Islay Holiday - Part 2

Today was a very long day. Neither Matt or I slept very well, both of us very aware that Tom was in the room and not wanting to wake him up. Tom, in his little tent faired much better and slept soundly for the whole night! Got up, had a quick breakfast and then headed off to Ardrossan to get the ferry to Brodick on Arran. The crossing was an hour long, during which Tom didn’t stop. He was into everything and would have tripped up everyone in the boat given half the chance. Luckily there was a toddler play room where he spent some time and he also asked to go outside which amazed us as it was very windy and he hates the wind! As long as I held him and he had his hood up he was quite happy – I guess a novel experience and lots of things to see.

We got to Arran at lunchtime. I had discovered that there was a cheese factory in Brodick next to a tearoom, so it seemed the perfect place to go. We turned up at the factory for a look around. Wouldn’t quite say it was a factory, more a shop with a window into the cheese waxing room. Somehow, though, we managed to find something we both liked and left the shop poorer but with enough cheese to see us through the week. Next stop was the tea room for a sandwich and then we headed off to the other side of the island towards the next ferry port. We were going to have a look at some of the points of interest, but Tom fell asleep, so we kept going and before we knew it we had arrived there. Not to worry though, Lochranza is the location of Arran’s only distillery, so off we went (we had to practice for Islay). Found a lovely shop with a friendly manager who didn’t seem to mind that there was a mad 2 year old running around it (with frantic, embarrassed mother close behind). Matt got talking and tasting and before he knew it, his first purchase of the holiday had been made.

Today’s weather was changeable: one minute cloudy and rainy, next minute clear and sunny. A clear and sunny patch had arrived so we decided to explore Lochranza castle by the harbour. Tom did some good clambering and surprised us as it was very very windy, and he didn’t complain too much – a good sign for the week ahead.

We got the next ferry to Claonaig on the Mull of Kintyre on the mainland. This was a small roll on roll off ferry, just us, another car and a couple of cyclists on board the 30 minute journey. Arrived to a sunny mainland, we drove straight across to the coast on the other side (only about 5 miles) towards the next ferry port – there was nothing going on there, so we carried up to the next town, Tarbert which was hosting a yacht race and was therefore very busy. A nice atmosphere, and luckily we managed to find a parking space, so had the opportunity to have a look around and find tea and a bun. We even came across the local pipers who gave us a rendition of ‘Scotland the Brave’ in their kilts. How much more Scottish can you get? Tom wasn’t too sure – a bit too noisy for him I think, but as long as I held him and reassured him, he was fine.

Our last ferry of the day was on time, we got on board and went straight to the restaurant for dinner. Matt had curry this time and therefore lost half his meal to a small boy. The crossing to Port Askaig was just over 2 hours, but we managed to keep Tom amused for most of it. He had a moment when another toddler tripped him up, but it was 2 hours after his bedtime, so it wasn’t surprising. He was asleep within 5 minutes of us landing on Islay. We drove straight to the house and put Tom to bed. He was whimpering as I changed him into his pyjamas, but went straight to sleep, giving us a chance to unpack the car and get ourselves settled in. The cottage was lovely, very comfortable, and one more bedroom than we remembered, meaning we have more than enough room. Location is very remote – in the middle of the Western peninsula towards Portnahaven – basically in the middle of nowhere. We have two neighbours as well as a lot of sheep and cows.