GRAMPIAN WHISKY TRAIL TOUR

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Option	Dates	Cost per car
1	5 Days, 5 Nights Start in Kendal	£999
2	4 Days, 4 Nights Start in Edinburgh	£899
3	3 Days, 3 Nights Start in Alford	£699
4	3 Days, 2 Nights Start in Alford	£399
Click here to see dates etc. of all options

Description

This tour has come about by 'popular demand'! Many of our regular customers who have done our Highlands and Islands Tour several times, have asked; “what about the other side of Scotland?” So that is what this tour is all about. We hope it might also be of interest to Scottish enthusiasts, so have offered the option of starting in Edinburgh or Alford near Aberdeen. However we have also retained the option of starting near our base in Kendal so making the final part of the journey north an integral part of the tour, taking in some lovely countryside through the Borders.

Those with a long way to travel may wish to stay overnight before the start of the tour. We can arrange this at our usual hotels.

Provisional Itinerary

Day 1 - Monday

We start from the Heaves Hotel south of Kendal and take the old A6 road north over the infamous Shap Fell and continue to Carlisle. Here we strike off to the north east on the A7, the main road to Edinburgh. As the scenery gets more 'Scottish' we reach the mill town of Langholm where we leave the main road and take to some quiet 'back roads'. We head north through the remote Eskdalemuir Forest, passing the exotic Tibetan Temple, on our way into the Ettrick Valley. Here we make a detour for lunch on the shores of the picturesque St Mary's Loch. After lunch we head north again through Innerleithen and the Moorfoot Hills which give us our first views of Edinburgh and the Firth of Forth. It is then a short run in to our comfortable hotel within easy reach of the city centre but out of the main flow of traffic.

Day 2 - Tuesday

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Gleneagles Hotel

This morning we let the rush hour subside before we take the ring road around Edinburgh to Dalmeny for a view of both the Forth Bridges, road and rail. We then cross the road bridge and take the motorway for a short distance before turning off onto quiet country roads again. We head north via the intriguingly named Yetts of Muckhart to a coffee stop at the famous Gleneagles Hotel. There won't be time for a round of golf however as we need to press on northward through the picturesque Sma Glen and onto the more dramatic Glen Quich, passing its tranquil loch before tackling the climb over the mountain into the Tay Valley. We will stop for lunch in Kenmore where we will ultimately finish the tour in another couple of days' time.

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Taymouth

After lunch though it is onto Aberfeldy and Pitlochry and then across to Glen Shee where we start to climb into the Grampian Mountains. Once we pass the Glen Shee ski centre we start to descend into 'Royal Deeside' going via Balmoral Castle on our way to our hotel in Ballater.

Day 3 - Wednesday

We have a short run north from Ballater to Alford for a stop at the Transport Museum and coffee. From Alford we head west through pleasant mountain scenery until we suddenly start to climb onto remote desolate moorland. The climb up to the Lecht Ski centre is on a wide main road but starts abruptly on the steepest gradient you are ever likely to encounter on a main road! After this dramatic ascent, the descent is a little less demanding as we drop down towards Tomintoul and turn off the main road into real 'whiskey country'. We head north east throught the pretty Glen Rinnes to Dufftown the home of Glefiddich. Here we will visit the distillery and bearing in mind there are still a few miles to drive to the hotel, perhaps sample a little of the product! Depending on how long you spend at the distillery there may be time to visit the Speyside Cooperage, just down the road, where whiskey barrels of all sizes are made. It is then only a short drive to the hotel.

Day 4 - Thursday

We have a long, but spectacular drive today – hangovers permitting! We do start by passing another distillery, The Glenfarclas, but a visit here is optional as it is early in the day. We also pass Glenlivet, where again a stop is up to you, as we make our way towards Tomintoul again, and then across country to Nethy Bridge. If you feel the need to clear your head there is then an optional drive up to the Cairngorm Ski centre where you can take a train to the top of the mountain. However there is still approx. 80 miles to go to our hotel so you will need to 'manage' your day.

The final run takes us down Glen Truim and over the dramatic Pass of Drumochter before we turn off onto some minor roads which take us high into the mountains (if the visibility is good you will literally feel 'on top of the world') before we descend into the beautiful Tay Valley again and our charachterful hotel for the final two nights.

Day 5 - Friday

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Today we start by visiting the famous Queen's View on Loch Tummel before we follow the valley to Kinloch Rannoch. Here we start a circular tour of the remote but very picturesque Loch Rannoch. At the western end of the loch we will make a short detour to Rannoch Station which is situated in the middle of the huge deserted Rannoch Moor – and yet is surprisingly busy. Lunch can be taken at the nearby hotel or at the quaint station buffet. The return run down the south side of the loch seems even more remote but offers some spectacular views down the loch itself. We then head south towards Tayside again but there is more to come! We turn west again, passing the tiny hamlet of Fortingail which has two claims to fame: the church yard contains what is said to be the oldest yew tree in the country; and legend has it that Pontius Pilot was born here while his father was serving as a legionnaire with the Roman Army. From here we continue down Glen Lyon before climbing one last mountain, Ben Lawyers. On the way down we pass the impressive Lawyers Dam and the visitor centre before reaching the shores of Loch Tay. We return along this most scenic loch to our final night at the hotel.

Day 6 - Saturday: Optional

We can suggest a scenic run south via the Trossachs for anyone wanting to extend their holiday.

FEES

Option 1: 5 Days 5 Nights - Start in Kendal: £999

Includes 5 nights dinner, bed and breakfast. Coffee at Gleneagles.
Entry to Alford Motor Museum and Tour of Glenfiddich Distillery.

Full route information. 'rally plates' and souvenir awards.

Option 2: 4 days 4 Nights – Start in Edinburgh: £899

Includes 4 nights dinner, bed and breakfast. Coffee at Gleneagles.

Entry to Alford Motor Museum and Tour of Glenfiddich Distillery.
Full route information. 'rally plates' and souvenir awards.

Option 3: 3 days 3 Nights - Start in Alford: £699

Includes 3 nights dinner, bed and breakfast.
Entry to Alford Motor Museum and Tour of Glenfiddich Distillery.

Full route information. 'rally plates' and souvenir awards.

Option 4: 3 Days 2 Nights – Start in Alford: £399

Includes 2 nights dinner, bed and breakfast.

Entry to Alford Motor Museum and Tour of Glenfiddich Distillery.
Full route information. 'rally plates' and souvenir awards.

Extra nights' accommodation can be organised at the tour hotels for the nights before starting the tour – at the appropriate extra fee.

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