Whisky has always been a draw for tourists coming to Scotland. But with foreign travel still wrought with uncertainty, why not take the opportunity to be a tourist in your own country and explore the Malt Whisky Trail in Speyside? A real treat for Scotch whisky fans, the trail is a collaboration between nine whisky destinations: Benromach, Cardhu, Glen Grant, Glen Moray, Glenfiddich, The Glenlivet, Strathlisa, Dallas Dhu, and The Speyside Cooperage.
The trail encompasses the best of Speyside -from the Moray Firth to the edge of the Cairngorms- and to fit everything in you will need to allow five days to complete it. Start at the picturesque seaside village of Findhorn, taking a walk on the beach and enjoying the scenery, before driving 20 minutes or so to reach the town of Elgin. There, you’ll find the Glen Moray distillery -one of the sunniest distilleries in the region- where you can take a tour and enjoy a dram. Finish your time in Elgin with supper and a few drams at the Drouthy Cobbler: a relaxed whisky bar which serves excellent local food.
On day two you can start with a tour of the Glenfiddich distillery in Dufftown. From there, why not travel on to Keith (home to the Strathisla distillery) via the historic railway? Trains run on Friday, Saturday and Sundays between now and the end of September. Then visit the picturesque Strathisla distillery and round off your day with a dram in one of the many bars in the area.
You can spend the third day of the trail indulging in some retail therapy, with a visit to the Glen Grant distillery shop in Rothes and then a wander round the town’s famous antique and vintage shop. The Station Hotel, also in Rothes, has a restaurant with an extensive whisky menu that should provide you with ample entertainment for the evening.
For day four, take a drive down to Craigellachie and walk along the Speyside Way. Weather permitting, the Speyside Way is one of the most pleasant walking and cycling routes in Scotland, running for 65 miles from Buckie to Aviemore. Once you’ve suitably stretched your legs, take a trip to the famous Speyside Cooperage and visitor centre. As the only working cooperage in the UK, there is true craftsmanship on display, where traditional methods and tools are used to produce and repair nearly 150,000 oak casks. Their guided tour will take you through the lifecycle of the cask and even give you a chance to try making one yourself.
Round off the evening in style at the world-famous Quaich bar in the Craigellachie Hotel. It contains a treasure trove of rare old whiskies and will be the perfect place to reward yourself for your earlier exercise on the Speyside Way.
On your final day, as you head to the south of the trail, travel via Aberlour to the Cardhu distillery (the only historic distillery founded by a woman). Finish off your whisky experience at the Glenlivet distillery -with its fascinating visitor centre-and then spend the rest of your afternoon exploring the wildlife of the wider Glenlivet estate.
You don’t have to do the trail in that order, of course. The official Malt Whisky Trail website (www.maltwhiskytrail.com) has a variety of alternative itineraries: a coastal route, an inland route, a two-day version, a day-tripper and even a dog-friendly itinerary. Ordinarily, the trail would include a visit to the Benromach distillery and the Dallus Dhu whisky heritage site, but both are temporarily closed due to Covid-19 restrictions. All the more reason to make a return visit next year…
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here