Touring Islay's Distilleries Without a Car

Both are covered below, along with the distilleries you'll still need a car, taxi or bus to reach.

From our three houses in Bruichladdich, Bruichladdich Distillery is a 10-minute walk along the flat coastal cycle path (15 minutes from Curlew Cottage). Tour the distillery, taste the Bruichladdich, Port Charlotte and Octomore ranges — and the distillery-only valinch bottling as well as The Botanist gin of course — then amble home along the shore. No driving, no designated driver, no taxi to book — the one distillery on Islay you can do with no logistics at all. And really one of the very best to explore.

On Islay's south coast, the Three Distilleries Pathway is a flat, surfaced walking-and-cycling path running roughly 4 miles (6.3 km) from Port Ellen past Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Ardbeg — and now Portintruan, the island's newest distillery, sits on the same stretch. You can walk the lot in a day, tour as you go, and catch the bus back from Ardbeg rather than retrace your steps. It's about a 40-minute drive from our houses to Port Ellen to start if one of you wants to drive. Alternatively, it's quite easy to co-ordinate a trip from Bruichladdich to Port Ellen and Ardbeg with the local Islay bus timetable — a very doable whisky tasting day without a car.

This trio of distilleries are all physically close to each other along the north coast by Port Askaig, but there is no direct path or road connection between them and it requires going back up to the main road to get from one to the other. They are most easily visited by car.

Be realistic about the other distilleries: of Islay’s distilleries open to visitors, most — Bowmore, Kilchoman, Bunnahabhain, Caol Ila, Ardnahoe — do need a car, taxi, or the island bus to reach. A no-car distillery trip works best as: Bruichladdich on foot from the door, a south-coast day on the Three Distilleries Pathway (bus out and back from Bowmore/Port Ellen), and the island bus or a pre-booked taxi for anything else.

Scotland's drink-drive limit is low enough that the safe rule is simple: if you're driving, you're not tasting. Don't drink. Don't risk it. We are a long way from a hospital and although we are hugely fortunate to be served by the air ambulance service, do not count on it. Building even one or two walkable distillery days into a trip means at least some of your whisky is enjoyed the way it's meant to be — unhurried, and without one of you watching everyone else.

Distilleries are very happy to provide take-away drams for designated drivers to enjoy later at home, so please bear this in mind in your planning and do ask when you’re at the distillery.