Isle of Islay anybody?

DavidG58

DavidG58

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We are heading this way on the 4th August, anybody else been ?

We hope to get on to Jura as well, but have heard the ferry is small with steep ramps, any advice regarding grounding mainly

We will post updates and photos as we go, really looking forward to it

We are going in via Dunoon after much deliberation, driving down the Kintyre peninsular to get the ferry

On the way back we are coming over via Arran

We will have then been to all the Scottish western islands we can sensibly get the MH on to, Shetland and Orkney next year
 
cant help but will follow, as this is something we want to have a go at,

Alan + Diane,
 
Did Arran 3yrs ago. Stayed at the golf club in Lochranza (think it's spelt right). Fantastic. Parked by first tee, next morning woke up with motorhome surrounded by a herd of red deer. The owner came and moved them off, where they wandered down to the 7th tee & disappeared into the forest. The island is wonderful. Viking longboat, museums, Arran clothing, especially good is the fishing. Enjoy (y)(y)(y)
 
We have done Islay. It's great for wild camping and the locals are really friendly. We didn't get time to do Jura as we had an island hopper ticket and had lots of islands to do.
 
David, not sure but Dingray may be able to give you advice re all this if you pm (conversation) him. Joy
 
Sounds fun ...might i be cheeky and ask what sort of prices your ferries are costing?

Being a Scotland dweller im always put of by the ridonkulous prices calmac charge for crossings I've done mull, bute, and skye but have yet to do more due to the costs .....last time I got a quote for Shetland it was around £400 :(

Eire appeals to me too but can get to spain cheaper lol
 
Thanks for input, final planning this week, we leave on Friday, nothing booked yet
 
movan said:
David, not sure but Dingray may be able to give you advice re all this if you pm (conversation) him. Joy
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Thanks Joy, been away for weekend, will message him now (y)

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Manxcat said:
I thought I had drunk it all!!

Is there any left?

Have a good time!
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Moodybrook said:
Leave the "Jura" go for the "Bunnahabhain" it is so much smoother, real sipping neat tackle !!
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We have heard these islands have very peaty and or smoky whisky, not Bev's choice, I don't even drink the stuff, looking for non peaty options, any advice?:)
 
DavidG58 said:
We have heard these islands have very peaty and or smoky whisky, not Bev's choice, I don't even drink the stuff, looking for non peaty options, any advice?:)
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Bunnahabhain is not really peaty, avoid Lagavulin and particularly Laphroigh, an acquired taste like blue cheese ? However after the third or fourth dram who cares !! enjoy. The islands will have their party frock on with this good weather, park up near the sea, Midgie attack from just one side, you may win, only may !!
 
tambo said:
Sounds fun ...might i be cheeky and ask what sort of prices your ferries are costing?

Being a Scotland dweller im always put of by the ridonkulous prices calmac charge for crossings I've done mull, bute, and skye but have yet to do more due to the costs .....last time I got a quote for Shetland it was around £400 :(

Eire appeals to me too but can get to spain cheaper lol
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The prices are not cheap, I read somewhere they were allegedly pegged to be equal to cost of fuel for an equivalent mileage on land, I really can not see that

I think most of our crossings are CalMac, crossing timings and costs in link below

http://www.calmac.co.uk/timetables

our first crossing is to Dunoon, with Western Ferries, cross every half hour from 6am to about midnight, no idea why they have so many crossings, really not expecting that much traffic (might be another mistake) that crossing is about £32 one way

then we are going get across to the Kintyre peninsular down to Inverary for the ferry to Islay, Inverary looks lovely we have used google earth and street view to look at a lot of the route from Dunoon, looks really nice. Inverary though we could not find a car park (on google earth) that allowed motorhomes, emailed the tourist office there and they have said there is dedicated parking for shopping not camping

Ferry on to Islay return for 8m MH 2 adults early August is £122!!

It is a lot of money and yes I know I can get through the Chunnel for about the same, but 1000's will be in France, a few dozen on Islay:D
 
It is a lot of money and yes I know I can get through the Chunnel for about the same, but 1000's will be in France, a few dozen on Islay:D[/QUOTE]

Two weeks ago coming down from Durness (up near Cape Wrath, Northeast tip of mainland) sort of outer Mongolia ?? we were embroiled in a ten Motorhome Convoy !!

Cup of tea and pot of soup, till they got out of my hair. Thought we were in an exclusive ish kind of club not mass hysteria ??
 
You'll find most of the car parks and lay by will still have signs saying no overnight camping etc but it's unenforceable in Scotland so if you leave no mess and don't create a nuisance you'll find it very unlikely to be moved on.

You will usually always find other vans camped in them too

I've not stayed in a campsite in Scotland in over 6 years.

Someone will be along in a minute to disagree with me no doubt :) ........but I've never once been moved on or had any negative encounters wild camping in Scotland and I've lived here all my life

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Jura1.jpg
Jura2.jpg
Hello David. We did more or less the same trip in April of last year - it was just fab!! We spent a night next to a picnic spot near to Carradale, on the east side of the Kintyre peninsular (its a narrower road than the one on the west, but just beautiful).
Yes, the ferry from Islay to Jura is small and we grounded our towbar as we got off but no damage done (there were plenty of scrape marks on the tarmac!). We stopped on a huge beach on Jura, about a mile after the distillery - one of the locals told us that there was absolutely no issue with parking up there and that in summer there were usually a couple of motorhomes there. (I've added a couple of photos of the spot - it's quite near the remains of the old quay and there's an info board with a poem about leaving Jura).
On Islay we wild camped in a parking spot on the Oa reserve, near to the American war memorial. That's worth a visit in its own right but even better was watching an eagle quartering the hillside at dusk.
Have a good one!!
 
TDH said:
View attachment 38120 View attachment 38121 Hello David. We did more or less the same trip in April of last year - it was just fab!! We spent a night next to a picnic spot near to Carradale, on the east side of the Kintyre peninsular (its a narrower road than the one on the west, but just beautiful).
Yes, the ferry from Islay to Jura is small and we grounded our towbar as we got off but no damage done (there were plenty of scrape marks on the tarmac!). We stopped on a huge beach on Jura, about a mile after the distillery - one of the locals told us that there was absolutely no issue with parking up there and that in summer there were usually a couple of motorhomes there. (I've added a couple of photos of the spot - it's quite near the remains of the old quay and there's an info board with a poem about leaving Jura).
On Islay we wild camped in a parking spot on the Oa reserve, near to the American war memorial. That's worth a visit in its own right but even better was watching an eagle quartering the hillside at dusk.
Have a good one!!
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Beautiful pics especially the first one
 
Thanks TDH

We were already really excited about this trip, these photos have really set us off now
 
tambo said:
Sounds fun ...might i be cheeky and ask what sort of prices your ferries are costing?

Being a Scotland dweller im always put of by the ridonkulous prices calmac charge for crossings I've done mull, bute, and skye but have yet to do more due to the costs .....last time I got a quote for Shetland it was around £400 :(

Eire appeals to me too but can get to spain cheaper lol
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Tambo......... The Orkney and Shetland Ferries are a different kettle of fish.
Caledonian McBrayne give subsidised tickets to tourists visiting the western isles.
The Island Hopper Scheme makes a lot of sense I'll try and get a link for prices
http://www.calmac.co.uk/timetables/

Hopscotch is the name of the multi journey ticket
 
DavidG58 If you havn't travelled up the Loch Lomond Road to Inverary, it is much nicer than travelling from Dunoon
You would cross the Erskine Bridge (not toll anymore) head for Loch Lomond drive to Arochar around Loch Long up The Rest and be Thankful, to you get to Loch Fine, heading to Inverary.
The ferry to Islay isn't from Inverary, it's further south at Kenacraig.

On your way (both routes) you will pass Loch Fine Oysters a seafood restaurant. (reasuringly expensive) If you use the restaurant you can camp in their grounds.

What ever you decide, if the sun shines, Scotland and the Islands are beautiful. Hope the weather stays fine.

Enjoy

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Bobby22 said:
DavidG58 If you havn't travelled up the Loch Lomond Road to Inverary, it is much nicer than travelling from Dunoon
You would cross the Erskine Bridge (not toll anymore) head for Loch Lomond drive to Arochar around Loch Long up The Rest and be Thankful, to you get to Loch Fine, heading to Inverary.
The ferry to Islay isn't from Inverary, it's further south at Kenacraig.

On your way (both routes) you will pass Loch Fine Oysters a seafood restaurant. (reasuringly expensive) If you use the restaurant you can camp in their grounds.

What ever you decide, if the sun shines, Scotland and the Islands are beautiful. Hope the weather stays fine.

Enjoy
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Many thanks Bobby22

I think the road up the side of Loch Lomond is possibly the worst road in the country, the scenery is good I must admit, but bendy, narrow and too many fast lorries for me. the last two times I have tried it the rain made it dark and far more intimidating

I would drive miles to avoid it, hence the Dunoon ferry, although this will also take us through some as yet unseen (by us) Scottish scenery.

Seafood restaurant I would love, but Bev wont eat any fish much apart from a nice battered cod

The drive down Kintyre looks nice and scenic, we think we are going to have to abandon the Jura bit due to size of MH and ferry size, but we will make enquiries when there, we might just need to pick high tides

David
 
DavidG58 said:
Many thanks Bobby22

I think the road up the side of Loch Lomond is possibly the worst road in the country, the scenery is good I must admit, but bendy, narrow and too many fast lorries for me. the last two times I have tried it the rain made it dark and far more intimidating

I would drive miles to avoid it, hence the Dunoon ferry, although this will also take us through some as yet unseen (by us) Scottish scenery.

Seafood restaurant I would love, but Bev wont eat any fish much apart from a nice battered cod

The drive down Kintyre looks nice and scenic, we think we are going to have to abandon the Jura bit due to size of MH and ferry size, but we will make enquiries when there, we might just need to pick high tides

David
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David, you won't go near the narrow part for this route, it turns away towards Arochar....but i assume you have been before.

Happy motoring
 
Bobby22 said:
David, you won't go near the narrow part for this route, it turns away towards Arochar....but i assume you have been before.

Happy motoring
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Thanks again, this is the first time for us on Kintyre

I have such ingrained hatred of the road I had written off the whole length, is the narrow bit only the bit above the A83 turn off? it seems to go for ever

We may well use that for our route home then, save the cost of the ferry back from Dunoon, we have already read that the west side of Kintyre is worth a detour, that will fit neatly in with a return via Loch Lomond side
 
DavidG58 said:
Thanks again, this is the first time for us on Kintyre

I have such ingrained hatred of the road I had written off the whole length, is the narrow bit only the bit above the A83 turn off? it seems to go for ever

We may well use that for our route home then, save the cost of the ferry back from Dunoon, we have already read that the west side of Kintyre is worth a detour, that will fit neatly in with a return via Loch Lomond side
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Yes the west side of kintyre has many nice places with ferries to the small islands, Gigha, being a twenty minute crossing. May be worth a look as a foot passenger. Some wild camping spots on the main road down.
 
Another vote for gigha, mind I haven't been for 30 years.:D

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Broken Link Removed

Caravans not allowed, but they have a price for motorhomes, will certainly give this a look at the ferry terminal to see if we can fit

Thanks both
 
DavidG58 said:
We have heard these islands have very peaty and or smoky whisky, not Bev's choice, I don't even drink the stuff, looking for non peaty options, any advice?:)
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The new Arran distillery does a lovely Whisky not at all peaty. The finest of all (IMO) is Springbank (Campletown), just across the water. This is a little bit peaty but not a typical Islay peaty.

Anyway - enjoy!
 
DavidG58 said:
..... we think we are going to have to abandon the Jura bit due to size of MH and ferry size, but we will make enquiries when there, we might just need to pick high tides

David
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You will certainly get on the ferry to Jura. When we were in Islay a few years ago (with a car, not MH) we saw a monster artic tanker crossing to and fro between Jura and Islay, carrying waste from Jura distillery. The distilleries on the two islands share a common disposal point on Islay which is just north of Port Askaig, near the Caol Ila distillery. I would have thought the most likely place for grounding the MH is getting on and off the Calmac ferry at Port Askaig - that ferry is higher than the Jura boat and the ramp is steep. You may need to ak them to adjust the ramp if it looks too much of an angle.

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