How to get to Loch Gorm
Loch Gorm is situated only a mile from the Atlantic coast between Machir Bay in the south and Saligo Bay in the west. The finest road to get here is the one a mile Bruichladdich on the right. It is the B8018 leading to Sanaigmore. After half a mile on this road you reach a small hill. Try and stop here and admire the views towards Loch Gruinart, Loch Indaal and even the Isle of Mull when the weather is clear. At Machir the road goes right towards Ballinaby and ends finally at the same B8018 close to Carnduncan. This is a very nice and quiet circular road around the loch.

Loch Gorm
The area around Loch Gorm is mostly flat and differs a lot from other parts of Islay. Loch Gorm is the largest fresh water loch on Islay and is a great place for fishing, the brown trouts are one of the best on Islay. The area is home to a lot of wildlife. Driving or walking the circular road at dawn or dusk is a wildlife fest, it's amazing how much wildlife there is to be seen from the roadside. Frequent sightings are Buzzards, Hen Harriers, Curlews, Geese, Roe Deer, Lapwings, Pheasants, Hares and many others.

In the south-east corner of Loch Gorm, on a small island, are the overgrown ruins of Loch Gorm castle, a former fort from the MacDonalds clan and destroyed in the 1700s. In the evening hares and deer can be spotted easily when driving around on the little single track roads. The views towards the Atlantic Ocean are stunning, especially at sunset. With Kilchoman and Machir Bay to the south, and Saligo bay to the west the Loch Gorm area is very interesting. Kilchoman has a newly opened whisky distillery, Kilchoman Distillery, on the Rockside farm which started in 2004/2005. It is the most westerly whisky distillery in Scotland. Close to Kilchoman the Kilchoman cross can be found in the Kilchoman churchyard. The church is a ruin nowadays but the Kilchoman cross is in a very fine condition making it worth a visit. South of the churchyard a little walk takes you to the World War I graves where victims from the HMS Ontranto are buried. Driving back towards Machir, there is a little track to the left that takes you to one of the finest beaches and bays on Islay: Machir Bay. If you like sunsets, than this is the place to be. Machir Bay offers almost one and a half miles of sandy beach on the Atlantic Coast. After a storm the waves can be huge but the walk is very rewarding. At the south end of the beach there is a little track towards Kilchiaran and here in the cliffs the Iron Age fort of Dun Chroisprig can be found.