Sadly, our time on Islay had come to an end. Two days was not nearly long enough and I am definitely wanting to come back. There’s so much more to explore and I need to play that golf course again. We had to make the drive back across Scotland, and the plan was to do it fairly quick in the hopes of exploring a bit of Edinburgh before catching our plane to Portugal on Thursday.
Wednesday morning was our last on Islay, and was really all about getting to the ferry and making the drive back across Scotland to Edinburgh. We had a flight at 2 p.m. on Thursday, and we were hoping to see a bit of Edinburgh before we headed to Portugal.
One last panoramic view across the bay to the old Port Ellen Distillery.
We were up pretty early. We needed to be at the ferry by 10 a.m at the Las test and we didn’t really want to push out luck. It was rainy and windy anyway, so there was not much to be done that morning. We got packed up (that was a challenge for me with all the whiskey I had bought), closed up the cottage and headed on our way. The weather had actually broken by the time we left, giving us a few last photos of Port Ellen and our view, with some pretty decent light, to send us off.
We had a nice drive north across the island. We made one stop at a lookout point we had seen the previous day, but the wind was howling and we could barely stand on the beach! So we got back in the car and headed to the ferry. We were early, which gave us some time to walk on the pier and watch the boats. There’s a small ferry that does the crossing from a port on Jura, and it was struggling in the wind with the crossing. Eventually our much bigger ferry came into view, making its way up the straight towards the dock.
Before long we were onboard and ready to depart. This ferry was actually larger than the one we arrived on, and it was pretty cool how we were loaded. We drove up on a ramp, which they then hoisted up in the air and drove another row of cars under us. Then much like the ferry we took over, they put the big trucks in the middle.
We had some pretty prime seats, thanks to Jus!
It had been a great couple of days on Islay.
The ferry itself had a lot more seating, a bigger cafeteria and more food and drink options. Justine snagged us some prime seats at a window at the stern of the ship, we we were able to watch Islay drift away from us. There was even a rainbow to see us off.
It was a fitting send off for our time on Islay!
The crossing was very rough, with big seas and lots of wind. But you really didn’t feel it and you could appreciate their choice in ships for the ferries. They were certainly designed for the territory. Before long, we were back on the mainland and ready to make the drive back to Edinburgh.
On the drive back towards Edinburgh, we passed back through Tarbert - you can see the castle up on the hill in the back left.
Reflecting on our time on Islay, I have to say that two days was nowhere near enough. I think I’m going to want to go back and spend 4-5 days. The opening hours for the distilleries are too short and they’re too far apart. I really want to go back and play the golf course again, and maybe stay at that hotel. And maybe we fly in, rather than drive and ferry. But we’ll see what the future brings.
Edinburgh
The drive back was very similar to the drive out, following almost exactly the same route, with a couple of minor deviations. The weather was equally lousy, generally overcast with periods of rain throughout the drive. We did get fortunate in one spot, close to a couple of the rest stops we made on the drive out. THere was this one spot, nestled into a small valley that we noted from far enough out that we were able to pull over and make a short stop to stretch our legs. The was a beautiful, old stone bridge crossing a river. It was just the perfect, Scottish scene, complete with a dude fly fishing in the stream. Perfect!
It’s a pretty idyllic scene.
The trip back was a bit of a rush. We were kind of pushing so that we could go downtown for a while before the night was done. We had wanted to maybe go up and into Sterling to see the castle on the hill, but the weather was awful, and we managed to find a spot on the road nearby to stop and snap a quick photo. Not ideal, but it kind of fit with the trip and our rushing about.
Stirling Castle.
It’s an amazing feat of engineerings and definitely worth the stop.
The one real stop we did make was at the Falkirk Wheel. The Falkirk Wheel is a rotating boat lift that replaced 11 locks that were required to move boats the 115 feet up, connecting two separate canals. Of course, as we arrived and parked, the skies opened up and it absolutely poured down! BUt we decide to gut it out and deal with the weather to check out the Wheel.
The original locks in the area got disbanded in the 60s and 70s, as the road and rail networks had really displaced the needs for the canals. They built the Falkirk Wheel as part of a Millennium Project to create a signature piece of engineering/architecture and to revitalize the canals, reconnecting Glasgow and Edinburgh for the first time in decades.
It opened in 2002, and is pretty spectacular. I’m guessing it met all the expectations. We sat and watched as a boat went into the lift, and watched it get hoisted 80 feet into the air to connect to the canal above.
In the old days, apparently it took a whole day to traverse the locks (which was why they fell into disuse). But this trip takes a little more than 10 minutes (and is way cooler)! And of course, while we were watching we got soaked to the skin.
That stop was a quick one thanks to the rain, and before long we were back on the road. We were staying at the same hotel near the airport, so we got checked in, dropped our bags and then dropped the car off at the airport. From there we caught a bus down into the heart of the city. Thankfully the weather had cleared itself up and the rain had stopped. And in fact, by the time we got back downtown it had turned into quite a pleasant evening.
Edinburgh Castle, perched up on the hill.
This was my first time In Edinburgh, a place I’ve wanted to see for a long time. But much like Islay, I think it’s a place we’ll need to come back to as we really didn’t seem much in our short time there. The sun was starting to set as we got off the bus, but we did have a pretty nice view of the castle.
Taking advantage of the remaining light, we took a few pictures before going and finding a proper pub to have dinner. Dinner (and the beers) were good, and I needed a bit of downtime after a long day of driving.
After dinner we walked up the narrow, steep roads to the castle to have a look around. Sadly there’s no ability to get into the grounds after hours. Since that didn’t work out, we walked down a bit of the Royal Mile. All of the shops were closed, but the pubs were open so we stopped in a couple of different ones - one for a beer, and one for a last dram of scotch (Islay for me!) before calling it a night and heading back to find a bus to take us back to the hotel. We had one last drink in the hotel bar before calling it a night.
