The Isle of Islay really is my favourite Scottish Island and this has got nothing to do with the eight whisky distilleries on the island. I must admit though that it was the whisky that got me there in the first place, through a bottle of Laphroaig whisky. Becoming a Friend of Laphroaig started of a passion for the island that's getting stronger with every visit and after a few visit's to Islay you will find out that there is much more than "just distilleries". There are some very nice villages on the island as well and with the right conditions they offer unique opportunities for some fabulous pictures. This year we, my wife and I, spent another three weeks on Islay and the weather has been absolutely brilliant as you can see in the panorama pictures which I took in the second week of May. These three pictures can be seen in their full size when you click on them or on the Islay Info website for which I'm the webmaster as well. The page on which you can find more and larger images is the Islay Panorama Images page. I hope you like them!

Port Charlotte - Isle of Islay

Portnahaven - Isle of Islay

Port Ellen - Isle of Islay

When you have decided to plan a holiday in Scotland and have done all the necessary arrangements of booking flights or ferries, finding accommodation and finalizing your itinerary, you probably would like to know what events are taking place in the area where you are going to? To find out what's going on in your area you should really take a look at the website of Event Scotland. The following quote will explain who they are and what their objectives are:

EventScotland is Scotland's dedicated national events organisation responsible for attracting, creating and developing sporting and cultural events throughout the country. Established in 2003, EventScotland co-ordinates the delivery of the Major Events Strategy, launched in November 2002 by the Scottish Executive.

On their website you will find a comprehensive event calendar with search options for specific regions and periods. There is also a Newsfeed to stay up to date and you will find regular news updates through downloadable PDF files. Following is an overview of a few interesting events that take place in Scotland this summer: Continue reading.....

The Glenmorangie Company Unveils Plans for the Future with Multi-Million Pound Investment

The Glenmorangie Company has today (1st July 2008) unveiled proposals for a major investment programme worth £45 million, which will see the Company focus on building its highly successful, iconic premium single malt Scotch whisky brands – Glenmorangie and Ardbeg. This strategy is in response to rapidly growing demand for these brands.

The investment programme, to be rolled out over a two-year period, will include the relocation of its headquarters to Edinburgh and the construction of a bespoke, state-of-the-art, bottling facility in the Lothians area. The new bottling plant will provide the capacity for a significant increase in production of both single malts to meet the demand for premium single malt whisky in growing markets such as Asia, Continental Europe and the USA.

The Company’s flagship distillery is also set to benefit. The business plans include a multi-million pound investment in Glenmorangie’s Distillery in Tain, Ross-shire. In addition to the increase in distilling capacity, new whisky cask warehouses will be built and the popular Visitor Centre will be restyled, enhancing its attraction as a tourist destination. It was at the Tain distillery that the world-renowned single malt Glenmorangie was first created in 1843. Continue reading.....

The warm, dry and sunny spring ended suddenly with the offical start of summer. Some parts of Western Scotland had the driest and warmest spring in years with high temperatures already in May (picture right, sunset on Islay). Due to the drought some distilleries on Islay had to stop production. In the last weeks though cooler and wetter weather has set in and today BBC published an article on their website about a road closure and severe weather warnings. A quote from BBC Scotland:

Police confirmed the A7 at Auchenrivock south of Langholm would remain shut for some time as much of the country was hit by torrential downpours. A further landslip also partially closed a stretch of the same road north of the Dumfries and Galloway town. Severe weather warnings were issued for parts of Scotland, with the south appearing to be the worst hit. Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary has put in lengthy diversions due to the problems on the A7 - the main route from Langholm to the Borders and Cumbria.

Police have also urged motorists to be extra careful on all roads and to be wary of standing water which is also affecting the route. People usually expect July to be hot and sunny but this could be exceptional weather conditions for this time of year. BBC weather forecaster Gail McGrane warned that up to 50mm of rain could fall, particularly in parts of the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway. The Met Office said it expected above or near average rainfall for the rest of the summer and said it would be cloudier and cooler than previous summers. This is despite this year seeing the warmest May ever recorded in Scotland and 2008 being on target to be one of the 10 warmest years. In Edinburgh, 23mm of rain fell between 2100 BST on Wednesday and 0900 BST on Thursday - more than a third of the city's average rainfall for July.

From Eilean Donan Castle to Fishing and from the Cairngorms to Golf, this video shows it all. This is a really nice Scotland Video which I found today on youtube. Even the music is pleasant so sit back, relax and enjoy.

The Scotsman reports today that a whole new forest is to appear near Loch Katrine, bringing back native species and offering a unique experience and the chance to see how Scotland looked like 500 years ago before sheep started to graze the lands.

Nothing like it has been seen for centuries. A new forest of four million trees is to be planted by the side of a famous Scottish loch in the UK's biggest woodland restoration scheme. The ambitious 20-year project to create a wooded wonderland will cover around 8,000 acres of land to the north, south and west of Loch Katrine with native species such as Caledonian pine, Atlantic oak, birch, hazel and alder.

Costing more than £3m, it will provide a new tourist attraction at the heart of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, and create new habitats for native wildlife. Project managers hope that species such as wild deer, otters, pine martens and red squirrels will move in, while birds of prey will take up residence on the open fringes

The US billionaire Donald Trump has announced plans to build a new world class golfing centre in Aberdeenshire. The development could bring £150m to the local economy over the next decade, creating 400 jobs. The complex is planned for the Menie Estate, close to the North Sea coast between Balmedie and Ellon. First Minister Jack McConnell welcomed the move, but Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) stressed the local countryside would have to be protected.

The Aberdeenshire Council's infrastructure committee however rejected (on the casting vote of its chairman) the plans by US tycoon Donald Trump. The plan had been earlier approved by local councillors, by seven votes to four, but the infrastructure committee seemed to hit the project into the long grass. However, there appeared to be a public outcry from those who saw the economic benefit of the scheme disappearing to another part of the world.

Now a special meeting of the full Aberdeenshire Council has been called to "reconsider" the decision. The time and place of the meeting have yet to be announced. The Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Forum and the local Chamber of Commerce view the Trump development as a golden opportunity to boost leisure tourism and raise the area's profile around the world. Refusing planning permission was therefore seen by them as a blow to the long-term prosperity of the region. Protesters have claimed that the resort would have a major impact on wildlife and destroy a beautiful part of Scotland. The Trump International Links scheme includes two championship golf courses and 1,500 homes. It is claimed the houses will pay for the development at the 1,400 acre site near Balmedie.

The decision also delighted Michael Forbes, 55, a local resident who refused to sell Mr Trump his 23 acres of land on the edge of the scheme. Mr Trump said on his last visit to Aberdeen that the small farm was an eyesore, and Mr Forbes responded by telling him to "stick his money". He was not at the meeting but his wife Sheila said they were "surprised but happy". Mr Forbes said he was "over the moon" after hearing the result. He added: "Hopefully, Trump has now got the message that we're not a bunch of cabbages up here. "We've managed fine without him up to now and we'll get on just as well without him." To be continued...

The Pennan Inn, which was featured in the 1983 movie "Local Hero" starring Burt Lancaster, is up for sale. Fans still visit the village on the Moray Firth coast to see the 200-year-old inn - and the red telephone kiosk across the road, which was the focus of communications in the film. Lancaster played the part of an American oil company executive sent to buy up the entire village so they can build a refinery. The present owner of Pennan Inn is now going off to a job in the food service industry in Canada.

The movie Local Hero however is not entirely filmed in Pennan. The parts that were shot on Ben's Beach were filmed near Morar and the beach is known as Camusdarach beach. This is clearly visible in one of the last shots of the movie when MacIntyre leaves Ferness by helicopter to Aberdeen. In the first shot you clearly see the Isle of Skye and Rum in the background and one shot later you see Stella looking at the helicopter and the view over the sea is completely different. The movie is wonderful and the story behind it is classic with lots of humor in it. The views from Camusdarach Beach towards Rum and Skye are one of the finest in Scotland, and so are the sunsets in this lovely area. Also worth mentioning is the relaxing and excellent music from Mark Knopfler throughout the movie.

In 1863 Elihu Burritt, an English writer, made a walk from London to John O'Groats in the north of Scotland. He made a very comprehensive travelogue and gives a nice view of Scotland in the 19th century. I made an extract from his first stage; Loch Leven to Inverness. Have fun reading

LOCH LEVEN-ITS ISLANDCASTLE—STRATHS—PERTH—SALMON-BREEDING—THOUGHTS ON FISH-FARMING—DUNKELD—BLAIR ATHOLL—DUCAL TREE-PLANTER—STRATHSPEY AND ITS SCENERY—THE ROADS—SCOTCH CATTLE AND SHEEP—NIGHT IN A WAYSIDE COTTAGE—ARRIVAL AT INVERNESS.

On Friday, Sept. 11th, I left for the north the morning after my arrival in Edinburgh, hoping to finish my long walk before the rainy season commenced.  My old friend and host accompanied me across the Forth, by the Granton Ferry, and walked with me for some distance on the other side; then bidding me God-speed, he returned to the city.  The weather was fine, and the farmers were very busy at work.  A vast quantity of grain, especially of oats, was cut and ready for carting; but little of it had been ricked in consequence of frequent showers.  I noticed that they used a different snath for their scythes here from that common in England.  It is in two parts, like the handles of a plough, joining a foot or two above the blade.  One is shorter than the other, each having a thole.  It is a singular contrivance, but seems to be preferred here to the old English pole.  I have never seen yet an American scythe-snath in England or Scotland, although so much of our implemental machinery has been introduced.  American manure-forks and hay-forks, axes and augurs you will now find exposed for sale in nearly every considerable town, but one of our beautifully mounted scythes would be a great novelty here.

Scotland boasts some of the most wonderful (Botanic) gardens in Britain and the gardens from the National Botanic Gardens of Scotland belong to the oldest and most beautiful in the world, and also contain one of the richest plant collections. Their gardens are located in Edinburgh, Benmore, Logan and Dawyck.

Dawyck Botanic Garden is located in the Scottish Borders on the B712, only eight miles southwest of Peebles. This botanic garden is more than 300 years old and boasts some of the tallest trees in Britain, as well as exotic conifers. Located in a picturesque glen Dawyck is a trully magnificant garden offering spectacular displays of azaleas, rhododendrons and lovely walks on the hillside and along little burns. Themed trails provide insight into the special collections at Dawyck, and follow the adventures and discoveries of plant collector David Douglas, after whom the Douglas fir is named.

Dawyck Botanic Garden has a gift shop, conservatory and of course very nice plants for sale. Dawyck House unfortunately doesn't belong to the garden and can therefore not be visisted, but is well visible from the several trails. Dawyck Garden is open daily, starting at 10.00am, from the beginning of February to the end of November. Admission is £3.50 for adults, £3.00 concession and children pay £1.00.