This could be an article about peat fires, sumptuous seafood, a deserted beach with views across the waves to America, lots of ancient history, welcoming locals, and a gentle pace of life which typifies Scotland's islands, all just a 25-minute flight from Glasgow Aiport.

It could be, and will be later. But why would you come to Islay and not write about whisky, given that it boasts eight separate working distilleries, and some of the most famous malts in the business?

The big names literally roll off the tongue: Bowmore, Bruichladdich, Caol Ila, Bunnahabhain, Ardbeg, Lagavulin, and Laphroaig. (They're joined by Kilchoman, made in a micro-distillery which opened almost a decade ago.)

Our hosts for this trip are VisitScotland and Morrison Bowmore, whose distillery on the shore of Loch Indaal officially dates back to 1779, although there's also evidence it opened even earlier. That makes it one of Scotland's oldest, with a lifespan to match the USA.

What Morrison Bowmore have cleverly done is marry the global interest in quality whisky with the tourist strengths of Islay to offer visitors a complete package.

That's already proved popular with the French, German and Swedish markets, and there's scope for further expansion through their Japanese parent company, Suntory, who merged earlier this year with America's Jim Beam.

So what can you expect? Our journey to the source of Bowmore's famous products begins in the middle of otherwise unremarkable farmland, seven miles above the distillery in the island's capital (also Bowmore).

We yomp half a mile across some boggy ground and reach the River Laggan, its water coming off the nearby hills, about 15ft wide at this point and flowing towards the sea. But crucially here there's also a spur, with a small grid protecting the inflow pipe that leads straight to the whisky stills.

Well, straight's not quite accurate; on part of its meandering journey downhill, the water of life runs through underground pipes, but elsewhere it can also be tracked by the naked eye. A mile or two from the inflow, we're shown a hand-cut trench shaded by trees, and the untreated water there tastes pretty good.

So, we've got water, and the distillery's arranging their regular supplies of malted barley and industrial yeast. But the Islay malts are renowned for another specific ingredient - peat.

Smoke when it's burned in the malt-drying kiln is infused to give the whisky a unique flavour: some call it extra special, others medicinal!

But it works for these distilleries, so we're dispatched off to another field to see how it's collected by hand. To a veteran like "Ginger" Willie McNeil, it's a smooth process, undertaken with a tool made out of old wood, cast iron, and an animal horn.

Down into the peat bed, extract an oblong chunk roughly a foot long and three inches square at the end, and flick it into your nearby pile, ready for drying and burning back at the distillery.

To cutting virgins, though, managing even one peat became a battle of will over technique...although we all eventually triumphed. What that did was create an appetite: for the almost inevitable celebratory dram, but also food.

Which is where the smart element of Morrison Bowmore's offering comes in. Just a peat's flick from the distillery's doors are a collection of carefully renovated self-catering cottages, including the Old Bakery, which houses 14 in comfort in a series of en-suite bedrooms and throws in a massive lounge, telescope room which looks over Loch Indaal, and a large kitchen.

If you don't want to DIY, dining out is on offer in the Harbour Inn across the main street, and the recently-opened Taste restaurant round the corner.

We also fitted in a truly memorable dinner served in the vaults of the distillery as the ultimate demonstration of how different versions of the Bowmore malt can complement top cuisine, prepared here by the creative (and versatile) executive chef David Kinnes, using local ingredients as far as possible.

So, for example: rabbit, lamb, salmon, halibut, oysters, goat's cheese, tablet. All prepared with minimum fuss, letting the natural fare do the work, accompanied by different Bowmores.

By now, it should be obvious that this was a trip of high epicurean value. But the island is about more than whisky.  Just as the distilleries demonstrate a wonderful legacy, the Islay Woollen Mill combines still-working historic looms from its origins in 1883, and a global appeal: the mill's designs have featured in Hollywood hits Braveheart, Rob Roy, Forrest Gump, and Far and Away.

Less than a mile's walk is the Islay House Community Garden, whose roots lie in the 18th century. Once part of a stately home, it had become overgrown until a team of volunteers took over in 2005, and can now boast a range of fruit and vegetables which take full advantage of the Gulf Stream location of this most southerly of the Inner Hebrides (think melon, chillis and corn, for example).

And since we're focussing on nature, let's hear it for Machir Bay on the west coast of the island: around a mile of almost deserted beach, rollers breaking on the riptide, and a distant hint of the US...although that prospect may have been the result of another celebratory dram, with shortbread this time, to ward off the stiff breeze as the sun goes down.

So, Islay, lots to do and see. And whisky. Lots of whisky.

For information on Bowmore Distillery visits and accommodation, go to www.bowmore.com or call 01496 810441. The Old Bakery, which sleeps 14, costs £1400-2160, depending  on the time of year.

For tourist information go to www.visitscotland.com

Flybe franchise partner Loganair operates up to 24 flights a week between Glasgow and Islay. Fares start from £44.99. To book visit www.flybe.com or call 0371 700 2000.