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 Port Carlotte from the Harbour |
The settlement of Port Charlotte dates back to 1828 when it was established by Walter Campbell, the Laird of Islay. He named it after his mother and so presumably ensured a quieter family life. He had named Port Ellen, which he had established seven years earlier, after his wife.
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Port Charlotte lies on the north side of Loch Indaal. It was set up primarily to provide housing for the workers in the large Lochindaal Distillery. This ceased operation in 1929, but the local distillery tradition continues a little along the coast at Bruichladdich.
 The Old Lochindaal
Distillery |
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 Museum of Islay Life |
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 Bruichladdich Distillery |
Today's visitor finds a beautiful white-painted village and the largest settlement on the Rhinns of Islay. At the heart of the village is the large Port Charlotte Hotel, fronting onto the main street and backing onto the beach.
Stretching south west from the hotel is Port Charlotte's main street, named like all the other streets in the village in Gaelic. This is designed on a split level. Houses on one side are raised above the road, while those on the shore side are set below it, together with their tiny gardens. The overall effect is unusual and very striking.
Much of the village seems to have been caught at a particular moment in time and it repays exploration. Some of its features, like small back closes and yards reached through archways in terraces of houses, seem to reflect the design of 19th century big city life rather than the layout of a small island village.
Although Lochindaal Distillery ceased production in 1929 some of its buildings are still in use. An old warehouse backing onto the sea is now used partly as the Islay Wildlife Information Centre. This is open from April to October (except on Saturdays and Wednesdays) from 10.00am to 3.00pm (5.00pm in July and August). Entry is £2.00 for adults and £5.00 for a family. The upper floor of the old warehouse provides hostel accommodation.
Nearby is the old church converted into the Museum of Islay Life. This includes coverage of Islay's many archeological treasures alongside material about the island's equally numerous shipwrecks, plus a recreation of life in a croft. Also housed here is the Museum of Childhood, and the Gordon Booth Library with its extensive collection of reference material on Islay. The Museum of Islay Life is open daily from Easter to October, and from 10.00am to 5.00pm. Admission is £2.00 for adults; £1.20 for concessions; and £1.00 for children.
Port Charlotte is a village that should feature as part of any visit to Islay. Perhaps because it was built to serve a distillery that then closed in 1929 it feels like a time capsule from an earlier world. And the interest is enhanced by the Museum of Islay Life and the Wildlife Information Centre.
At the same time the village is simply an attractive place to be, and offers visitors their choice of beaches to enjoy or rocky shoreline to explore. There really is something here for everyone.
