Nowhere on Earth can boast as many whisky distilleries as Islay. The island – pronounced eye-la – on the west coast of Scotland is only 40km long by 25km wide, and yet it packs in nine working distilleries, with more on the way.
Such is its importance to Scotland’s finances that Islay malt whiskies are given special regional status alongside the likes of Highland and Speyside whiskies. For anyone who enjoys the occasional dram, the island is a must-visit.
Oh, and it also happens to be a really nice place to ride a bike.
The Ard yards
I meet Brian Palmer at the Ardbeg distillery on the south coast of the island, just a short ride from where the ferry dropped me at Port Ellen.
I first discovered Brian through his popular blog, The Washing Machine Post, a collection of musings on all things cycling, mixed with reviews, interviews and tales of his life on Islay. I decided he would be the perfect person to show me around his home, on a route that will take us via most of the island’s whisky distilleries.
With him are two of his regular riding partners, Tom and Stephen, and they are all resplendent in their Velo Club d’Ardbeg cycling jerseys – as sponsored by Debbie’s cafe – plus a disturbing amount of thermal winter kit. It’s mid-July, and down in the south of England people are experiencing the hottest day in history, with temperatures over 40°C, but this is the west coast of Scotland and it is no respecter of records. My hosts obviously know something I don’t, and I now feel worryingly underdressed.
Music pumps out of speakers over a courtyard of picnic tables – distilleries are as much tourist attractions as working businesses nowadays – and it’s tempting to start the day with a wee snifter of Ardbeg to warm up. But it’s obvious where that attitude will take us, so instead we drift out onto the road and head west along the coast.
I ask Brian about the association with Ardbeg and his cycling club.
‘I just fancied a jersey with Ardbeg on it,’ he says. ‘I pestered the living daylights out of their brand manager for two years to get an Ardbeg jersey done. Finally he relented, saying, “We’re going to get 40 of these made just to shut you up.” Mind you, a year later he did congratulate me because they were selling like hotcakes. It was him who suggested we call ourselves the Velo Club d’Ardbeg. And because Ardbeg had a jersey, and it turned out to be popular, that’s why the other distilleries have all done likewise.’
Sure enough, if you go into any distillery in Islay, there’s a good chance you’ll find a branded cycling jersey for sale in the gift shop.
‘I did that,’ says Brian. ‘There’s no real connection between whisky and cycling. If you have to think of one, it’s me.’
Five in a row
A short distance down the road from Ardbeg we stop briefly at the Lagavulin distillery, followed less than 2km later by the Laphroaig distillery. Each has a distinctive whitewashed building with bold, black lettering that can be easily viewed by passing boats.
‘These three are the peatiest Islay whiskies; Ardbeg is the peatiest of them all,’ says Brian. ‘It’s the peat that gives these whiskies their flavour – it’s all about how they smoke the barley – and it’s what Islay whiskies are famous for. Although actually most of the other whiskies on the island are much lighter and less peaty.’
Less than a kilometre further on we come across another distillery that’s still in the process of being built.
‘This is the new Farkin distillery,’ says Brian. ‘Although when it’s ready, the whisky name will be Portintruan, as they probably felt that people wouldn’t want to be asked, “Would you like a glass of Farkin whisky?”’
Barely a handful of pedal strokes later we arrive at Port Ellen, where there is yet another distillery in development, this one being re-opened after closing down in 1983.
‘At the moment we’ve got nine working distilleries on the island,’ says Brian. ‘By September or October, Port Ellen will be up and running. That’ll be ten. The Farkin one will be 11. There’s a small distillery being built out at the airport and a tiny farm distillery that just got planning approval last year on the road between Port Charlotte and Kilchiaran, so that will be 13.’
Can there really be room for all these distilleries, I ask?
‘We’re all thinking that the bubble is going to burst at some point. It’s really popular at the moment but it would only take a small change in the drinking habits of people across the world for that to change. I mean, when I moved here in 1987, Ardbeg was mothballed, Bruichladdich was mothballed, Bowmore distillery was on a three-day week and I can’t remember if Bunnahabhain was working or not. So things can change very quickly.’
Of wind and waves
We turn north onto a long, narrow road that slices across a flat, barren landscape of peat moors and grassy fields. There’s little in the way of hills on Islay for cyclists to deal with, but it does do a roaring trade in headwinds.
‘The pros of riding here are that even in the height of summer, the roads are still a darn sight quieter than anywhere else,’ Brian says. ‘The cons are probably the weather. At least, that was the excuse I was given when I moved to Islay and wondered why nobody else here cycled at all.
‘That’s how I started The Washing Machine Post. I used to do a monthly article in the local newspaper with the aim being to persuade people that they could actually go cycling here. Now we have a group that goes out every Sunday, even in winter. The weather can get pretty bad, but I can’t remember the last time we actually had to cancel a Sunday. But then bear in mind that we’re stupid.’
Today the road is virtually deserted. When a car does pass, Stephen gives it a cheery wave and the driver waves back, which I discover is a custom known as the ‘Islay Wave’. Being from London, where eye contact with strangers is discouraged, I find this practice unnatural, but I determine to try my best.
Stephen, a school teacher, has only been an Islay resident for five years, and speaks of the quality of life here with the passion of the newly converted. Everyone is friendly and there is almost zero unemployment as a result of all the distillery jobs.
In fact, it’s rumoured that, such is the demand for workers from a small population, a warehouseman at a distillery can earn up to £50,000 for moving barrels around.
I’m just considering a change of career when another car goes past and everyone waves. Caught unawares, I miss it and find myself waving frantically at the car’s rear as it disappears down the road. This waving thing is trickier than it looks.
More bottle stops
Next stop is Bowmore, the oldest distillery on the island, having been established – legally – in 1779. It was reputedly also the first to offer tours, which the other distilleries laughed at (who would want to look round someone’s place of work?) but which they all do now, most boasting glorious visitor centres.
From there we trace a long horseshoe arc around the bay – headwind, sidewind, tailwind – to arrive at perhaps the hippest of the Islay distilleries, Bruichladdich, with its funky turquoise bottles. After a sample dram, we head next door for a toastie and coffee at the Bruichladdich Mini Market, otherwise known as Debbie’s, and the spiritual home of the Velo Club d’Ardbeg.
At this point Tom has to leave us, as it’s his shift at the family store, so our remaining trio heads westwards to the Kilchoman distillery, which is at the end of long gravel track and is also a working farm that grows its own barley. I partake of another sample. It’s only polite.
When we begin the final leg eastwards, the rain that has been threatening all afternoon appears in earnest – on Britain’s hottest day on record – so we don jackets and perform an only mildly effective three-up time-trial across the island to our final distillery of the day: Ardnahoe.
Being the newest of the working distilleries, established in 2016, it lacks the traditional whitewashed stone buildings of the older brands. But what it lacks in heritage it makes up for in the size of its cafe’s rice krispie cakes, which immediately replenish every calorie burned on the ride so far.
Sadly there’s not time to pop up the road to the Bunnahabhain distillery, as I’ve got to get to Port Askaig for the 6pm ferry or risk being trapped on the island. Still, with nine distilleries all within pedalling distance, I could think of worse places to get stuck.
The rider’s ride
Canyon Grizl CF SL, frameset £1,799, canyon.com
As the name suggests, the Grizl is a gravel bike aimed at off-road adventures. But its frame is slender and elegant enough that with a set of carbon DT Swiss rims slotted in it looks every bit the road bike, with only the luggage mounts on the fork giving the game away.
The forgiving geometry of the Grizl makes for a comfortable ride, perfect for a day out exploring distilleries, where speed isn’t the point. That doesn’t mean it’s a laid-back affair, however. The Grizl boasts sharp handling and is light and stiff enough to help it skip up climbs. With two sets of wheels – off-road and on-road – the Grizl could easily be the only bike you need.
How we did it
Travel
We took a day trip to Islay, catching the morning ferry from Kennacraig, near Tarbert on the mainland, to Port Ellen on the south of the island, and returning in the evening from Port Askaig in the north. Go to calmac.co.uk for timetables of the Caledonian MacBrayne ferry service. Expect to pay around £15 return per person on the ferries; bikes go free.
Accommodation
Cyclist stayed on the mainland in Tarbert at a B&B called Struan House (struan-house-lochfyne.co.uk). For details of accommodation options on Islay itself go to islayinfo.com.
Thanks
Many thanks to Brian Palmer – proud owner of the country’s longest-running cycling blog, The Washing Machine Post: ‘I started doing this in 1996, before the word blog was originally invented’ – and Tom Hunter and Stephen McLaughlin from Islay’s premier cycling institution, Velo Club d’Ardbeg, for being such excellent and entertaining hosts.