Port Ellen, Islay
Originally uploaded by Lidwit.
And no I don't just mean us!
One thing that abounds on Islay, no matter where you go, is evidence of her history. Everywhere you look there are ruins and relics from the past whether it's just a derelict cottage, a standing stone, a church, a cross, a hill fort... the list is endless. At one time there were over 15,000 inhabitants on the island. Today there are just 3400.
Right from the start of our break we were faced with ruins and we hadn't even reached Finlaggan yet where the most famous ruins of all still sit in evidence of the era of the Lord of the Isles.
Sadly the ruins aren't confined to the ancient past. We also came across many buildings that had obviously been in use until very recently before falling into disrepair. The most striking example of this was the Islay Hotel in Port Ellen. The beautiful old building is in a prime location but has suffered greatly from a lack of funding and basic love and care. 
Hopefully the issues surrounding this will improve soon but in the meantime it stands as evidence of a community still balanced very much on the knife edge of economy. 
2 comments:
The Islay Hotel is really a sad story, especially keeping in mind it is one of the first things most visitors see when arriving on Islay (unless the ferry goes to Port Askaig for a change, but that's a different story at the moment).
I assume you've heard that it was about to be rebuilt last year but it all fell through for a number of reasons? Disappointing.
And I think you've probably missed Cultoon Stone Circle, I don't think you got that far ;-)
We did hear about the plans to rebuild the hotel and also some of the problems that halted them. It's such a shame and I really hope that it can be resolved before the building becomes too compromised. As soon as I win the lottery... ;o)
As for the Cultoon stone circle - we did miss it. We kinda got stuck at Bruichladdich for some bizarre reason. I wish I could remember what that was. Hee hee. Thanks for digging out a memory for me tho'. Last time I was on Islay (many many moons ago) we visited Alistair Cultoon who regaled us with his memories of Islay in another era. I loved his stories and was really saddened to note that Cultoon was up for sale a couple of years ago. Again I'm just waiting for that lottery win.
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