Celebrate Burns Night with a Road Trip!

02/05/2023
Celebrate Burns Night with a Road Trip! Image

What better way to welcome in the new season of 2023 than with a wee road trip! It may be winter, but there's nothing cosier than a warm campervan to cosy down in, so with a dram in hand, a toast to Rabbie Burns and a good book on hand (or on the stereo) a weekend or mid-week adventure is ideal for this quick road trip.

 

If you are a lover of whisky and adventure, then with our base in the Highland Capital we are perfectly located for exploring different regions and trails in the Highlands, West Coast and North East of Scotland, all within easy reach. Right on our doorstep is the wonderful Malt Whisky Trail, we’ve come with a version of a trail that will take you on a circular tour of some of the many fine distilleries in the region.


Highland Campervans – Forres (Benromach)

Why not start with one of our nearest Distilleries, the fabulous Benromach distillery in the town of Forres 25 minutes away from our base, this relatively small but traditional distillery has a wonderful tour available, watch how one of the three distillers uses their traditional time-honoured skills to produce their fine whisky, with no modern technology involved they distil by sight, sound smell and touch!

Benromach – Elgin (Glen Moray)

Explore onwards next to the Glen Moray distillery in Elgin, small, friendly and informal take a tour around what is known as Speyside’s sunniest distillery which helps create a unique flavour. Why not also spend the time exploring the Historic Cathedral City of Elgin, maybe take time to visit the wonderful shop Gordon & Macphail (also owners of Benromach) and discover an Aladdin’s cave of whiskies and other spirits from around the world.

 

Elgin – Glenfiddich (Dufftown)

After Elgin why not head to the Malt Whisky Capital – Dufftown, this small town nestled in the beautiful hills of historic Banffshire. With numerous distilleries in the town there any many options to visit, we recommend the Glenfiddich Distillery – this is a world class distillery. Glenfiddich is seen in many a bar throughout the world, explore one of their various tours and discover what makes Glenfiddich one of the world’s leading whiskies. There is also a great large car park easy for manoeuvring motorhomes around.

Dufftown – Glenlivet

A short drive through the hills and nestled in the wild (and somewhat remote feeling) edge of the Cairngorm National Park is the incredibly scenic Glenlivet Distillery, another world class and world famous distillery. Whilst by now you will find that the overall distilling process is similar at each distillery you will discover how each one has a unique difference that helps make their whisky special. With Glenlivet the big windows overlooking the fabulous scenery help make Glenlivet a truly unique visitor experience and whilst tasting a dram at the end and with such a view, you will appreciate why they say “The Highlands soothe the soul”.

Should you wish to take a different route why not join the fabulous NorthEast 250 driving route which passes through Dufftown. Check out the NE250 website https://www.northeast250.com/

 

Glenlivet – Tomatin

This next stage will take you on a scenic drive through the Spey Valley, why not stop off in one of the many pretty and bustling towns or villages en-route, Tomintoul, Grantown-on-Spey or Carrbridge are wonderful wee towns to discover or grab a bite to eat. As you drive on to Tomatin you will leave the Cairngorm National Park and up and over the Slochd, whilst not strictly on the Whisky Trail this Distillery will culminate on your wee circular tour of the region. Tomatin resting in the heart of the Findhorn Valley is dominated by the famous Findhorn Railway Bridge, stop here to take some photos of the raw Highland Scenery before exploring this next distillery. Again a Tour here is personable, friendly and informal, learning about the individuality of the Tomatin Whiskies, a truly memorable experience in this small Highland Community.

From here it is a simple short drive back to Inverness from where you can start another small adventure!

BOOKING & DRIVING

With the vast majority of distilleries open all year round there are plenty of opportunities to take a tour, and even on the above route there are many, many more wonderful distilleries to discover. Most distilleries offer various tour options to book your tour in advance but it's also worth double checking opening hours over winter.

Please be aware that drink driving is illegal in Scotland with different limits to the rest of the UK (stricter). We do not recommend drink driving at any time & to find out more visit the Don’t Risk It Website http://dontriskit.info/drink-driving/ ... However...

To allow you to taste the many wonderful whiskies, many distilleries are very much aware of drink driving laws and if you are driving, they will offer you a small “take-away” taster to allow you to save the whisky tasting to a more appropriate time! Slainte!

 

Here’s a small selection of campsites to stay on the route:


The Old Mill Inn Campsite – Brodie, Forres
http://www.theoldmillbrodie.com/touringpark.htm

Speyside Gardens Campsite – Aberlour
https://www.speysidegardens.com/

Grantown-on-Spey Caravan Park
http://www.caravanscotland.com/

Camping in the Forest – Glenmore, Aviemore
https://www.campingintheforest.co.uk/scotland/aviemore/glenmore-campsite

Ardtower Caravan Park – Inverness
http://www.ardtower-caravanpark.com/