Planes, Trains & Automobiles - Lufthansa 747-400 Upper Deck & A Drive around Scotland

[yflyer]

There were many travellers from all over staying at the Port Charlotte hotel. Some of the guests that checked in on the same day had actually driven all the way over from Belgium, in a pair of beautiful convertibles, including a classic Jaguar XJS...



What a beauty...



Although we had a rental car with us, we thought it would be unwise to do tastings at whisky distilleries with the car, as both Mrs yflyer and I were keen to taste the whiskies and Miss yflyer no.2 did not yet have a driver's license.

Instead, after obtaining a list of taxi/tour guides from the hotel, Mrs yflyer had engaged (well in advance) the services of Colin from Attic Cabs to drive us around for the day, on a tour of distilleries and other attractions.



Colin was an excellent guide, who knew Islay inside out, and was also well known at the whisky distilleries that we visited. He also previously had a Youtube channel where he and a few friends tasted and chatted about whisky in an informal, no holds barred way.

We spent the day driving around Islay, visiting the local attractions as well as tasting whiskies at several well known distilleries.



To keep the tour interesting for Miss yflyer no.2 who didn't drink, we visited a number of non-whisky attractions as well, including the Kildalton Cross, a Celtic Cross constructed in the 8th century AD, which was considered one of the best preserved examples of Celtic Crosses in Scotland and perhaps even Western Europe.



The Cross was on the grounds of the ruins of Kildalton Church...



It was possible to enter the ruins to view the old medieval grave slabs within the chapel, which dated from the 14th century.

[yflyer]

The first distillery we visited was the Ardbeg Distillery...



...located on the southern coast of Islay.



The beautiful grounds of the distillery were very popular with visitors, especially during Whisky festivals, which took place regularly there.



There was a youthful and lively wibe to the place, which extended to the visitor centre and tasting room...



There was a staggering selection of diferent whiskies to taste, along with lots of merch...



I particularly liked the concept of the "driver's dram". If there was a designated driver in the party who could not taste, they were given a takeaway dram of whisky to drink later. What a wonderful idea.

[yflyer]

Our next stop was Bunnahabhain Distillery...



...located along a picturesque stretch of coastline...



...looking out towards the island of Jura.



"Hard to Say, Easy to Love", indeed!



There were distillery tours available...



...but we skipped those and headed straight to the waterfront tasting room...



...where there was a mindboggling array of different whiskies to tastte.



While it was possible to get Bunnahabhain in Singapore, and across the world, you would never see such a wide selection of bottlings anywhere else.



Many were exclusivie to the distillery, including handfilled bottles from individual casks, complete with the name of the staff member who filled it.



Many were avaialble in tasting drams. A whisky lover's dream.



This included "New Make" whisky, still clear as they had not yet been aged in barrels.



Many of the tastings were offered on a paid basis, but most distilleries were happy to offer you a complimentary dram, especially if you were with our guide, Colin.

[yflyer]

Next, we visited the Islay Woollen Mill Company.



This was a very famous mill...



...where you could see old restored looms.



Their tweeds and fabrics were featured in many movies, including Braveheart.

[yflyer]

Our last stop of the day was Bruichladdich Distillery.



Once again, the tasting room was a hive of activity...



There was a mindblowing selection of drams to taste...



...not to mention a lot of merch.



Colin cleared up a misconception that most of the whiskies here were peated. In fact, many of Bruichladdich's whiskies were unpeated. That said, there had been a bit of a competition among distilleries around who could bottle the peatiest whisky, measured in PPM. Super heavily peated whiskies were not to all tastes, but they sure made for an interesting talking point!



One of the nicest whiskies we tasted was the Bruichladdich Yellow Submarine...



This was a special release of a 14 year aged, unpeated whisky, to commemorate a 2005 incident where a Royal Navy unmanned submarine was recovered by fishermen off Islay. A replica of that yellow submarine was now sited right outside the distillery.



We bought a bottle to bring home with us, but now we wished we bought several more.

Note to self: If I am ever in Scotland again, remember to make provision in my luggage to bring back many, many bottles of whisky (Properly declared for alcohol duty on the Singapore customs website, of course!).

[yflyer]

With that, our wonderful time in Islay came to an end.



The next day, we caught the ferry to Oban to continue our journey through Scotland there.

[yflyer]

Our ferry from Islay to Oban was the same vessel that had earlier brought us to Islay 2 days earlier.



But this time, the weather was much better. We were able to spend a lot of time on the outdoor deck of the ferry.



We spent much of the ferry journey enjoying the views from the upper deck.



The skies were blue and the sun was up. It was a little windy, but it was very pleasant spending time outside during the 4 hour ferry journey from Islay to Oban.

[yflyer]

Oban was a beautiful town and sea port in a horseshoe-shaped bay in the west of Scotland.



Our accommodations on this leg of our trip were at Witchwood House...



...which was located close the water, not far from the town centre.



This was a heritage listed guest house, with 7 rooms within the main building, along with several other cottages and apartments close by.



We stayed at an apartment called "Bit on the Side", which was literally an extension apartment by the side of the main building.



Entry via the kitchen...



Living space...



Bedroom, with a double bed as well as a single bed.



Large bathroom with shower.



Complimentary parking was available right outside the property.

We found this to be a very comfortable place to stay, just a 15 minute walk along the bay to the town centre.

[yflyer]

Although we had a rental car with us, we hardly touched it during our stay in Oban, as everything was easily accessible on foot, which was great since we sample a lot of whisky during our time there.

The ruins of Castle Dunollie were close by.



We also visited McCaig's Tower, a colosseum-like structure perched above the town.



While built to resemble a Roman colosseum, this was actually a fairly modern structure, dating from between 1897 and 1902.



It was a bit of walk from the town centre up to the Colosseum, but the views of the bay from up there were worth it.

[yflyer]

After our visit to "Oban's Colosseum", we headed down to the nearby Oban Distillery for a drink.



Oban Distillery was one of the oldest whisky distilleries, first established in 1794, and is now owned by Diageo.



The tasting room showcased both Oban whiskies as well as other labels owned by Diageo.



There were many special releases available.



You could bottle your own...



We headed to the popular whisky bar on the 2nd level...



There were tasting flights available...



...as well as a huge selection of drams to taste...



...from Oban as well as other distilleries and regions.



There were also whisky cocktails available...



We sampled a couple of cocktails, which were very well made.

[yflyer]

From Oban, we spent a day on a 3-isle tour, covering the Isles of Mull, Iona and Staff. Before we departed by ferry to our first island, the Isle of Mull, we stopped at the ferry terminal cafe for a simple but very delicious breakfast of hot filled rolls and toasties.



The sausage and haggis rolls we had here were so delicious that we actually returned for breakfast there again the next day.



These were crisp bread rolls with a slice of sausage, haggis, or both, inside.



Simple and inexpensive, but so incredibly delicious.

[yflyer]

After breakfast, we boarded a large Caledonian MacBrayne ferry and headed out to our first destination on the tour, the Isle of Mull.



This was a busy time of year, and the ferry was quite full, although there was still ample seating available.



The weather was beautiful that day. We spent a lot of time out on the top deck, so much so that I got slightly sunburnt, believe it or not.



The scenery enroute to the Isle of Mull was stunning.



Views of Duart Castle, an imposing castle first built in the 14th century, and restored in the early 1900's.

[yflyer]

The ferry arrived at the Isle of Mull, and we were ushered onto coaches for a tour of the island.



What a beautiful island this was.



A view of the 3 loches: Loch Sguabain, Loch an Ellen, and Loch Airde Glais.



At the other end of the Isle of Mull, we boarded a small boat to head to the Isle of Staffa.

[yflyer]

At the time, all I knew was that Staffa was the location of Fingal's Cave, which inspired the great German composer Felix Mendelssohn to write one of his most famous works, the Hebrides Overture.

I had no idea that the the island itself looked so stunning and otherwordly.



This volcanic island and cave were unlike anything I had ever seen before...



..,with extraordinary hexagonal basalt columns rising upwards...



...and an imposing cave entrance with water crashing within...



It was hard to believe this was all nature and geology at work...



The boat docked at the island...



...and we were told to return at the appointed time, in order to catch the boat back to Mull. Miss the boat at your own peril!



It was possible to walk right into the cave...



There were steps and railings part of the way...



...but one had to be very careful not to slip.

[yflyer]

We made it to the cave entrance...



What a stunning spot.



You could head part of the way inside.



Mrs yflyer and Miss yflyer no.2 declined to head inside the cave, despite my best efforts to persuade them, so I headed in alone.



You could go part of the way into the cave. The rest was deemed too dangerous and was chained off.



I headed in as far as it was possible to go.



Incredible!