Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Whisky Museum in the middle o
f tow
n. The owners offer a
small reduction for longer stays.
£50
Tannochbrae Guest House
22 Fife St
T
01340
820541,
enthusiastically run former provost's house near the
main square, with six comfortable en-suite r
ooms
, a
lovely restaurant and a well-stocked whisky bar.
£73
W
tannochbrae.co.uk.
Pleasant
and
EATING AND DRINKING
Taste of Speyside
Just off The Square at 10 Balverie St
T
01340 820860.
You can sample a range of quality
Scottish food at the town's most popular restaurant, where
mains include a vegetable crumble made with tomato and
basil sauce. You'll pay around £20 for two courses.
Tues-
Sat noon-2pm & 6-9pm.
Dufftown Glassworks
16 Conval Street
T
01340
821534,
W
dufftownglassworks.com.
This combined
café and gallery is a smart place to sit with a latte or
Americano and plan your trip around whisky country. The
rocky road slices (£1.80) are scrumptious.
Daily
10.30am-5pm.
SHOPPING
The Whisky Shop
1 Fife Street
T
01340 821 097,
W
whiskyshopdufftown.co.uk.
This mind-bogglingly
well-stocked shop has over six hundred malts and
umpteen beers, produced not just on Speyside but all
over
11
Scotland.
Mon-Sat
10am-6pm
&
Sun
10am-5pm.
Tomintoul
Deep into the foothills of the Cairngorms,
TOMINTOUL
(pronounced “
tom
-in-towel”)
is, at 1150ft, the highest village in the Scottish Highlands, and the northern gateway to
the
Lecht Ski Area
(see opposite). Its long, thin layout is reminiscent of a Wild West
frontier town; Queen Victoria wrote that it was “the most tumble-down, poor looking
place I ever saw”. A spur of the Speyside Way connects Ballindalloch through Glenlivet
to Tomintoul, and there are plenty of other terrific walking opportunities in the area, as
well as some great routes for mountain biking.
Glenlivet Crown Estate
If you've come this far it's worth exploring the Glenlivet Crown Estate, an extensive
tract of carefully managed land abutting Tomintoul; information and useful maps
about its wildlife (including reindeer) and the numerous paths and bike trails are
available from the tourist o
ce or the estate
ranger's o
ce
at the southern end of the
long main street.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
TOMINTOUL
By car
The only reliable way to reach Tomintoul is by car;
from Grantown-on-Spey the A939 snakes east, passing
Tomintoul on the way to Ballater.
INFORMATION
Tourist o
ce
On the central square, the helpful tourist
o
ce (April-Oct Mon-Sat 10am-5pm;
T
01309 696261)
also acts as the local museum, with mock-ups of an old
farm kitchen and a smithie.
Estate ranger's o
ce
At the southern end of Main
Street (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm;
T
01479 870070,
W
glenlivetestate.co.uk). The place to come for information
on local walks and events.
ACCOMMODATION
The Bunkhouse
Near the tourist o
ce on the central
square
T
01807 590752 or
T
07711 466340.
Long,
white hut with clean and cheap (if cramped) bunk rooms
that shared a small
kitch
en. If no one is around, call for the
access code. Dorms
£17
Camping at Glenlivet
It is possible to camp beside the
Glenlivet Estate ranger's o
ce f
or free, though there are no
facilities here whatsoever.
Free
Glenavon
T
01807 580218,
W
glenavon-hotel.co.uk.
The
most convivial of the hotels
gathered around the main square,
with en-suite rooms above a bar that screens
footb
all matches
and does cheap lunchtime meals (2 for £10).
£70
