Every May, as the days get longer and the Saligo Bay sunsets cast their fiery glow over pristine sands and sparkling rocks, Alastair Redman prepares to run the gauntlet. 

Behind him are long winter days when Islay, the southern-most island of the Inner Southern Hebrides, withstands wind, fierce storms and occasional power cuts. 

Ahead are increasingly busy summers, with packed ferries, jammed roads and wave after wave of visitors speaking Russian, Chinese, Japanese and Ghanaian. 

Before then, however, even more than usual for an island drenched in the stuff, comes a flood of whisky.

“The population in May can easily quadruple in size,” says Mr Redman, who is Islay born and bred and local councillor for Kintyre and Islands ward. “We run the gauntlet on the drive through some villages.”

“You have to lock your car doors otherwise people will just jump in, thinking you’re there to pick them up.”

For those whisky lovers who adore the distinctive, powerful, peaty smokiness of Lagavulin, a slightly fruitier Bowmore or the briny, butterscotch tones of a Bruichladdich, Islay is home. And the Islay Festival of Music and Malt in May, is where the heart – and, indeed, the action – is. 

It’s also when single track roads become clogged, a night in a bed and breakfast can soar to £150, – if you can find one - and the island’s 3,200-strong population balloons to about 15,000. Some estimates have put it as high as 20,000. 

The Herald:

The rugged Islay coastline

Luxury yachts take up position in the sweeping bays, camper vans unload their occupants – and their rubbish – on whatever patch of land they can.

Amid the ceilidhs, Gaelic lessons, golf and traditional music, are distilleries offering special edition bottles and a glance inside their picture postcard whitewashed walls to see gleaming copper stills, towers of oak casks, aromatic mash rooms and to savour the process that gives Islay whiskies their characteristic smoky, salty and oily flavours. 

READ MORE: Islay distiller reveals massive expansion drive

And this year there will be a new reason for whisky lovers to pack the CalMac ferries from Kennacraig on the mainland to the island’s two ports - Port Askaig and Port Ellen – or to fly from Glasgow or on the new Edinburgh route to the tiny airport overlooking Laggan Bay. 
Yesterday, Islay’s newest distillery officially opened its doors.

The  £12 million Ardnahoe Distillery, situated on the island’s north east coast between Caol Ila and Bunnahabhain distilleries, brings to nine the number of whisky producers on the 239 square mile island. They share space with gin producers, a brewery and even a winery. 

Developed by family-owned Hunter Laing & Company, Ardnahoe is just part of about £100m worth of investment currently focused on the island. Diageo plans to bring the famous Port Ellen distillery out of mothballs, and the Glenmorangie Company is looking to expand production at Ardbeg. 

Entrepreneur Sukhinder Singh, co-found of the Whisky Exchange, is said to have plans for another distillery near Port Ellen.

Running alongside is a thriving whisky tourism industry - the Scotch Whisky Association has estimated 150,000 whisky lovers visited the island’s distilleries last year, bringing £6m to the local economy. 

The Herald:

A worker at Bruichladdich distillery

Thanks largely to the distilleries, Islay’s unemployment level is less than 1 per cent.  But with already heaving ferries, busy roads and a dearth of affordable housing, could Islay’s whisky galore status eventually backfire? 

Mr Redman admits there’s a delicate balance to be struck to preserve Islay’s unique, friendly way of life and embrace further development. 

“I do think the more people the merrier,” he says. “At one point between the First and Second World Wars, Islay’s population was about 14,000. The island can take it. Remember, Islay used to be an empire in its own right, until defeated by the Scots we had our own kingdom and Islay was independent. 

READ MORE: Ferry firm reveals bid to return to Islay route​

“But while our whisky is world-famous and the tax revenues it brings is enormous, our roads are sub-par. 

“Head for head this is one of the richest places in Europe – you’re looking at £150-£200m whisky revenue to the Exchequer. A large rump of Scotland’s money is spent in urban areas and rural Scotland goes without. 

“But internet and ferry services are not keeping up with industrial growth that means public spending has to be increased.”

The island’s unique character, breath-taking scenery and distinct way of life – the ‘Islay wave’, the friendly salute that means no-one is allowed to pass by without friendly acknowledgement – does not simply draw whisky lovers. 

The Herald:

Port Ellen, Islay

Angus MacKinnon’s last job was in Rome, filing reports for Agence France-Presse. The journalist has been based in cities across the world, but today the view from his window is Carraig Fhada lighthouse and the Kilnaughton Bay sand has become a playground for sons Hugh, six and James, four. 

He arrived with partner Tissy, 40, last summer after having owned a holiday home on Islay for 12 years, and discovered slotting in to island life remarkably simple. 

“Everyone is really charmed by things like the Islay wave. Every car you pass, people wave.  It’s indicative of the fact this is still a rural community and operates on a different code to the mainland. People are not so busy they can’t say hello and stop and chat.

READ MORE: Distiller ramps up production after netting lucrative China deal​

“Normally my circle of friends would be people in a similar job or the parents of my sons’ friends. Here our friends include an 80-year-old neighbour, and we have friendships across ages and social backgrounds. That alone is a very good thing.” 

Hand in hand with the whisky goes a love of books and good food, inspirations for Islay’s two other festivals which are expected to lure even more tourists to visit. 

MacKinnon, 52, helps to organise August’s Islay Book Festival. This year’s has attracted impressive names: Ian Rankin will be there, along with Masterchef winner Sue Lawrence, historian Sir Tom Devine and Karen Campbell. 

Meanwhile, Bonnie Wood, 41, who arrived with husband David, 42, and daughter Evie, six, from Norfolk eight years ago, is behind the new Taste Islay and Jura Festival in September, which aims to celebrate the island’s natural larder.

She says the island is big enough and welcoming enough to handle visitors keen to explore its sights, tastes and whisky. 

“The island is getting busier, but it’s beautiful. You’ll always find an empty beach, no matter how many people come,” she says.
“There’s a slow pace of life here,” she says. 

“Sometimes it doesn’t really feel like living in the real world.”