On 27th May Kai was 50. On the 9th June I was 50. So we both went to Islay to celebrate. Along came Martina and Deirdre and also 20 of our friends, including Kai's parents.

The weather was fantastic, with plenty of sunshine and, of course, the obligatory whisky tasting. In fact I think nearly everyone managed to get round all eight of the Islay distilleries, with a few of us visiting the Isle of Jura Distillery on nearby Jura.

Click on the underlisted links to see what we got up to on the island.

Kai's 50th Birthday and the cutting of the cake.

Click below to see the HEBRIDEAN ISLES ferry boat that brought the majority of us over from Kennacraig, at the top of the Mull of Kintyre Peninsula, to Port Ellen on Islay. When docking at Port Ellen, the boat does a 180 degrees turn and then reverses into the docking bay.

The Hebridean Isles Ferry Boat

The images below were taken on the Oa. The Oa is in the south of the Islay near Port Ellen. The monument in the images is to commemorate the 266 Americans that lost their lives in the sea (7 miles off-shore) when HMS Tuscania was torpedoed on 5th February 1918.

The Oa

On Monday 28th May the group was complete apart from Wolfgang who arrived the following day. A meal was planned at the Lochside Hotel in order that everyone could get to know each other. The bar in the Lochside has an extensive list of whiskies ranging from £3.00 to £95.00 a tot.

The Lochside Hotel

A trip to Portnahaven to see the seals. Portnahaven is at the southern most point of the Rhinns of Islay.

Portnahaven

On the way back up North from Portnahaven, we took the narrow un-numbered road on the West of the Rhinns. It takes you past the lovely Kilchiaran Bay.

Kilchiaran Bay

Keep an eye on these pages as I'll be adding more images over the next couple of days.

And now onto the distilleries. I visited all eight of the distilling ones. Port Ellen, alas, no longer distills. They are listed below in alphabetical order: