Speyside Whisky Trail, Cairngorms National Park and Royal Deeside
Tour Highlights
Minimum of five malt whisky distilleries
Woodland and waterfall walk
Cairngorms National Park
Speyside town of Grantown-on-Spey
Speyside Cooperage
Balmoral Castle and Royal Deeside
Itinerary
Our route to the Highlands and Speyside takes us across the Forth Road Bridge, past Loch Leven and the fair city of Perth before our first stop at the Hermitage.
Edradour Distillery
This beautiful woodland walk near Dunkeld is a chance to stroll along the River Braan to the spectacular waterfall and salmon leap at Ossian’s Hall. A lovely way to start your tour.
From the Hermitage it’s only a short drive to Pitlochry and the Edradour Distillery, uniquely Scotland’s smallest. Made amidst beautiful Perthshire scenery this Highland single malt has been a very popular stop with Heart of Scotland’s whisky tours since we first began operating in 2001.
Loch Achray and the Trossachs
From Perthshire we continue through the mountains of the Cairngorm National Park to reach Scotland’s highest distillery, the Dalwhinnie. Here you will experience the delightful mixture of 15 year old malt whisky and chocolate before we move onto the heart of whisky country – Speyside – and our overnight accommodation in Grantown-on-Spey
Example accommodation – www.garthhotel.com
Day 2
Cardhu Distillery
Cardhu
Today we follow the Speyside Whisky Trail where famous brand names leap out everywhere we turn. First stop is Cardhu, the 6th best selling malt in the world. This silky whisky is used in many award-winning Johnnie Walker blends.
It’s then onto Glenfiddich in Dufftown where we stop for lunch and a free-of-charge distillery tour.
Speyside Cooperage
Our day is completed by a visit to the Speyside Cooperage where you can experience the ancient art of coopering or cask making. Other distillery visit options in the locale include Macallan and Balvenie. Return Grantown-on-Spey for dinner.
Day 3
Balmoral Castle
First stop this morning is the world-famous Glenlivet Distillery for their highly regarded whisky tour. There are several wee walks and hiking trails in the Glen itself if you would prefer some fresh Speyside air.
From here we drive over the Tomintoul mountain pass to Royal Deeside. After lunch in beautiful Deeside village of Ballater, we stop for a visit to the Queen’s Highland castle, Balmoral.
Cairngorms National Park
Alternatively, and just next door, you could enjoy a final distillery tour at The Royal Lochnagar. From here it’s onwards to the village of Braemar and our return to Edinburgh takes us over Glen Shee (eyes peeled for red deer) and through Blairgowrie.
Want to experience more of Scotland’s natural beauty? Book the Orkney and The Far North tour.
