Excerpts from issue 53/17 30 May 2026
Port Ellen Pier update
Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL), invited members of the public to attend a presentation in Port Ellen's Ramsay Hall on Wednesday 13 May, to see and hear detailed plans and their respective timelines for the £107 million upgrade of Port Ellen Pier to eventually cope with the two Turkish-built ferries, MV Isle of Islay and MV Loch Indaal.
Until work on Port Ellen Pier is completed in early 2029, both ferries will be confined to sailing between Kennacraig and Port Askaig.
The principal problem with the present pier, described by its owners, CMAL as 'spatially constrained', and 'life expired and not fit for purpose', is the lack of a suitable vehicle marshalling area, which can currently accommodate only the 85 cars carried by the MV Finlaggan, but well short of the 105 spaces available on the new 'Islay Class' vessels.
Upgrade works will ultimately increase the available marshalling space to 150% of the new vessels' carrying capacity, as well as provide a dedicated freight parking section and a new terminal building.
When complete, the new pier will be capable of accommodating both new ferries simultaneously (should such a situation be required), yet still provide sufficient berthing space for the grain boat and others without impacting the regular ferry service. Construction work will commence next month with the immediate closure of the quay used by local fishing boats.
The new fishing quay is expected to be ready by spring, 2027, and by the middle of the same year, it is expected that a new commercial quay will be in place as part of the sceduled phase one works.
CMAL has stated that grain boat deliveries will be maintained through the construction works programme, on the fixed ramp during the initial stages, and latterly at the new commercial berth.
Access to the inner-harbour will be maintained throughout the works programme, though CMAL are aware that there will be some unavoidable disruption. However, management measures will be in place to control this.
During the pier closure, ferry tickets will be available online, or from a temporary ticket unit adjacent to the War Memorial, from 9am - 2pm, Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
At Port Askaig, visual messaging boards will be positioned at the top of the hill and within the local area to provide service updates and capacity levels at the port.
Throughout the planned works, Islay residents can contact CMAL via petd@cmassets.co.uk To submit feedback on the project, connect to cmal.scot/petd-survey and for project newsletters, cmal.scot/petd-newsletter
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No news isn't good news
Islay and Jura residents who look forward to a timely copy of their daily newspaper, have been subjected to continual disappointment over the past few weeks, with no newspapers at all for two Saturdays in succession, and continually late delivery during weekdays.
This situation is compounded by the previously highlighted decision to remove the MV Isle of Islay from the first sailing on Thursday mornings for 'preventative maintenance', thus ensuring that the newspapers cannot arrive until lunchtime at the earliest.
This is a problem which will be compounded when the MV Loch Indaal joins the route and carries out a similar maintenance schedule on Tuesday mornings.
Currently, the newspapers are delivered to Mundell's from Glasgow by Menzies, for onward transport to Islay via the morning ferry.
However, according to a spokesperson for Mundell's transport, regular delivery of the newspapers has been stymied by an alleged lack of flexibility by CalMac.
No longer will CalMac allow the newspapers to travel in the truck cab, as they apparently constitute a fire hazard. Mundell's told the Ileach, "The papers need to arrive with us from the supplier by 6:15am at the latest, to allow them to be loaded and the vehicle to make the check-in time (30 minutes in advance of departure time) for the ferry at Kennacraig.
"The primary issue of late has been the supplier running late in the morning from Glasgow, due to M8 motorway closures, and/or Rest & Be Thankful delays." (The delivery supplier is constrained from leaving Glasgow any earlier due to the newspapers' printing schedules.)
Mundell's said it was often impossible to place the papers on the next available sailing, due either to lack of space on the ferry, or because CalMac's booking system was closed. They also admitted that Mundell's is charged for the van, even if the papers don't show and marked down as a 'no show' by CalMac.
"We used to put them on the barrow when they ran late, but with CalMac tightening up on check-in times and using good old west coast ingenuity, the timely delivery has suffered."
When contacted for comment, a CalMac spokeswoman told the Ileach, "There is a dedicated booking every day for a vehicle delivering newspapers to Islay, and if it arrives before check-in has closed, it will be carried. If this booking time is not used, the papers will be carried across on the next sailing.
"All goods must be transported in an appropriate manner, including newspapers."
Menzies has been approached for comment.
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In this week's issue:
Fèis at forty, Port Ellen Pier upgrade, A whale of a time, Lateness of daily newspapers, The Big Lunch, Islay Open Golf, Smeuran is Cultùine, Port Ellen's new fire engine, Machrie award, Islay's roads, HX Expeditions beach clean, CMAL art winners, Are we using IT properly?, Bruichladdich Masterclass
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Craft markets restart
Liz Sykes writes:
Summer is here, and the Whisky Festival is almost over, so if you're looking for something to do, the Craft Markets start again on Tuesday, 2 June and will be held every Tuesday throughout the summer in Bruichladdich Hall from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm. Mark it on your calendar!
We have two new members this year and have been busy all winter on our respective creations, so that we can present a really good show. There will be paintings, photography, lino cuts and batik prints of local views, wildlife and distilleries, for sale as framed and unframed pictures, greetings cards, fridge magnets and paperweights. There will also be quilts, aprons, table-runners, pottery, painted slate, locally spun wool and knitwear in addition to fused glass pictures and dishes, jewellery featuring gem stones from around the world and much, much more.
In fact, there is something for everyone, and we also welcome dogs. In addition, most of us can accept card payments as well as cash.
Although we are not able to offer refreshments, the Mini-Market is within easy walking distance, selling teas, coffees, cakes, toasties and filled rolls. This year there is a new footpath between the hall and the Mini-Market to make things easier for you!
We are always looking for new members, so if you have a craft, would like to sell your work and are free on Tuesdays, please come along and have a chat with us at one of the craft fairs, or get in touch with me, Liz Sykes. My email is: elizabethsykesbatiks@outlook.com
We also love to see locals at our fairs. You don't have to buy anything; just come in for a chat and a browse. However, if you have a hotel, guesthouse or self catering establishment, we would be very grateful if you can make sure your visitors know about us. We can supply posters or leaflets if you would like and, in the meantime, we wish you a very good season.
Looking forward to seeing you all!
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