and show A another beautiful location looking across to Jura.

Setting off on our Kilchoman Tour

The Spirit Locker at Kilchoman, running fast in the heart

Sharing out New Spirit, still warm from the still

The Head Warehouseman rolls a barrel

Anthony and a bottle of water

Barrels (we tried the 2nd one back)

Post Tasting Snooze

We made it back to the car in time to drop the puppies off back at the caravan, with a key left for Kevin to check on them if he could, and then all the way back up to Kilchoman without being late. We then waited for those who were late to arrive before starting the Founders Tour which turned out to be just about the most perfect tour I could have chosen as the only one I took A on while on Islay. The owner, Anthony, first of all gave us a talk about the motivations and startup of the distillery, which was fascinating, and then took us on a tour of the facilities (which I always love doing) and finally we ended in the warehouse with a really amazing cask tasting, the scotch being pulled direct from the cask and shared around. Finally, as if I wasn't already drunk enough, we had another tasting, this time a barrel top with several different retail bottles, where we could contrast these with the single cask drams we'd had earlier. It was amazing and I was so pleased that A could drive as always in the past I've missed out on the full experience. When we got back to the caravan I pulled a rug out and snoozed in the sun. Heaven. That was a good day, and I was slowly starting to feel better as well.

Right - that has reached 40 pictures, with a few videos, and so I think that is long enough for this update. You'll have to wait until tomorrow for the next installment.

Thanks for reading.

(Very Belated) Islay Whisky Festival 2018 - Part 1

Wow this IS belated. I should probably have been writing this about 3 weeks ago but having got back from what was a wonderful awesome and amazing holiday, sitting down and spending more time than necessary at my desk wasn't really on my list of "good ideas". I also struggled quite a lot to get back into a good frame of mind, something that I cracked a week ago thank goodness, and so now I am prompted to write this update because another one will have to be following very shortly afterwards as Bekir is currently in the house doing a few things before my parents visit next week.

Clearly I have a LOT of pictures from our four weeks away*, and clearly I will not be able to show everything so I'm going to split the time up into logical sections and try to express just how amazing awesome and wonderful this trip really was.

The journey over

After much umming and ahhing about whether we would take a caravan we did decide to in the end and this was largely a very good decision, apart from doubling our fuel costs and possibly contributing to the breakdown... but there I go getting ahead of myself again.

Setting off with puppies in their cage

On the bridge to Romania

Switchbacks on the mountain roads

Terrible weather, just before the accident

A drove us up to the north of Bulgaria where after a bit of hunting we found the home of the person who was hiring the caravan. They were not really ready but after some time we hitched with everything we'd need and got on the road. Because of driving license limitations I was now driving the entire way to Scotland but driving with A is a pleasure and I was looking forward to it. We took the route over the bridge into Romania near Ruse and made pretty good time, stopping briefly near Bucharest for a break in the same place as we had stopped on one of our other trips. Everything was going very well until we hit the mountains, it started to rain, and then a police car went flying past us on a blind bend and almost took out two cars coming the other way. We were not surprised to come to a complete standstill shortly after and stayed parked for 3 hours while the thunder roared and the rain fell heavily. A cooked some food, I slept in the caravan, then we were back on the road and saw the aftermath of two cars and a truck smashing into each other - not pleasant. This delay, and the fact the roads are not that good in Romania going that direction, meant it took near enough 24 hours to cross the country and we were so relieved to get out of Romania and into Hungary.

Look Dad - a bridge!

We greeted each and every Waberer's truck with a smile

A much nicer day in Hungary

Traveling in style

Sketching on the road

After Romania come Hungary and after the rain in Romania we drove into sunshine. As per our habit we got pictures of bridges and Waberer's trucks for my Dad. The road through Hungary is pretty flat and boring but that was perfect after the delays in Romania and we made really good time through this country. The puppies were really settled in their cage and actually we had no problems from them the entire trip; they are so good. A was finding it quite tough to just sit and do nothing for so long and dozed on and off however she did get her art stuff out and do some sketching which was super impressive to watch; talented, that one!

We enter Austria

These are the Green Option

Austrian roads are hilly, to say the least

Melk Monastery

Some sort of armoured tracked vehicle

With Hungary under our belts we swept in Austria and the land of the wind turbines. By this point the delays of Romania were well behind us and we were looking good again for our target of the Family Gathering at the end of the week. Austrians roads are very up and down and we drifted along not always being the slowest vehicle on the road, but certainly not feeling rushed. One beautiful sight, which A managed to get a good picture of from the moving car, is Melk Monastery; one day it would be nice to have the leisure to stop at these locations and visit them. Finally we drove past some tanks on tank transporters which me, being a boy, wanted pictures of. We made it to Germany before stopping for the night.

Bulgarian Military on the move

An airplane nearly on the bridge (if you look closely)

Bridge over the Rhine, for Dad again

I slept really well that night. Rather than have a fixed schedule we were doing the usual thing of "sleep until you wake up, drive until you're tired" and it worked out very well again for all the driving. The next day we  saw more military vehicles, this time some members of the Bulgarian Armed Forces heading our way. Germany was very uneventful, and we ALMOST saw an airplane going over the Frankfurt Airport bridge. We took another bridge picture for my Dad, this time over the Rhine, swept through the Netherlands, Belgium and France and made it onto a late ferry. Our really slow beginning ended with such a smooth journey that we spent that night driving slowly up the UK and stopping for two hours each in three different service stations. This was such a contrast to Europe where you can sleep in truck stops for as long as possible; I was actually woken by a jobs-worth talking on a walkie-talkie during one rest who was calling his mate over to bring the credit card machine. So much for "tiredness kills".

Travelling up through the UK

We arrived at my parents at about 6am eventually and managed to get the caravan down into their cul-de-sac with some fiddling about and pushing. I went to sleep and was woken by my dad with bacon; I was less pleased about this than I should have been really. I had quite the slow day and prepared myself for the main event, the family gathering on the Saturday.

My crazy wonderful family photograph

Now I was terrible and I only appear to have two photographs on my camera of the whole day, which is a travesty as it was awesome. I got to see my Nan again, which is always a highlight of any trip, and also meet my new nephew and my grand-nephew as well. The weather was wonderful, the puppies were very well behaved and so were the kids playing with them, and it was just a superb day all around. I've pulled out one picture for this to summarise the fun we had in the day - the reason for the lack of pictures was I was enjoying myself so much I didn't stop to get the camera.

Getting a game on with James

A lovely meal with friends as well

From my parents we headed up to Manchester and again there is a dearth of photographic evidence of what was a wonderful time. We arrived at John's very easily and managed to get the caravan pushed into his back garden parking space with the help of some friendly neighbours. Dinner was served and was a lovely lamb roast, and we got to spend time with his lovely lady and her kids. During our time in Manchester we met my old colleagues for a Rice 'n' Three (so good), went to James' gym again and died (and did we suffer - it took me four or five days to recover this time!) and also had some fun games against friends at a Wargaming centre in town. Unfortunately my attempt to record a live batrep failed due to terrible signal but still we had fun. 

Heading up the M6 to the lakes

Having the first of two pints!

This pub is really lovely

About to head out on a stroll around the campsite

Rabbits on the green

Sun goes down over Derwentwater

From Manchester we made our way further north past Blackpool and stopped at my studio up there, met up with Dan and his growing family (and had awesome pizza at a new place in town) and then went from there to the Lake District to camp for the night on our way even further north. This was a last minute decision and a very good one. We arrived in good time and drove down to the Twa Dogs pub for dinner, a favourite location for myself over the years. On getting back we took a stroll around the campsite and watched the sun go down, while enjoying the sight of wild rabbits running around everywhere. It was a glorious walk and we both went to bed feeling good.

A view from A's walk

The Dead Tree

Beautiful greenery and flowers

Puppies taking a rest

A very crowded Castlerigg Stone Circle

Me looking stylish

That night I woke after a couple of hours sleep with knives in my throat and proceeded to stay awake all night trying my best to not disturb A while coughing up phlegm and praying I would feel better very quickly. This was not the best of preparations for the drive the next day but that is life. A took a walk with the puppies in the morning while I slept in a bit more and she got some stunning photographs of what is one of the most beautiful parts of the UK. I wish I could have joined her but sleep took priority this time. We had to leave the campsite by midday and about two minute to we drove through the barriers and went up to the Castlerigg Stone Circle. Parking was a bit awkward and the plan to have lunch there bounced off the crowds but it was still lovely to have managed to show A this sight. We stopped by the side of the road on the way back to the M6 for lunch and a rest and then got our foot down to go up to Glasgow for a meal at our friend's restaurant.

Very happy to be in the 'laddich snug

A is happy with her chip (check out Thelma!)

A wonderful whisky Derek recommended

Treated ourselves to dessert

On the way we stopped at a very lovely service station called Annandale Water where I had a nap and then bought a cup for myself while A took the puppies while I slept, walked around the lake and did some painting. This was such a nice place to rest and I'd recommend it to anyone heading towards Scotland. Of course you still can only stay for two hours before having to pay. Our plan was dinner at Artisan Restaurant in Wishaw and we followed the satnav and found it very easily. Just as we pulled up outside and were wondering where to park our friend Derek, who owns it, pulled up in the opposite lane, greeted us, and gave us directions. This was the beginning of what was a wonderful evening with outstanding food, great company in a beautiful surroundings. And the whisky was wonderful also. I was still feeling quite rough, sadly, but it did not detract from the experience. I'll be looking forward to a return trip to Artisan for sure.

Driving past Loch Finnie

First in line... for the ferry before ours!

A heron flies past the jetty

We didn't get on this ferry, sadly

Finally arriving at Islay

We slept briefly in the caravan parked behind Artisan and were woken by some local youths who were wondering what we were doing in the caravan; I took that as our cue to leave and we headed further north, making our way to Loch Lomond before parking again in a layby and having a really wonderful sleep which left me feeling a lot recovered, though this didn't last. We arrived at the ferry port in time for the ferry before ours to arrive but unfortunately couldn't fit on so had to wait but that meant we shared the crossing with a couple of my very good friends, Islay Bart and Stevie with his Minions. The crossing was eventful and to quote Bart as we pulled in to Port Ellen "finally we are home, my friend" and it did feel like it; it was also very special that I was able to bring A with me this time and share this with her.

I've just finished the 40th photograph for this update so I think I'm going to finish this here and do a "part 2" to follow probably tomorrow. Thanks for reading, and I'll be back shortly.

* over 900 as it happens.