Private & Bespoke Malt Whisky Distillery Tours of Scotland
Includes, Speyside, The Highlands & Islands and Perthshire.

Having travelled up the East of Scotland and spent some time in the Speyside region we now travel back to Edinburgh down the West Coast. On a 3 day tour we wont have time to cover the Isle of Skye or any of the other island distilleries but there are still several very famous whisky distilleries to visit on our journey down the west coast and back to Edinburgh.

Day Three

Today after a good breakfast we book out of the accommodation and head off for our first whisky distillery, taking in some of the magnificent scenery as we head west. Our first distillery stop will be the The Dalwhinnie Distillery which is a few miles outside Newtonmore and claims to be the highest situated distillery in Scotland. Other distilleries we can visit are the Glengoyne Distillery and the Oban Distillery. Again subject to time or if you are on one of our 6 day or bespoke tours we might also be able to fit in a couple of additional sights such as Stirling Castle or the Wallace Monument.

Dalwhinnie Distillery

Dalwhinnie Distillery was founded in 1897 and was originally named the Strathspey distillery. The founder owners, John Grant, George Sellar and Alexander Mackenzie ran into financial difficulties and in 1898 the distillery was sold to A.P. Blyth. The name was then changed from Strathspey to Dalwhinnie. Later, in 1905, the American Cook & Bernheimer took control over the distillery.

The American distiller was looking for malts to produce blended whiskies for the American market. This is the very first American investment in the Scotch whisky industry. The distillery remained under the ownership of Cook & Bernheimer for a further 15 years until prohibition was introduced in the United States in 1920.

Lord James Calder, a then shareholder of MacDonald Greenlees, a Scottish whisky blender, purchased the distillery. MacDonald Greenlees was subsequently taken over by the Distillers Company Limited and Dalwhinnie became part of another blenders group, James Buchanan, famous for his Black & White blended whisky.

A fire in 1934 stopped production for 3 years, and the reopening in 1938 was short-lived because the second world war brought restrictions on the supply of barley. It was eventually reopened in 1947 and Dalwhinnie distillery has continued to operate through to the present day, although on-site malting ceased in 1968.

The Dalwhinnie Distillery sits at the base of the mountain Meall Cruaidh. Set in splendid mountain scenery, Dalwhinnie is the highest distillery in Scotland. The name Dalwhinnie means meeting place, which refers to the meeting of ancient cattle drovers' routes through the mountains. The waters are taken from Lochan a Doire-uaine and the Allt an t’Sluic burn. Most of the water is snowmelt, and has flowed through the hills from approximately 600 metres above sea level through moorland heather before reaching the Distillery. This coupled with an abundance of peat from the surrounding bogs is the combination that produces the full bodied, smooth and warming, Dalwhinnie Malt Whisky.

Oban Distillery

Oban whisky distillery was built in 1794 by the brothers John and Hugh Stevenson and was operated by them until 1866, when it was bought by Peter Curnstie. It was then acquired by Walter Higgin in 1883. Between 1890 and 1894 he dismantled and completely rebuilt the distillery to ensure its future production - such was the demand for Oban's malt. He carefully replicated the famously small stills and other traditional features in order to preserve the quality of the whisky - such was its reputation. In 1898 the distillery was taken over by Alexander Edward of Oban & Aultmore-Glenlivet Ltd.

In its first year of operation, under Alexander Edward it suffered huge losses when Pattison's of Leith, one of the largest blending companies and purchasers of malt whisky, collapsed in December of 1898.

John Dewar & Sons became the owners in 1923 and just a few years later In 1930, the Dewar's group was incorporated into Scottish Malt Distillers, Ltd and in turn became part of United Distillers & Vintners. It is now owned by the British multinational company, Diageo PLC.

Oban whisky Distillery closed from 1931 to 1937, during the second World War as was most of the whisky distilleries in Scotland. It closed again in 1969 until 1972 whilst a new still house was being built.

The distillery buildings and their internal arrangments are substantially the same today as they were following the dismantling and complete rebuilding of the distillery by Walter Higgen back in 1883. The Oban distillery is one of the oldest in Scotland and it is both physically and spiritually at the very heart of the west coast town of Oban.

Although Glengoyne only officially existed from 1833 and no records exist from before this date, it is believed that distilling on the site pre-dates that with a local historian writing that the smoke from "illicit stills" was visible in the area in the early 19th century. The Glengoyne Distillery is situated at Dumgoyne, on the south-western edge of the Scottish Highlands, close to Loch Lomond and to the north of Glasgow. Although distilled in the Highlands, making Glengoyne a Highland single malt, the whisky is matured in the Lowlands. This is because the distillery itself sits upon the Highland Line, the division between the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland which splits the distillery into two.

Glengoyne is one of the few distilleries producing whisky in this part of Scotland today. However at the beginning of the nineteenth century it is recorded that there were at least eighteen whisky stills in operation in the surrounding area. Glengoyne uses unpeated malt, which gives the whisky a very light characteristic. It was purchased by Ian MacLeod distillers in 2003 and has seen an increase in demand for the exceptional single malt scotch whisky the distillery has been producing for nearly 200 years.

Stirling Castle
Stirling Castle is contructed on an extinct volcano, with steep cliffs defending 3 sides providing a strategic military defensive position which guarded the crossing of the the River Forth during the 13th and 14th century Wars of Independence. It was the favourite royal residence of many of the Stuart Monarchs. Many important events from Scotland's past took place at the Castle, including
the violent murder of the eighth Earl of Douglas by James II in 1452. Mary Queen of Scots spent
her childhood in Stirling Castle and her coronation took place here in the Chapel Royal in 1543.

The first record of Stirling Castle dates from around 1110, when King Alexander I dedicated a chapel here. It appears to have been an established royal centre by this time, as Alexander died here in 1124. During the reign of his successor David I, Stirling became a royal burgh, and the castle an important administration centre. King William I was forced to surrender several castles, including Stirling and Edinburgh, under the Treaty of Falaise after his capture by the English in 1174.

Stirling Castle is one of Scotland’s grandest castles due to its imposing position and impressive architecture, Stirling Castle commands the countryside for many miles around. It towers over some of the most important battlefields of Scotland’s past including Stirling Bridge, the site of William Wallace’s victory over the English in 1297, and Bannockburn where Robert the Bruce defeated the same foe in the summer of 1314.

The Palace is currently closed as part of a major project to present the King’s and Queen’s Lodgings as they might have appeared in the mid 16th century. The castle itself is still open to the public and you can still view The Robert the Bruce statue standing high on the castle's esplanade, James VI’s Chapel Royal which was built especially for Prince Henry’s baptism and elaborately redecorated for Charles I’s coronation visit in 1633. The Great Kitchens – dramatically bring to life how the lavish banquets were created in James IV’s day. The views from the battlements – overlooking two great battlefields, Stirling Bridge and Bannockburn. The regimental museum of the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders – associated with the castle for almost a century. The Palace will reopen in 2011.

The Wallace Monument.
This magnificent monument was built in 1869 on the former site of an ancient Pictish hill fort, to immortalize Sir William Wallace. The site of the monument is extremely appropriate for, in 1297, Sir William and his men swooped down from the hill to take the English aggressors by surprise and defeat them at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. Today the area is known as the 'Wallace Pass'.

This Victorian Gothic tower which stands 67m high was opened in 1869 to commemorate Scotland's greatest freedom fighter, Sir William Wallace (1267-1305). It was funded by public subscription, and donations poured in from expatriate Scots around the world. A number of European leaders gave their support including the Italian patriot, Garibaldi. The monument is a fitting tribute to one of Scotland's best known heroes and the historical importance of the fight for freedom by Sir William Wallace.

In 1296, Edward I of England invaded Scotland and the Scottish Wars of Independence began.

Wallace began a guerrilla campaign against the English and became known as the hammer and scourge of the English. On 11th September, 1297, the Scots defeated the English army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. After defeat at the Battle of Falkirk in 1298, Wallace was betrayed and then captured. He was hanged, drawn and quartered in London in 1305, and became a symbol for the people of Scotland and Freedom. The monument is situated on the Abbey Craig, a rocky crag from which Wallace watched the English army gather on the South side of Stirling Bridge before defeating them in a bloody battle.

Three Day Whisky Distillery Tour of Scotland

Day One       Day Two      Day Three

Six Day and Bespoke Whisky Tours are also available.

On our 6 day or bespoke whisky tours we can include a lot more distilleries including some of the island distilleries such as the Isle of Skye, Mull, Jura or Islay as well as visiting other historical or scenic sights of interest along the way. We can cater for groups large or small, families or corporate trips. Minimum of two people travelling. For less than 5 people we may use an upmarket people carrier or offer an upgrade to a minibus. On our bespoke tours you tell us which distilleries you would like to visit and we will put a tour together for you including additional activities if required.

For bookings and availability please e-mail us. If you include a contact telephone number we will be happy to give you a call to discuss your Scottish whisky distillery tour in full detail.

tours@fishing-uk-scotland.com