Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
DUFFTOWN
By bus
Buses arrive and depart from the road outside the
railway station.
Destinations
Aberlour (Mon-Sat hourly; 10-15min);
Elgin (Mon-Sat hourly; 50min).
INFORMATION
Tourist o
ce
Inside the handsome clock tower at the centre
of the square (
T
01340 820501) . The small tourist o
ce can
offer advice on which distilleries to visit.
April-June & Sept
Mon-Sat 10am-4pm; July & Aug 10am-5pm.
ACCOMMODATION
Loch Park Adventure Centre
Three miles northeast of
Dufftown on the Drummuir Castle Estate
T
01542
810334,
W
lochpark.co.uk.
It's possible to camp, rent
kayaks (£12) and fish (£18) at this outdoor centre, which has
self-catering bunkhouse accommodation. Unfortunately
there's no public transport t
his far, and
groups are given
priority - so call ahead. Dorm
s
£15
;
£12/
pitch
Morven
On the main square
T
01340 820507,
W
morvendufftown.co.uk.
Simple, inexpensive B&B
that's conveniently located near the tourist o
ce and the
11
TOURING MALT WHISKY COUNTRY
Speyside is the heart of Scotland's
whisky
industry, and the presence of more than fifty distilleries
is testimony to a unique combination of clear, clean water, benign climate and gentle upland
terrain. Yet for all the advertising-influenced visions of timeless traditions, whisky is a multimillion-
pound business dominated by huge corporations, and to many working distilleries visitors are an
afterthought, if not a downright nuisance. That said, plenty are located in attractive historic
buildings that now go to some lengths to provide an engaging experience for visitors. Mostly this
involves a tour around the essential stages in the whisky-making process, though a number of
distilleries now offer pricier connoisseur tours with a tutored tasting (or
nosing
, as it's properly
called) and in-depth studies of the distiller's art. Some tours have restrictions on children.
There are eight distilleries on the o
cial
Malt Whisky Trail
(
W
maltwhiskytrail.com), a clearly
signposted seventy-mile meander around the region. These are Benromach, Cardhu, Dallas Dhu
Historic Distillery, Glenfiddich, Glen Grant, Glenlivet, Glen Moray and Strathisla. Unless you're
seriously interested in whisky, it's best to just pick out a couple that appeal. All offer a guided
tour. You could cycle or walk parts of the route, using the Speyside Way (see box opposite). The
following is a list of selected highlights from the area (not all are on the o
cial trail):
Glen Grant
Rothes.
Makes a well-known, floral
whisky aggressively marketed to the younger customer.
The highlight here is the attractive Victorian gardens, a
mix of well-tended lawns and mixed, mature trees that
include a tumbling waterfall and a hidden whisky safe;
tours £3.50 including voucher.
Mid-Jan to mid-Dec
Mon-Sat 9.30am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm;
Glendronach
8 miles northeast of Huntly.
Off the
o
cial trail, this isolated distillery makes much of the
fact that, uniquely, its stills are heated in the traditional
method by coal fires; tours £5.
May-Sept daily
10am-4.30pm; Oct-April Mon-Fri 10am-4.30pm.
Glenfiddich
On the A941 just north of Dufftown.
The
biggest and slickest of all the Speyside distilleries, despite
the fact that it's still owned by the same Grant family who
founded it in 1887. It's a light, sweet whisky packaged in
triangular bottles - unusually, the bottling is still done on
the premises and is part of the tours (offered in various
languages); tours free.
Daily 9.30am-4.30pm.
Glenlivet
On the B9008 to Tomintoul.
A famous
name in a lonely hillside setting. This was the first
licensed distillery in the Highlands, following the 1823
act that aimed to reduce illicit distilling and smuggling.
The Glenlivet 12-year-old malt is a floral, fragrant,
medium-bodied whisky; tours free.
April-Oct Mon-
Sat 9.30am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm.
Macallan
Near Craigellachie.
Small tours, and a classy
whisky aged in sherry casks to give it a rich colour and
flavour; tours £10.
April-Aug Mon-Sat
9.30am-4.30pm; Sept & Oct Mon-Fri
9.30am-4.30pm; Nov-March Mon-Fri 11am-3pm.
Strathisla
Keith.
A small, old-fashioned distillery
claiming to be Scotland's oldest (1786); it's certainly one of
the most attractive, with the River Isla rushing by. Inside
there's an old-fashioned mashtun and brass-bound spirit
safes. You can arrive here on one of the restored trains of
the Keith & Dufftown Railway; tours £6.
April-Oct Mon-
Sat 9.30am-5pm, Sun noon-5pm.
Speyside Cooperage
Craigellachie.
This cooperage -
which produces and repairs the casks used in whisky-
making - is the only stop on the o
cial trail that isn't a
distillery, and offers fascinating glimpses of a highly
skilled and vital part of the industry; tours £3.50.
Mon-
Fri 9.30am-4pm.
