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Port EllenPort Ellen is the main port and ferry terminal on Islay and was founded in 1821 by Walter Frederick Campbell who named the town after his wife.
On the final approach to Port Ellen the ferry passes the square Carraig Fhada lighthouse, which was built in 1823. The main road from Port Ellen either heads east, passing three of the islands distilleries and continuing on to Kildalton Chapel. Heading north leads to Bowmore, following the A846, or Bridgend, following the B8016. Alternatively, following the road west from Port Ellen leads to the Oa peninsula, with the road continuing southwest to the Mull of Oa. Perched on the cliff is the American Monument, which is shaped like a lighthouse – quite apt as it was built as a memorial to 266 Americans lost in the area when their ships, the Tuscania and the Ontario, were sunk in the area in 1918. Heading northwest from Port Ellen leads to Kintra at the southern end of Laggan Bay. To the north of the bay is the entrance to Loch Indaal while on the opposite side is the western peninsula of the island known as the Rhinns of Islay. |
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As the ferry approaches
the island, the first three distilleries come into view – Ardbeg, Lagavulin and
Laphroaig. There was a further distillery in Port Ellen itself, which closed in
1983, but the Malting plant still supplies most of the distilleries on the
island.
