For around 10,000 years Islay has been inhabited by man, and Stromatolite, the fossilised evidence of life forming on earth, can be found on the beaches at Bunnahabhain. The island was first documented by St Columba and, in the sixth Century, it became a power base for the Lordship of the Isles. At that time, most of the Western Isles of Scotland were ruled by the council that convened at Finlaggan, near Bunnahabhain.
Its weather, owing much to the Gulf Stream, means that it is both picturesque and clement, making it ideal for the key industries on the island: farming, fishing and, of course, distilling malt whisky.
So you can see why we refer to being welcomed back to Islay as returning to civilisation.
'...it is both picturesque and clement...'
