Isle of Islay Scotland http://isleofislay.posterous.com Information, blogs and images from the Scottish Isle of Islay posterous.com Wed, 18 May 2011 10:38:00 -0700 Improving Weather conditions on Islay http://isleofislay.posterous.com/improving-weather-conditions-on-islay http://isleofislay.posterous.com/improving-weather-conditions-on-islay

Sunday and Monday were miserable days, weatherwise that is. We haven't seen the sun and Tuesday wasn't much better although there were some dry spells. Today was a different story, there were some showers but some beautiful clear spells as well and we were glad we saw the sun again. We spent the morning having a nice beach walk at Machir Bay and in the afternoon we gave Annika a good time at the playground in Bowmore where we met the Lady of the Isles! Have a look at the very high tide of Loch Indaal, seen from Bridgend. Only two more days left before we leave for the mainland on Saturday morning.... 

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Sat, 14 May 2011 02:03:00 -0700 Rainbow over Loch Indaal Islay http://isleofislay.posterous.com/rainbow-over-loch-indaal-islay http://isleofislay.posterous.com/rainbow-over-loch-indaal-islay

We were having dinner with Mark and Helga from Islay Studios at Bruichladdich last Thursday when a beautiful rainbow appeared over Loch Indaal. I had my camera with me an took this image right outside their front door. 

Rainbow

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Mon, 09 May 2011 12:43:00 -0700 A Changeable Day on Islay http://isleofislay.posterous.com/a-changeable-day-on-islay http://isleofislay.posterous.com/a-changeable-day-on-islay

It was a special day today, we started off with friendly although very windy weather and it improved quite a bit later in the day so we enjoyed lots of sunshine and blue skies. Late in the afternoon (at five) a big shower arrived at Loch Indaal as you can see from the images below. We started off at Bowmore for some shopping, went to Kilchiaran Bay and Chapel for some walking, to Portnahaven for a coffee, to Port Charlotte for some playing (Port Mor) and then home but not before we stopped at Loch Indaal to watch the dramatic clouds and heavy rain shower coming in. You can follow our trail through the pictures, again all taken with the 10-20mm lens from James. I particularly like the two Kilchiaran pictures, the one of the interior of Kilchiaran Chapel and the other one of the cup-marked stone and chapel together, and the one of the shower arriving at Loch Indaal. Again another very nice day on Islay, weatherwise, picturewise and otherwise. See you tomorrow when I hopefully have some pictures of the peat cutting workshop on the Oa with Rachel MacNeill of Wild and Magic Islay.

 

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Tue, 11 Jan 2011 11:08:52 -0800 Evening Colours at Loch Indaal Islay http://isleofislay.posterous.com/evening-colours-at-loch-indaal-islay http://isleofislay.posterous.com/evening-colours-at-loch-indaal-islay
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Taken with picplz.

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Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:13:09 -0700 Another Great Day on Islay - Mainly at Port Ellen and Laphroaig http://isleofislay.posterous.com/another-great-day-on-islay-mainly-at-port-ell http://isleofislay.posterous.com/another-great-day-on-islay-mainly-at-port-ell

It was another fine day on Islay. It started with a beautiful sunrise and a rainbow and later on we visited Dunlossit Estate office where we found out that the last piggies left Islay last week. They will be missed! Then we found ourselves in and around Port Ellen where we had a couple of wee walks. Annika spent some time on the swings next to Ramsay Hall, I have been inside the Screen Machine for the first time which was nice. We have visited Laphroaig Distillery, seen many Geese at the head of Loch Indaal and in the afternoon we went to see the Hastings family in Port Charlotte where we had a great time and dinner! What a wonderful day it was as you can see from the images J

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Sun, 17 Oct 2010 13:25:00 -0700 Mixed day on Islay http://isleofislay.posterous.com/mixed-day-on-islay http://isleofislay.posterous.com/mixed-day-on-islay

It was a bit of a mixed day on Islay but generally it was a real autumn day. There were quite a few rain showers, although not heavy, there was mist, some wind and an occasional clear spell later on the day. We even had some moments when we saw the sun. And there were the geese, thousands of them roosting at the head of Loch Indaal and more were arriving when we passed Bridgend at dusk. Donald from Persabus told me that the weather tomorrow will be really bad so we probably go to Portnahaven to see some wave action. Whatever happens, I’ll keep you posted on our whereabouts!

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Tue, 18 May 2010 01:42:16 -0700 Evening at Loch Indaal Islay http://isleofislay.posterous.com/evening-at-loch-indaal-islay http://isleofislay.posterous.com/evening-at-loch-indaal-islay
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Last evening didn’t see a beautiful sunset, there was a big cloud blocking the sun. The subtle colours reflecting on Loch Indaal however made well up for that.

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Sat, 15 May 2010 10:13:16 -0700 Goodbye to Old Islay Friends http://isleofislay.posterous.com/goodbye-to-old-islay-friends http://isleofislay.posterous.com/goodbye-to-old-islay-friends

This morning we waved off a couple of good friends at Port Ellen, they are called Penny and Ken, a charming elderly couple from Wales, who have visited Islay every year for the last 23 years. We met them for the first time around four years ago and we have been in contact with them ever since. Later on we visited Christine Logan and her mother Lily at Caol Ila in what we believe is the most beautifully situated cottage on Islay, on the shore of the Sound of Islay next to the distillery. In the afternoon we had a wee beach walk at Black Rock. Again a mostly sunny and very pleasant day on Islay especially given the fact that someone we met today was kind enough to give me a bottle of Laphroaig 18yr old!

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Fri, 14 May 2010 11:52:36 -0700 Beautiful Islay Weather Returns http://isleofislay.posterous.com/beautiful-islay-weather-returns http://isleofislay.posterous.com/beautiful-islay-weather-returns

After a misty start of the day, see the earlier post, the weather turned out to be fabulous. We spent some time on the Rhinns of Islay as you can see from the beautiful views over Loch Indaal that include some images from the Lama’s, the horses and cattle. I also included another image of the Gorse which is flowering incredibly beautiful at the moment. I have spoken to other people about it and they mentioned that this kind of bloom is quite exceptional. We had a very nice chat in the afternoon with Betsy West from Port Wemyss, 94 years young and a competitor of Lily (Fish) MacDougall who we are going to visit in the next days. If you Google Betsy’s name you will find some really nice and very old images of her and Port Wemyss. I also wrote about Betsy on my Islay Blog about a year ago.

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Fri, 14 May 2010 11:50:00 -0700 Islay Sunset http://isleofislay.posterous.com/islay-sunset http://isleofislay.posterous.com/islay-sunset

After yesterday’s rain the evening showed it’s friendly face with a lovely sunset and beautiful colours over Loch Indaal.

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Mon, 10 May 2010 12:14:12 -0700 Blackrock Memorial Plaque and Beach at Port Ban http://isleofislay.posterous.com/blackrock-memorial-plaque-and-beach-at-port-b http://isleofislay.posterous.com/blackrock-memorial-plaque-and-beach-at-port-b

I have visited the new memorial plaque at Blackrock today. This plaque is a memorial for the Sunderland Flying boat that crashed and exploded at this very site killing most of the crew members. Afterwards we sat on the beach at Port Ban enjoying the views over Loch Indaal.

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Mon, 10 May 2010 00:26:48 -0700 An Islay Sunset and Jura Sunrise http://isleofislay.posterous.com/an-islay-sunset-and-jura-sunrise http://isleofislay.posterous.com/an-islay-sunset-and-jura-sunrise

As promised yesterday here is the sunset I went out for last night. It wasn’t a spectacular sunset but beautiful nevertheless. When I woke up this morning to photograph the sunrise over the Paps of Jura and went outside it was feeling bitterly cold. The temperature was 4 degr Celsius and a strong and very chilly north-westerly wind came in over the Sound of Islay but the views and sunrise were excellent again!

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Sun, 09 May 2010 10:53:30 -0700 Sunny Sunday on Islay http://isleofislay.posterous.com/sunny-sunday-on-islay http://isleofislay.posterous.com/sunny-sunday-on-islay

A lazy Sunday morning was spent at Debbies where we met the diehards from the velo club ‘d Ardbeg followed by a visit to the beautiful gardens of Foreland House. In the afternoon we went to Machir Bay where I made the rewarding walk up to Grannies Rock and had stunning views over the Atlantic Ocean and Bay. Tonight we are off to watch the sunset, more about that tomorrow! I want to thank everyone for the lovely comments on Facebook , they really make me go the extra mile so keep them coming!

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Thu, 06 May 2010 14:14:41 -0700 Bright and Clear day on Islay http://isleofislay.posterous.com/bright-and-clear-day-on-islay http://isleofislay.posterous.com/bright-and-clear-day-on-islay

As you can see from the images the weather has been amazing. It was crystal clear, especially the western half of the island. I have picked a few images to give you an impression while I took almost 400 pictures today. The images show the tin roof cottage, Crois Mhor at Loch Gruinart, Killinallan point with incredible blue colours of Loch Gruinart, the cruise ship Quest passing the Sound of Islay and the Swan at sunset taken at Loch Indaal tonight, my personal favourite.

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Wed, 05 May 2010 10:51:52 -0700 Low Clouds on Islay at Loch Indaal and Kilchoman http://isleofislay.posterous.com/low-clouds-on-islay-at-loch-indaal-and-kilcho http://isleofislay.posterous.com/low-clouds-on-islay-at-loch-indaal-and-kilcho

It was a mixed day today with sunny spells and sometimes dramatic low clouds and mist, especially near the coastal areas. A good opportunity for some really nice pictures. All of the images I have tonight are taken at or near Loch Indaal and I particularly like the farm buildings at the head of loch Indaal seen from Bowmore and of course the image of Kilchoman Church. Oh and the Paps of Jura were completely invisible today and at times it was hard to see Jura at all.

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