Sound of Jura

Mistroma said:
Have you spotted the amphidrome yet? We used to anchor in the bay just up from Craighouse regularly in our Southerly. Always the same spot in about 2m water, high or low water, springs or neeps.:D

Sometimes stopped at Craighouse to visit the small harbour my wife's great great grandfather built when the distillery was one of the ones he owned.
Click to expand...
I've looked at the pictures but haven't spotted the Amphidrome. Is it something like the Loch Ness Monster? Also, I have yet to hear the Sound of Jura.
 
bikedaft said:
Who.was your great great grandfather?

Lovely wee pier and beach.
Click to expand...
My wife's, not mine. Her father was James Lewis Ferguson and there have been a few James going back. It would be James Ferguson some time around 1880 or slightly earlier. We had some old documents and I can't remember how many bottles were produced each year but it was around 500,000. I think he invested around £4,000,000 at today's prices. Had a big argument with the Laird. I think it was something about building more roads further from the distillery. He thought the harbour and roads at distillery were enough. Anyway, he wouldn't give in and just stripped everything from the distillery and shut it down.

I did have one old story from that time when an English visitor wrote to thank for lending him a house when on an extended stay. Hilarious part was when he asked him to pass on thanks to a mister MacBrayne for the use of a boat. I thought that was too much of a coincidence. :D
 
Last edited:
Mistroma said:
My wife's, not mine. Her father was James Lewis Ferguson and there have been a few James going back. It would be James Ferguson some time around 1880 or slightly earlier. We had some old documents and I can't remember how many bottles were produced each year but it was around 500,000. I think he invested around £4,000,000 at today's prices. Had a big argument with the Laird. I think it was something about building more roads further from the distillery. He thought the harbour and roads at distillery were enough. Anyway, he wouldn't give in and just stripped everything from the distillery and shut it down.

I did have one old story from that time when an English visitor wrote to thank for lending him a house when on an extended stay. Hilarious part was when he asked him to pass on thanks to a mister MacBrayne for the use of a boat. I thought that was too much of a coincidence. :D
Click to expand...
As you say....
In 1831, William Abercrombie obtained the first license for the Isle of Jura Distillery. Production launched soon afterwards and was met with great success. In 1853, the distillery changed hands, with Norman Buchanan from Glasgow taking over the lease. Just over a decade later, in 1867, Buchanan filed for bankruptcy, and J. & K. Orr snatched the distillery’s up for grabs ownership. In 1876 the license was transferred again, this time to James Ferguson and Sons. In 1901, the Ferguson family reportedly fell into a conflict with the then Laird of Jura, Laird Colin Campbell, which resulted in them closing the distillery and dismantling and selling the equipment.
Jura
Click to expand...

The Jura distillery began making whisky in 1810, 13 years before distilling was legalized in Scotland. At that time, the large Ardfin Estate was still under the fiefdom of the Duke of Argyll, a duchy held to this day by the Campbell clan. In 1831, under the name Small Isles, the distillery was leased out and continued under different operators until 1876, when Glasgow wine merchant James Ferguson & Sons took over and renamed it Jura.
Ferguson was offered a long lease by the then laird with the proviso he would make upgrades costing about £25,000 pounds (around £3.6 million in today’s money). He built the road, the pier, and cottages for his workers and began production of a peated whisky in the style now synonymous with Islay. In 1901 the old laird died and his son inherited the seat, informing Ferguson he would be making a steep hike in his rent. The relationship soured fast, and Ferguson—though tied to his lease—dismantled the distillery and shipped the equipment back to the mainland. In 1913, the last of the whisky was gone and the roof was removed to avoid paying any more taxes.
On the Scottish Island of Jura, the Whisky is as Wild as the Wind
Click to expand...
 
Matches family stories pretty well. The excess money from selling the bits removed from the distillery and some of the whisky stock was used to build houses for family members. I think there were about 7 large properties built in Bearsden. I can understand why he was upset when the new Laird wanted him to build roads not needed for the distillery. At least that's the story I got but no written records when looking through old documents after my wife's mother died.

Nobody knew anything about Ferguson ownership when we visited the distillery years ago. We though they might have old documents or photographs and were surprised to find nothing.

Neither of us like whisky. We have plenty of bottles for visitors but we never touch it. :D
 
Well, it’s slightly less perfect today. Woken up by swell we left early. Following another boat out and they threw a bag of used toilet paper overboard which floated past us back into the anchorage 🤮🤬
 
arc1 said:
Probably because I was quickly typing a reply on a sailing forum and not hugely fussed about my exact choice of words when the meaning, in this context, is perfectly clear. Didn't think that I was submitting a piece of formal writing for evaluation but hey ho will try harder next time.
Click to expand...
That is a perfectly good explanation, for your case.

But I am still wondering why the distinction between "jealous" and "envious" is being lost in common parlance. ...

I know it's FredDrift... but this is the tinternet, so it's OK.
 
webcraft said:
Its bloody freezing in Orkney, max 12deg all week. Wish we were in home waters
Click to expand...
Stromness: Ferry Inn for Beer & food. The Pier Bistro for really good coffee & snacks.
Kirkwall: Helgi's as a V good pub. The Pomonas for really good cafe stuff and excellent coffee.
 
We’ve just come back from six weeks of cruising Scottish waters. I’m envious (!) of your sunshine. It’s a lovely cruising area but Mrs A. and I have arrived back as pallid skin-toned as we were two months ago. Best anchorage?? Kearstay/Scarp. Dodgiest moment?? Entering Grimnish Harbour. Would we go again?? Definitely 😎

Here we are at Scarp (in a rare evening of sunshine):
 

Attachments

  • bd3a96cc-dcfe-43be-8215-b237c7ae6776.jpeg
    bd3a96cc-dcfe-43be-8215-b237c7ae6776.jpeg
    406.7 KB · Views: 10
  • IMG_4955.jpeg
    IMG_4955.jpeg
    2 MB · Views: 10
  • IMG_4958.jpeg
    IMG_4958.jpeg
    535.1 KB · Views: 10
Arcady said:
We’ve just come back from six weeks of cruising Scottish waters. I’m envious (!) of your sunshine. It’s a lovely cruising area but Mrs A. and I have arrived back as pallid skin-toned as we were two months ago. Best anchorage?? Kearstay/Scarp. Dodgiest moment?? Entering Grimnish Harbour. Would we go again?? Definitely 😎

Here we are at Scarp (in a rare evening of sunshine):
Click to expand...
Yes, Kearstay is pretty special. Very few yachts venture into Griminish. We were in there a few years ago, and had expected a clean sandy bottom, but were disappointed to find an awful lot of weed. We stayed for a couple of days, and had great difficulty leaving. The tide sluicing in and out, meant that our anchor chain had harvested a huge haystack of weed. The weed acted as a sea-anchor, and so the tide was trying to take us places that we really didn't want to go.
 
jamie N said:
Stromness: Ferry Inn for Beer & food. The Pier Bistro for really good coffee & snacks.
Kirkwall: Helgi's as a V good pub. The Pomonas for really good cafe stuff and excellent coffee.
Click to expand...
Had a pint of Swannay beer in Helgis and booked a table for tomorrow.

Mrs W got an Orkney t-shirt with a puffin on it and is dead chuffed.

- W
 
lustyd said:
Don’t worry it’s freezing here now too and our sail to Mull has turned into a motor 🤨
Click to expand...
Normal service has been resumed. Best stay down South before you bring your prices North.
Normal conditions are Strong winds, lots of rain, midge bites and COLD!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top