Port Askaig is a port

Port

A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

 village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 on the east coast of the island of Islay

Islay

-Prehistory:The earliest settlers on Islay were nomadic hunter-gatherers who arrived during the Mesolithic period after the retreat of the Pleistocene ice caps. In 1993 a flint arrowhead was found in a field near Bridgend dating from 10,800 BC, the earliest evidence of a human presence found so far...

, in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

.

Transport

Port Askaig serves as the main port of Islay, sharing passenger services to the Scottish mainland with Port Ellen

Port Ellen

Port Ellen is a small town on the island of Islay, in Argyll, Scotland.Port Ellen 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"....

. It also has a regular service to Feolin

Feolin

Feolin is a slipway on the west coast of Jura. It provides the only regular access to the island, with a vehicle and passenger ferry service from Port Askaig on Islay across the Sound of Islay. The road on both islands has the designation A846....

, Jura

Jura, Scotland

Jura is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, situated adjacent and to the north-east of Islay. Part of the island is designated as a National Scenic Area. Until the twentieth century Jura was dominated - and most of it was eventually owned - by the Campbell clan of Inveraray Castle on Loch...

 across the Sound of Islay

Sound of Islay

The Sound of Islay is a narrow strait between the islands of Islay and Jura off the west coast of Scotland. It is approximately in extent from north to south and lies between Rubh' a' Mhàil on Islay and Rubh' Aird na Sgitheich on Jura to the north and Macarthur's Head and Rubha na Tràille to the...

, and in the summer there is also a weekly service via Colonsay

Colonsay

Colonsay is an island in the Scottish Inner Hebrides, located north of Islay and south of Mull and has an area of . It is the ancestral home of Clan Macfie and the Colonsay branch of Clan MacNeill. Aligned on a south-west to north-east axis, it measures in length and reaches at its widest...

 to Oban

Oban

Oban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban...

.

Port Askaig is the base of the Islay RNLI lifeboat which is called out ten to twelve times a year.

Port Askaig is memorialised in the classic 6/8 bagpipe pipe march "Leaving Port Askaig".

Facilities

Port Askaig has a hotel, a petrol station and shop next to the port but has very few households.

Port development

Between 2006 and 2009 Porg Askaig was the site of a £13.7 million civil engineering project. The work included a new linkspan

Linkspan

A linkspan or link-span is a type of drawbridge used mainly in the operation of moving vehicles on and off a RO-RO vessel or ferry.Linkspans are usually found at ferry terminals where a vessel uses a combination of ramps either at the stern, bow or side to load or unload cars, vans, trucks and...

 and other berthing facilities for mainland ferries, new facilities for the Jura ferry, and new car parks and waiting rooms. The redeveloped port was officially re-opened on 10 September 2009 by the Princess Royal

Anne, Princess Royal

Princess Anne, Princess Royal , is the only daughter of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...

.

Whisky

Port Askaig is also the name for a recent bottling of Scotch whisky

Scotch whisky

Scotch whisky is whisky made in Scotland.Scotch whisky is divided into five distinct categories: Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Single Grain Scotch Whisky, Blended Malt Scotch Whisky , Blended Grain Scotch Whisky, and Blended Scotch Whisky.All Scotch whisky must be aged in oak barrels for at least three...

, produced for The Whisky Exchange, a retailer in the UK. Its three bottlings - a Cask Strength, a 17 year old, and 25 year old, are strongly rumoured to be re-brandings of the Islay neighbour to the north, Caol Ila

Caol Ila

Caol Ila Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery near Port Askaig on the isle of Islay, Scotland.- History :Caol Ila is derived from Gaelic Caol Ìle for "Sound of Islay" in reference to the distillery's location overlooking the strait between Islay and Jura. It was founded in 1846 by Hector...

 (owned by Diageo

Diageo

Diageo plc is a global alcoholic beverages company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer and wine....

).