Port Ellen

Port Ellen

Port Ellen
Port Ellen
Port Ellen shown within Argyll and Bute
OS grid reference NR365455
Council area
Lieutenancy area
Country Scotland
Sovereign state United Kingdom
Post town ISLE OF ISLAY
Postcode district PA42
Dialling code 01496
Police Scottish
Fire Scottish
Ambulance Scottish
EU Parliament Scotland
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament

Port Ellen (Scottish Gaelic: Port Ìlein) is a small town on the island of Islay, in Argyll, Scotland. The town is named after the wife of the founder, Frederick Campbell of Islay. Its previous name, Leòdamas, is derived from old Norse meaning "Leòd's Harbour".

Port Ellen is built around Leodamais Bay, Islay's main deep water harbour. It is the largest town on Islay, only slightly larger than Bowmore and provides the main ferry connection between Islay and the mainland, at Kennacraig. The Port Ellen Distillery was first established in the 1820s and ceased production of Scotch whisky in 1983. The large malting continues to produce for the majority of the distilleries on Islay.[1][2]

History

The area around Port Ellen has a variety of archaeological sites covering the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Age periods. There are standing stones at Kilbride, a fort at Borraichill Mor, several chambered cairns, and a chapel at Cill Tobar Lasrach.[1] Nearby lie the ruined remains of the 14th-century Dunyvaig Castle, once a fortress of the MacDonald Lords of the Isles.[3]

Ferry Service

Preceding station   Ferry   Following station
Terminus   Caledonian MacBrayne
Islay Ferry		   Kennacraig
Terminus   Kintyre Express
April to October		   Ballycastle

Notable people

George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen, Labour politician and former Secretary General of NATO was born in Port Ellen[4] on 12 April 1946.

References

  1. 1 2 "Port Ellen". Isle of Islay. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  2. ↑ "Port Ellen Distillery". Islay Whisky. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  3. ↑ "Port Ellen". Gazetteer for Scotland. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
  4. ↑ "George Robertson, Baron Robertson of Port Ellen". Biographicon.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
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