Isle of Islay whisky tours in Scotland
This holiday is operated by a company based in the holiday destination and they will be able to provide expert local knowledge. They will be able to tailor make your holiday to suit your requirements not only concerning the dates of travel but also typically the standard of accommodation, and thus price. It is rare for local operators to be able to help with the booking of your flights.
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
We have a very strong environmental ethic. This company is not initially motivated economically. I wanted to make a company that cares about people and the environment. I use local suppliers, buy local produce and try to have a fair and inclusive attitude. I use the local newspaper office, The Ileach to get all my printing done. My costs are dearer because I don’t buy in bulk from the mainland, or get cheap items. I buy local, and quality.
Islay is within the county of Argyll. Argyll & Bute Council have a very good recycling programme. Every household has recycling bins, and there are numerous public areas with recycling bins. We recycle plastic, paper, glass, tins, cans. Also, I have a compost heap in my garden. The travel and events company is run from my home. I get my electricity from Scottish Hydro Electric, this is a renewable source of power.
By living close to the earth a respect is inherent, I feel I am belong to this land and as such I want to take care of it. I believe we are not separate from the land or the birds or animals. We are part of the whole. ‘You didn’t come into this world, you came out of it, like a wave from the ocean. You are not a stranger, here’ Alan Watts. This is the way I see it.
Community
The travel company is run by myself, Rachel. I am originally from Colonsay, but was brought up on Islay, spending my childhood on Daill Farm, Bridgend, in the heart of the island. The people involved with your holiday are people living on Islay. I know all the people you will be staying with during your time on Islay. I know the people in the hotels and cafes. I know the people in the distilleries. Looking after visitors is the way we make our living.
In this tour you visit all the working Single Malt Disitlleries on Islay and the one on Jura. The distilleries are part of our heritage. We get work from the distilleries and they bring people from all over the world to Islay. Islay wouldn’t be Islay without the distilleries. They are part of our history, we have so many distilleries because the Campbells of Islay were the Kings men, and when everywhere else was over seen by external authority in relation to their distilling - Islay initially could oversee its distilling itself. Hence our distilleries were able to establish early and not be forced to close due to overpayment of taxes.
Although the distilleries are mainly owned by corporations off Islay, by definition of being an island most of the employees live here. The distilleries are also very good at supporting local charities. Bowmore Distillery’s waste heat is used to heat the swimming pool in the MacTaggart Leisure Centre. Diageo are very good at doing ‘match funding’ when one of their employees is involved in some kind of charity fundraising. Bruichladdich Distillery support the Islay Pipe Band, previously Black Bottle – Bunnahabhain – sponsored the band for years. Laphroaig, Ardbeg and Bruichladdich are very kindly donating an empty cask each to this company to make a ‘cask wall’ for our Wild and Magic Islay’s TIPI area at Grianan, the Oa. I got inspiration to start this company from a trip I made last year to Ladakh. Bruichladdich Distillery kindly donated a case of miniatures for me to share with people during my trip as it was with ‘Learning From Ladakh’ which is an environmental project. Lagavuilin Distillery has a group of workers known as the Lagavuilin Fund Raisers, they are the driving force behind the Pillaged Malt Series. The Pillaged Malts are sold to raise money for charity.
The distilleries on Islay that use peat for their malt kilns have now adopted a practise of using peat chalf, which reduces the amount of peat required greatly. The distilleries on Islay are traditional distilleries. Their buildings and machinery are sometimes the same ones that have been used since they began. By coming on this tour you are supporting ways of working that although they have been modernised are intrinsically the same as they have always been. By supporting the distilleries and the people who work in them, you are supporting traditions that are important to Islay and have been for hundreds of years. So we can live and work here we need people to come and visit, but so people can come and visit they need people who live here. It is an harmonic relationship.
