The Armin Grewe Homepage
Picture of Laphroaig Distillery warehouses Having visited Islay several times before I've been to all the distilleries multiple times, nevertheless I decided to go on a whirlwind tour of the distilleries on the south coast of Islay. My main purpose was to take a lot of pictures, in particular for some panoramas. I wasn't going to be disappointed: I took well over 100 pictures, some of which you're going to see here, others will go on to my Isle of Islay pages.

Driving out from Port Ellen my tour started at Laphroaig distillery.

There was a distillery tour under way when I arrived, but having been on several tours before I just had a look around myself. I walked down to the shore for a look over the famous loch, took a look at Warehouse No.1 and finally collected my annual rent at the visitors centre.
Picture of a group of people standing in the yard of a distillery Picture of a Warehouse Number 1 sign at Laphroaig

Walking to the western end of Loch Laphroaig I had a very nice view over the loch with the distillery at the end. So nice that I decided to create a panorama of the view: You can also view a Quicktime VR panorama of the view over Loch Laphroaig and Laphroaig Distillery.

Picture of a small sea loch with a distillery

Following the A846 my next stop was Lagavulin. As I don't have many pictures of it I had hoped for some nice pictures. But it wasn't really meant to be: I had already seen that something was going on from the ferry, now I could see what it was. A large crane was standing in front of the distillery, helping with some repair work.

Picture of whitewashed distillery building (Lagavulin, Islay) with a green crane in front of it Picture of a view along a pier and over a bay

But I wasn't going to be thwarted that easily. I asked at the visitors centre if it was still possible to get on to the pier and they found a way through a back door for me. From the pier I had a very nice view over Lagavulin Bay and the ruins of Dunyvaig Castle. Looking at the distillery from the end of the pier the crane didn't spoil the view too much, as you can see on the Quicktime VR panorama of Lagavulin Distillery on Islay:

Picture of a distillery seen from the end of a pier
Picture of a distillery (Ardbeg) in the late afternoon sun By now it was late afternoon, but not the end of my whirlwind tour of the southern distilleries: I continued east and soon had the first views of Ardbeg distillery in the late afternoon sun. Eilean Imersay and the Kintyre coast in the background.

When I arrived at the distillery I decided to go straight to the shore again, as I was worried the sun was going to disappear behind the clouds soon. The low sun was giving some beautiful light, something I didn't want to lose.

A few nice views over the yard with the casks waiting to be prepared for new fillings or to be recycled for other uses. Like being turned into chairs for tired distillery visitors.
Picture of a view over the yard of a distillery (Ardbeg) with stored casks Picture of a close up view of whisky casks

Just before the sun disappeared behind the clouds I had a beautiful view over the distillery, the picture doesn't really do it justice. Still, I hope the 180° Quicktime VR panorama of Ardbeg Distillery in the late afternoon soon at least gives you an idea:

Picture of a panoramic view over a distillery (Ardbeg) in the afternoon sun
If you are interested in more information about Islay, Colonsay and Jura you might also be interested in my Isle of Islay, a visit to the beautiful island off the west coast of Scotland pages. There you will find many more pictures and further information about Islay, Jura and Colonsay.

Previous: Arrival on Islay <- Scotland Summer 2006 -> Next: Evening at Kilchoman