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Planning a trip - my 40th in Scotland for Scotch Tasting and Tours
eliahu77
Member ✭✭
Hi,
I'm planning my first trip to Scotland this summer in mid-June. My goal is to travel by car or van around the Speyside and other areas with a few friends. I'd like to stay in small towns, visit distilleries, and eat local fare and drink the local beer. Any suggestions, ideas, recommendations, etc. would be very welcome! From where to fly (into London and take a train or drive up), to where to stay and what to see. Especially any special distilleries you love and know and that have unique experiences.
Thanks!! Can't wait to see Scotland!!!
I'm planning my first trip to Scotland this summer in mid-June. My goal is to travel by car or van around the Speyside and other areas with a few friends. I'd like to stay in small towns, visit distilleries, and eat local fare and drink the local beer. Any suggestions, ideas, recommendations, etc. would be very welcome! From where to fly (into London and take a train or drive up), to where to stay and what to see. Especially any special distilleries you love and know and that have unique experiences.
Thanks!! Can't wait to see Scotland!!!
0
Comments
More distilleries than you can share a stick at.
Wonderful scenery
Everything close together
Less crowded
Peaty or less peaty
Pop over to Jura ~ lovely
You can get a bus to most distilleries so no drinking and driving
Just a thought !!
www.boogiebopboys.co.uk
Playing the music that created teenagers
From your post, I gather Speyside is your favourite region. That's a good thing due to the concentration of distilleries in that area. I have been to a few distilleries (and want to go to a few more) and here are a few notes from my visits.
- Edradour distillery is the best place to sample a wide variety of whiskies in 1 sitting. It's one of the few distilleries with a tasting room and some nice vintage whiskies to taste without breaking the bank.
- Glenlivet tour and tasting is free. Where the tour is pretty standard, their massive warehouse is a good reason to visit, it's a sight to behold. They have a small selection that can be sipped after the tour.
- Stay a night or two in the village of Tomintoul. Not only is it the highest village in Speyside and quite scenic, it is also home to The Whisky Castle that does tutored tastings. Also try visiting Balvenie by calling them a couple of months in advance, its on my wishlist and I've heard the best things about them.
- I love Islay, home to 8 distilleries and all of them are happy to do pours for tasting. A personal highlight was drinking the world's most peated whisky (Octomore) at Bruichladdich. Port Charlotte bar is awesome for craich. Ardbeg tour was pretty dope as well.
Fly into Edinburgh instead of London, make sure you have a designated driver at all times or brave enough to stick to the bus schedules (like I did in Speyside & Islay). Do not go to the Scotch Whisky experience in Edinburgh, a waste of time if you're visiting a number of real distilleries. Please free to ask any other specific questions & I can try to help answer themBest of Scotland in 1 week itinerary (fully by public transport)
My Scotland travels (includes Edinburgh, Skye, Harris, Mull, Arran, Orkney, Loch Lomond, Islay, Oban, Dunoon, Speyside)
Or, if you're visiting Speyside for whisky, Scotland's only Malt Whisky Trail is a must! This is a three day tour of eight distilleries and the Speyside Cooperage.
Hope that helps and you enjoy your trip when it comes around in June.
Nearby you have the lovely Royal Deeside villages of Ballater and Braemar which boast beautiful scenery and some quirky shops and eateries.
Looks like some great suggestions above!
Something else to consider if you are in travelling in the summer months is the possibility of visiting distilleries by public transport from Aberdeen. (Perhaps you could even fly in to Aberdeen airport.) As the drink drive laws are very strict in Scotland, even compared to the rest of the UK.
Some public transport/distillery trips I have done in the past are:
Royal Lochnagar above can be reached by 201 bus from Aberdeen. (Albeit a bit of a walk from the bus)
Glen Garioch is a more unusual one by 35 bus from Aberdeen and a very traditional whisky, made in very small quantities, to try. A great unusual gift to take home!
Strathisla at Keith, home of Chivas, can be reached very easily by train from Aberdeen and from Keith - in the summer months you can transfer onto the picturesque Keith and Dufftown railway / whisky line (historic diesel or steam train) to reach the speyside distilleries at Dufftown.
Please note that some distilleries you need to book a tour in advanced if you are travelling as a group.
Another option to consider is taking a tour around the distilleries with a tour guide - Karl Fisher; Duncans; Hidden Deeside and stga are all great options.
If you are driving after all, I would recommend Glen Dronach - they will give you a drivers dram to take home!
Enjoy!
Based in the Scottish Borders, Aberdeenshire has a special place in my heart.
@MogMJMR - are those guides people you know or recommend or companies? Karl Fisher looks like a name, but the others may be companies? That would be great for some or all of the trip.
Based in the Scottish Borders, Aberdeenshire has a special place in my heart.
As a member of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society and a fan of whisky, I'd recommend flying into Aberdeen and hiring a car and driver, to take you and your wife to the distilleries and anywhere else you'd like to visit. It will be much less stressful for you both especially as you've said it's your first trip to Scotland, have you been somewhere that drives on the 'wrong' side of the road before, how comfortable is your wife I know my wife hates driving when we go abroad!
More importantly than the logistics, do you have any specific favourite whisky or expressions from particular distilleries that you enjoy and would like to visit?
Whisky, Castles and Food a speciality.
yourscotlandtour.co.uk
Hope you're well! I actually live in the region you're hoping to visit... so here's a few helpful hints & tips from me!
So for coming to the Moray Speyside region, I would recommend that you actually fly into Inverness rather than Aberdeen. There are now direct flights from London, and within about a 40minute to 1-hour drive you'll be in Speyside. A good 40/50 mins less travel time than coming in from Aberdeen.
If you're looking for a good base for your time in Moray Speyside, I would recommend Elgin as a good starting point. We have some really beautiful hotels, and nearby we do have 'Whisky specialist' hotels too! If you're looking for a bit of luxury you're coming to the right place! Check out The Station Hotel in Rothes, which is brand new and has one of the biggest whisky cupboards in Scotland - plus the real bonus is that their rooms, food & cocktails are simply divine - search Station Hotel Speyside into Google. It's based in Rothes, which is just 10 mins drive from Elgin. Another beautiful hotel to look into would be the Dowans Hotel in Aberlour.
In Elgin, there are some great places to visit which are full of history, there's Elgin Cathedral for a bit of an insight to the area's history, and conveniently right across the road is Johnstons of Elgin - who produce the most amazing cashmere, do free tours & are an excellent place to shop & lunch!
There are so many distilleries here too, I recommend looking into the Malt Whisky Trail - which is a trail of 8 distilleries & the Speyside Cooperage (where they make & repair the casks, one of the area's top visitor attractions actually!), but there are many more distilleries than this in the area if you're looking for a smaller distillery too.
Another huge thing up here is golf. Whether you're a pro, or just brand new and want to give it a shot - there are so many golf courses here. I'd say they are worth a look into, where better to play golf than one some of Scotland's finest greens?!
I would also recommend taking a look at the Moray Speyside Tourism website, as there is lots of really good information there about what's on offer in the area - as well as any local events that might be happening while you're here. I've not been on here long enough to post links, but just search 'Moray Speyside Tourism' into google, and you'll be at the right place!
Big events to keep a look out for (depending on when you're visiting) is Speyfest at the end of July (Scottish music weekend festival - fantastic fun!) and The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival on 27th April - 1st May.
Hope this helps with your Scotland birthday trip! Any questions, just fire away
Rachel
Communications & Digital Media Assistant for Moray Speyside Tourism
I would recommend car hire to see all that this area has to offer, both Aberdeen (Dyce) and Inverness airports offer great access to this area. Dufftown, Aberlour and Keith are the towns where most distilleries are situated. I would recommend you check out each distillery online and read the different tours they offer, some can last one hour, others are in-depth and last several hours. Prices vary according to what type of experience you want. I recommend that you purchase empty bottles to take away your complimentary samples if you are driving. Near to Aberlour there is the Speyside Cooperage which is an interesting tour, watching them make the whisky barrels. Note; it only operates Monday to Friday. Near Cardhu Distillery (Home of Johnny Walker) there is Knockando Woollen mill which has a lovely setting and a cafe. There is also Dallas Dhu distillery near Forres which has been preserved as a museum by Historic Scotland and you can see inside the disused stills. Some distilleries shutdown for a period during the summer to allow for maintenance, if this would be a disappointment then you may wish to check before booking.
The coastline is beautiful in this area too and I would recommend Lossiemouth, Burghead, Spey Bay, Findochty, Portknockie and Cullen for being very picturesque and the possibility of seeing the Moray Firth Dolphins.
On June 24th, the town of Forres hosts the European Pipe Band Championships which is definitely worth a visit if you are still in the area.
My wife and I secured our tickets and will be in Scotland in June from 10-19th, traveling North from Edinburgh by car through Pitlochry, the Cairngorms, Speyside, Elgin and ending in Inverness (we fly out from there). We are so excited and will start booking lodging today at all of our destinations. We'll have one night or so everywhere except Speyside (Craigellachie or Abelour maybe?) where we will stay 4 nights, maybe in different towns. Any suggestions of places to stay in any of those cities or towns would be super helpful. We are trying to be budget conscious but may do one or two nights at the Craigellachie Hotel.
Whisky, Castles and Food a speciality.
yourscotlandtour.co.uk
Based in the Scottish Borders, Aberdeenshire has a special place in my heart.