![]() ![]() Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Jura's west coast is its remarkable and ostentatious geology. Beachcombing, gathering driftwood for the fire, wildlife-watching, swimming in icy burns and peat-dark lochans, hunting for skulls and discarded antlers: there's never a dull moment. Spending a few days hanging out at the bothies at Glengarrisdale and Ruantallain on the north-west coast (the former maintained by the The Mountain Bothies Association, the latter a room in an estate bothy) and exploring the environs is my idea of heaven. It isn't an easy environment and neither would I recommend it for the inexperienced or faint-hearted! Actually reaching the west coast of Jura requires some degree of commitment and the terrain is seldom less than demanding. This is probably in part because of the unmediated natural anarchy of the environment, which seems to me to resist familiarity. I've walked the west coast of Jura in whole or part numerous times, but every visit brings new discoveries and I've never yet felt like I truly 'know' the place. There can be few places in this country where up-close encounters with wildlife can come to seem so commonplace. The island's wildlife is spectacular and abundant time spent out in the island's wild hinterland brings good chances of spotting white-tailed and golden eagles, hen harriers, merlins, otters, grey seals, adders, feral goats and of course the red deer for which the island is also renowned. Dense bracken, heather and moor grass festoon the acidic peat-cloaked terrain, while only the hardiest plants and flowers and a few traumatised trees endure salt-laced winds and vigorously browsing wildlife to eke an existence. There are few places in the British Isles so devoid of habitation, livestock and land management or other infrastructure. It has to be said that during that first visit the outrageously wild magnificence of the place made quite an impression on me. The west coast of the northern part of the island in particular is as untouched a region of wilderness as can be found anywhere in the British Isles. The Paps dominate the southern part of Jura and the island is almost completely bisected from the west by the ingress of Loch Tarbert. While actually getting to the island is a much quicker and easier proposition than in Orwell's time, the un-getatableness still holds true for much of the island's vast hinterland, beyond the few settlements and the rather rustic A846 – known as The Long Road. Jura is also renowned for being, in Orwell's words, 'un-getatable'. Lying a few miles off the Argyll coast on Scotland's western seaboard, Jura is perhaps best known for its triumvirate of breast-shaped, scree-clad Paps, its eponymous whisky and its most famous temporary resident, George Orwell. Jura is characterized by the pale golden color of barley is light with the softness of a true West Highland malt and has a mild salty taste with a light tone of peat.Perhaps it's something to do with slowing down a bit and changing my priorities when out walking, but I can confidently pin a sea-change in my attitude towards my environment on my first visit to the Isle of Jura in the Southern Hebrides back in 2006. The mild climate, the soft water from various sources and the surrounding seawater determine the character of this malt. Jura single malt whiskey reaches its full development after close certain aging period in oak casks. ![]() Also affecting the Gulf Stream of the Atlantic Ocean from the south. This is because there is on the island there is a unique micro climate. Palm trees in Scotland? Visitors who for the first time call will discover with amazement the island that there are on the island palm trees. A single track road leads to the village. ![]() Access to the island one has with the ferry boat from the island of Islay to stabbing across the strait. The distillery is located in the village of Craighouse on the south coast of the island. However, the largest group of residents are deer, of which about 5,000 live on the island. On the island live no more than 200 people. Besides a hotel, some farms and estates the eponymous distillery is the only industry. Jura means in Old Norse "Island Red Deer. The island is the fourth in size island of the Hebrides off the west coast of Scotland. The island of Jura is one of Scotland's most beautiful, but perhaps the least known island. ![]()
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