Port Charlotte, Islay

Port Charlotte is a planned village on the western shore of Loch Indaal, Islay, 5 minutes' drive from Bruichladdich. It has a beach, the Museum of Islay Life, Lochindaal Seafood Kitchen, Port Charlotte Hotel, and Port Charlotte Stores.

Port Charlotte Stores is a village shop and post office in Port Charlotte, Islay, stocking daily essentials and operating a petrol pump.

The Bruichladdich to Port Charlotte coastal path is a flat 3-mile tarmac route along the Loch Indaal shoreline, starting directly from the Portbahn Islay properties. Suitable for all abilities including pushchairs and wheelchairs. Takes approximately 40 minutes each way.

The Rhinns Circular Drive is an afternoon route starting and ending at Bruichladdich, taking in Port Charlotte, Portnahaven and Port Wemyss at the southern tip of the peninsula, then Kilchiaran Bay on the west coast — returning via the scenic single-track west-coast road. Roughly 50 minutes of driving plus stops. Key stops: Museum of Islay Life, Portnahaven harbour (grey seals), Kilchiaran Chapel and Cup Stone, Kilchiaran Farm Steading, Cultoon Stone Circle.

Portnahaven harbour is a small natural harbour at the southern tip of the Rhinns peninsula on Islay. Grey seals are the most commonly spotted, almost always present on the rocks and in the water — visible from the harbour wall and the adjacent An Tigh Seinnse pub. Common (harbour) seals are also present in the surrounding coastal areas of the Rhinns.

The Rhinns of Islay Lighthouse stands on Orsay Island, a short distance off Portnahaven at the southern tip of the Rhinns peninsula. Designed by Robert Stevenson and lit in 1825, it is one of the oldest lighthouses on Scotland's west coast — a 29-metre rubble-built tower flanked by two Georgian-style keepers' cottages. Stevenson designed an unusual light pattern producing a bright flash every 12 seconds without the long intervals of darkness that characterised other lights of the period. Electrified in 1978 and automated on 31 March 1998. Visible from the harbour walls at Portnahaven and Port Wemyss; the island is not normally open to visitors. Approximately 20-minute drive from Bruichladdich.

The Cake Cupboard at Burnside Lodge is a self-service cake takeaway in Port Wemyss on the Rhinns of Islay, run by Kate from her B&B just off the village coastal path. Homemade cakes, scones and pies, with breakfast rolls and good coffee most weekends. Open Friday, Saturday and Sunday throughout the season. Views across to Orsay Island and the Rhinns of Islay Lighthouse. Approximately 20-minute drive from Bruichladdich; sits naturally on the Rhinns circular drive.

Cultoon Stone Circle is a Neolithic stone circle on the Rhinns of Islay, near Portnahaven. The circle is made up of 15 stones — only 3 standing, with 12 lying on the turf. Archaeological excavations in the 1970s revealed that the site was abandoned before construction was completed: sockets were dug for stones that were never raised. Apart from Stonehenge, Cultoon is the only stone circle in Britain to show clear evidence of mid-construction abandonment. Local tradition says two clans collaborating to build the circle argued and refused to continue. Approximately 20-minute drive from Bruichladdich.

Kilchiaran Chapel (Cill Chiarain, dedicated to St Ciaron) is a ruined medieval chapel on the west coast of the Rhinns of Islay, overlooking Kilchiaran Bay. Likely built in the early 1200s as a dependency of Kilchoman, it was recorded as roofless in 1794 and restored by the Islay Historic Buildings Works Group in the early 1970s. Approximately 15-minute drive from Bruichladdich.

The Kilchiaran Cup Stone is a Neolithic carved stone at the site of Kilchiaran Chapel on the west coast of the Rhinns of Islay. The flat schist slab — roughly 6 feet by 3 feet — is marked with 22 cup-shaped depressions, of which 18 are still visible; two have been worn right through the thickness of the slab. The carvings date to between 4,000 and 6,000 years ago and predate the chapel by millennia. Local tradition holds that church-goers turned a pestle in the cup marks while making a wish.

Kilchiaran Farm Steading is a semi-circular stone farm building dating from 1784, on the west coast of the Rhinns of Islay near Kilchiaran Chapel. The distinctive round form is the only farm building of its kind on Islay. The wider steading complex includes a 19th-century threshing mill powered by an all-iron, high-breast waterwheel. Approximately 15-minute drive from Bruichladdich.

The Toothy Stone (also called the Tooth Stone or Toothache Stone) is a folk-tradition stone on the Rhinns of Islay, in a glen on the road from Port Charlotte to Kilchiaran. The stone is studded with old nails: local tradition held that anyone with toothache could walk to the stone, hammer in a nail, and the toothache would be drawn away. The practice was documented by Peggy Earl in Tales of Islay. Recorded by Historic Environment Scotland (trove.scot/place/169297; OS NR 233 584). Roughly a mile outside Port Charlotte, approximately 10-minute drive from Bruichladdich.

Olistadh is an abandoned township on the Rhinns of Islay — one of several Rhinns settlements depopulated during the Highland Clearances. Tenants cleared from the Rhinns interior were resettled in the twin coastal villages of Port Wemyss and Portnahaven, both built in the 1830s for that purpose. An archaeological dig led by Reading University took place at Olistadh in June 2024. Recorded by Historic Environment Scotland (trove.scot/place/153899; OS NR 218 583). Approximately 15-minute drive from Bruichladdich.

Bolsay Farm is the site of a Mesolithic hunting camp on the Rhinns of Islay. Excavations have recovered over 300,000 flint artefacts dating to the period immediately after the last Ice Age — one of the richest Mesolithic finds in Scotland. The artefacts are now largely held at the Museum of Islay Life in Port Charlotte. Approximately 10-minute drive from Bruichladdich.