Jura

Lying just a few hundred metres across the Sound Of Islay and it’s more famous neighbour, Jura is an island of contrasts. Much more mountainous that neighbouring Islay the landscape is much more like the mainland.

To reach the island is a long trip having to sail from the mainland at Kennacraig to either Port Ellen or Port Askaig before making the short journey across the Sound of Islay to Jura. Littered with shipwrecks the Sound has one of the strongest currents in the seas around Scotland. Divers have to tie themselves to wrecks to avoid being swept further out to sea.

On reaching the island it is short drive to the distillery and the Jura Hotel located in the tiny village of Craighouse. If you are lucky during your drive you will come across herds of Red Deer which inhabit the island, over 5000 red deer but only 150 people make up the population of the island.

The backbone of the island is dominated by the Paps of Jura, three peaks all rising to over 2400ft. On the slopes of Beinn an Oir there is a small cottage, the location chosen by the author George Orwell to write 1984. From there you can hear the roar of the Corryvreckan whirlpool, the 3rd largest in the world and it is caused by very strong currents and unique features on the seabed.

Jura Distillery is located on the sheltered eastern side of the island facing the mainland, around it and its neighbour, the Jura Hotel you will find palm trees growing. A unique location driven by the location and the nearby Gulf Stream