Evening at Kilchoman, Islay - Scotland Summer 2006

	After the quite nice weather for my arrival on Islay the weather for the first full day wasn't that great, mainly dull and cloudy. But that didn't really matter that much as the day was going to be mainly a rest day: Ian from Kilchoman Cottages invited me over and I spent most of the day with him and Margaret. We discussed a variety of topics ranging from running a business on Islay to the next Islay walking week. Time flew by and suddenly it was late afternoon. After thanking Ian and Margaret for their hospitality I left for Port Charlotte. When I reached the top of the hill with the church I noticed some very nice light and some very good visibility. The pictures don't really do it justice, nevertheless I tried to capture the atmosphere.

In the west Saligo Bay with the interesting rock formation of Dun Bheolain was quite visible. Looking north I could make out the hills on Colonsay and even the Isle of Mull. To the east the famous Paps of Jura could be seen in the distance behind Rockside Farm. You can get an impression with the Quicktime VR panorama of the view from Kilchoman over Loch Gorm and surrounding areas (3.5MB download):
	As I still had some time left until I had to be back at the hotel for dinner I decided to make a quick detour to Kilchoman Distillery at Rockside Farm. Obviously the distillery and visitor centre were closed at this time of day, but then I had already seen large parts of it during a visit to Kilchoman the previous year. My main goal was to try to take some more pictures, in particular in the evening light. There had been a fire at the kiln a few months before, work to rebuild it was still under way. Scaffolding was erected around it and the pagoda roof looked strangely misplaced out there on its own. That this is a true farm distillery was evident with various farm machine scattered around the buildings. Having taken a few pictures I finally really left for Port Charlotte.

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.

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