Description

This tour combines the famous whisky region of Speyside with Loch Ness and the Highlands. Spend the first few days exploring the many distilleries of the Highlands and Speyside . Then take a break from the whisky tastings as we take you on a guided tour full of history, scenery and a special monster named Nessie . Experience the Spirit of Scotland with Go Scotland Tours!We offer this customised tour to be tailor-made to include the distilleries and historic sights of your choice. Below is our recommendation for a 4 day tour with some options...Day 1 As we begin our drive north your guide will give you an introduction to whisky so you will have a good idea of the process before reaching your first distillery . But to understand whisky you also need to know a bit about our Highland Culture. A diverse clan system with a proud history.Our first visit of the day will be at Blair Castle. A picturesque castle that marks the entry to the Cairngorm Mountains. It is the seat of the Duke of Athol and Chief of the Clan Murray . It has the only private army in Europe. Now open to the public you will have a chance to visit this grand stately home. The we will head across the road to the Athol Arms Hotel for lunch.After we go to the Highest Distillery in Scotland. Dalwhinnie Distillery is a single malt whisky and offers a flagship whisky of 15 years old. Here we will have time to sample some of it's whisky while comparing it with handmade chocolates. A perfect combination! Note that we are not planning to do a distillery tour here as there are many others planned on this trip.The overnight location will depend on availability but will most likely be Craigellachie, Aberlour or Grantown-on-Spey.Day 2 Today will be dedicated to exploring the scenery, history and whisky of Speyside . We plan to first visit Aberlour Distillery which is one of the first to market their tours for whisky aficionados. A privileged behind the scenes visit to how whisky is made . Then a tutored nosing and tasting of six drams of whisky.After we will go to Glenfiddich Distillery to the tasting lounge. You will have the opportunity to purchase some drams at the bar with largest pouring collection of Glenfiddich whiskies in the world.Then we head to The Glenlivet. An historic distillery with a fierce reputation. The Glenlivet was founded by George Smith who carried 2 pistols with him to protect his investment. Here we would suggest a special warehouse tour. Visit Warehouse No.1, where you can sample a special dram drawn straight from the cask. Note availability is limited for this tasting.After we will go to Tomintoul and visit it's whisky shop, and see the biggest bottle of Single Malt Whisky in the World! 105.3 litres of Tomintoul 14 year old.We then take a stunning mountainous scenic drive to the Lecht.We can offer many variations of this day so if there is a distillery you have in mind that is not above let us know and we will make some adjustments/substitutions. Day 3 In the morning we go to the Speyside Cooperage and see these skilled workers in action. Being a Cooper is one of the most respected trades of the industry. The visit is followed by a taste of a local whisky liquor. After we visit the shop at Macallan Distillery . Here you will have a chance to purchase a bottle or even a Wee Dram.We continue our day by heading up to the Moray Firth and the town of Elgin. In the past referred to Lantern of the North we give you the option to visit the ruined cathedral . Also as a special treat we can go to Johnstone of Elgin who have been making cashmere and fine woollen cloth, knitwear and accessories in Scotland since 1797. After lunch we drive along the coastal road to reach Benromach Distillery; the smallest Malt Whisky Distillery in Moray.We end the day by going to the historic Battlefield at Culloden. A pivotal battle fought in 1746. Hear the dramatic events that inspired Bonnie Prince Charlie to lead the Jacobites in battle against the might Red Coat Soldiers. If time we will go to visit the pre-historic standing stones of Clava Cairns. Overnight will be in Inverness, the Capital of the HighlandsDay 4 We finally take a break from whisky to take a scenic tour of Scotland. In the morning we head to Loch Ness in search of the famous water monster. Here you have the option to take a boat ride, visit Urquhart Castle, or go to the Loch Ness Exhibition and learn the story of Nessie. We continue our drive along the Great Glen, pass the tallest mountain in Britain (Ben Nevis), to reach Fort William for lunch.Continuing our drive south we take a special journey through Glencoe and Ranoch Moor. An awe-inspiring landscape full of history. It is here were the Massacre of Glencoe happened in 1692. The breath taking scenery has been the inspiration for such films as Highlander, Outlander, Harry Potter and more.If you are being dropped off in Edinburgh we pass by Stirling Castle, but if you are going to Glasgow we pass by Loch Lomond. Enquire for more details. Speyside Whisky, Loch Ness and Highlands Tour