“An easy, flexible stroll straight from Bowmore's harbour — follow the shore as far as you like along Loch Indaal, with views across to the Rhinns and a good chance of seeing geese, oystercatchers and seals along the way.”
Walking
- Easy, flat walk right from Bowmore
- Good views across Loch Indaal
- Can be combined with a visit to Bowmore Distillery
The walk begins beside Bowmore Distillery, Islay's oldest working distillery, and follows the shore path past The Battery — a small former gun emplacement that once helped watch over the loch — before running on along the coast towards the farm at Gartbreck.
The full route to Gartbreck and back is closer to five miles over pebbly, sometimes uneven shoreline, so treat the distance here as flexible: turn back whenever suits, with the stretch closest to town giving some of the easiest, most reliable walking on this part of the coast.
Oystercatchers and geese are regularly seen along the shore, with seals sometimes hauled out on the rocks offshore; Loch Indaal's wider mudflats and saltmarsh, further towards Bridgend, hold thousands of wintering geese, though this stretch nearer Bowmore is generally quieter.