Thank you, Trophywife007 and I have indeed sent Peter a link to the thread.

Brodick, Lamlash, Kildonan and Lagg

We arrived at Brodick on time and were quickly off the ferry. I shouldn’t have been surprised to see how the town had grown a little and it looked good in the bright morning sunshine. I always smile arriving here because my mind always goes back to the classic BBC series called The Vital Spark (or Para Handy) and the crew’s adventures at Brodick Pier. I’ve searched for the clip for years and never found it!

The plan was drive completely around the island using the coast road (A841). I thought it best to start the journey by driving north but changed that because of what happened the evening before. Kostadis said he’d like to see a distillery and I gently reminded him that not all Scottish islands have as many as, for example, Islay. I knew there was one in Lochranza so decided to take them there however after they searched on Google they found another recently opened one at Lagg. They had tours almost hourly from 10am to 16.00 and their site said to book, we needed to email or phone them. I called them just before leaving Ardrossan and they could take us on the tour at noon.

We therefore drove south from Brodick to the village of Lamlash (around 10 minutes journey time). Getting out of the car and turning around to face the way we’d come you get some of the best views of the hills and mountains from anywhere on the island. The kid's camera phone things were going crazy. In the bay in front of us was the Holy Isle. A mystical and beautiful place, now the home of a religious order which you can easily visit using a (very) small ferry which runs from Lamlash a few times a day. The official website for Holy Isle is https://www.holyisle.org/. We spent only a short time in Lamlash and enough to visit a small cafe for a snack, still admiring the views all around us.

Back on the road again we were heading south to Whiting Bay and Kildonan and by this time we’d terrific views over the Clyde to the Ayrshire coast. We didn’t stop at Whiting Bay and just as we turned into Kildonan we could see Ailsa Craig, the volcanic plug I mentioned earlier in the report, and far in the distance. Details of it are at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ailsa_Craig.

Lamlash to Whiting bay was only 10 minutes and just a wee bit more from there to Kildonan. Kildonan is a pretty wee place, a few small cottages and a castle too! We sat for a few minutes right at the waterside to let some photos be taken and then started to drive towards the distillery.

When I called them earlier they were good enough to let me know it was at Kilmory, just a little before you arrive at Lagg. Although we had plenty of time to get there for the tour at noon I get a bit paranoid about being late. We started the drive from Kildonan and it took about 15 minutes to Kilmory (the distillery was well-signposted on the main road and easy to find). I can’t say how much we all enjoyed the visit and tour. Everything is mostly included in the Visitor Centre but we also saw the stills. Those on the tour were told at the outset that we’d also get a chance to do some tasting. The guide was great and all of that was £10 per person. It was only when we got there I discovered it is a new distillery created and owned by the main one at Lochranza. Aye, Google doesn’t always tell you everything! We saw a shop, cafe and what looked like a restaurant there too but didn’t visit them. The kids said they loved it all but Kostadis didn’t buy as he wanted to wait until we got to the main one at Lochranza. Anyway, here’s the website of the place we visited:

https://www.laggwhisky.com/

Shouldbewriting mentioned earlier in this thread that Lagg was her favourite place on the island and we did indeed stop there just after we left the distillery. I can honestly say it was one of the most picturesque little hamlets we visited that day. Very beautiful indeed and I’d like to back there again some time.

Again a few of the trip ‘mechanics’. The roads on the island we found to be great and well maintained. There is also a good local bus service that could get you to everywhere we visited, albeit a wee bit slower. I noticed a lot of new building but it all seemed to be harmonious with the surroundings. Many were single story too.

Next Blackwaterfoot, Machrie and Pirnmill.

Thank you shouldbewriting. I am indeed familiar with Neil Munro and his writings. There is only one single clip I've ever found online of the Vital Spark series and here it is below (is only 2 mins). Listen carefully to the accents and you'll realise why 'V' became 'F'! The three actors in this, John Grieve, Roddy McMillan (Para Handy) and Walter Carr were wonderful in any production they appeared in.

Here’s the clip:
I think there's a wee Fodors bug today because I can't see punctuation in the reports. Apostrophes have gone on holiday!