Jura Lodge is attached to the distillery and its 200 inhabitants live on 37 miles of island. The locals claim that the Knights of the Templar are buried in the local graveyard, while George Orwell is rumoured to have nearly drowned in the Correyvrecken whirlpool when he was writing 1984 on the island.

Corryvreckan Whirpool just off the coast

Barnhill where George Orwell wrote 1984

In fact, the Jura Prophecy is named for the legend of the Campbells – cruel landowners of the time who raised taxes and destroyed houses when locals refused to pay. A wise woman is said to have cursed the family with the idea that the last Campbell would leave with all of his possessions in a cart pulled by a white horse and be blind in one eye. Incidentally, Charles Campbell left in exactly this state in 1938!

Jura

Jura Distillery and Craighouse as they stand today

Jura has been officially in operation since 1810, was mothballed from 1901 to 1920 due to a dispute with the landowners (yes the Campbells again!), re-opened but then experienced difficulties due to WWII when the men left to fight and continued on a steady decline until 1960. And that was when local landowners pulled together to help rebuild it into a distillery that produces 2.3 million litres of whisky per year!