We landed in Edinburgh on Thursday, July 28, for a quick stopover and joined our Rabbie's Tour of the highlands the next morning. 

Friday morning we left Edinburgh at 08 .30 and headed west through Scotland’s largest city, Glasgow, along Loch Lomond. We stopped for lunch in Oban, a little fishing village and port. After lunch we traveled through Argyll and into the ancient Kingdom of Dalriada. There are more than 350 prehistoric monuments within a six-mile radius of the village of Kilmartin. We stopped at a field here to see the mysterious stone circles and standing stones. People used the stone circles thousands of years ago to align with the moon at the solstice and other significant days. It was a type of pagan worship and the area is full of the stones. From there it was a short drive to Kennacraig where we caught the early evening ferry to Islay (it's pronounced "I-lah"). The sail is just over 2 hours and was very relaxing. We had dinner on the ferry, and then on arrival on Islay, it was a short drive to Bowmore for our 3-night stay. We stayed in renovated cottages on the grounds of the Bowmore Whisky Distillery in the middle of the village of Bowmore.

The next day was a full day of visiting three of the eight whisky distilleries on Islay - renowned for their strong peaty flavors and nurtured by the salty sea air . In the morning we drove to the west of the island via Saligo Bay for a visit to Kilchoman Distillery (the newest and smallest on the island). After lunch at the distillery, we then visited Bruichladdich (say "Brook-laddie") for a tasting of their whiskies. Then we drove back to Bowmore for a tour and tasting at the Bowmore Distillery. We learned the process of making whisky, and that all the distilleries on Islay smoke their barley with peat smoke to different degrees creating a whisky with a distinct, earthy smell and taste that is highly prized.

Another day in paradise! Today we explored the southern side of the island, home to the smokiest and peatiest of all whiskies – Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg Distilleries. We visited Ardbeg for a tour, tasting and lunch. The restaurant here is a beautiful place to relax and enjoy local produce as well as some unique whisky. We followed this up with a visit to Laphroaig and a short stop for a tasting at Lagavulin. These last two distilleries were high on list for some of our group and they were quite excited to taste these whiskies . On the way back to our cottage we visited the ruins of Kildalton church with its famous 8th Century Celtic cross. 

Today we took the ferry back to the mainland and then traveled through Argyll along the coast to Inverary where we stopped to see Inverary Castle, the home of the Dukes of Argyll. This is also where a Christmas episode of Downton Abbey was filmed. The next stop was the ruined castle of Kilchurn Castle, the ancestral home of the Campbell clan. It's in a striking location on the banks of Lock Awe and is really a beautiful sight. The last stop of the day was the beautiful St. Conan's Kirk where there is a tomb and effigy of Robert the Bruce, the great Scottish king. There is a leg bone from Robert the Bruce buried under his effigy. 

While the people we were with on Islay were on their way back to Edinburgh, we met up with another group of Rabbie's tours in Oban and are now on our way to see the islands of the Hebrides, including Mull, Iona and Skye. 

We'll post more after we visit these magical islands.