whisky & castles in Grampian

Grampian is veritably Scotland’s Whisky and Castle Country’. This area is a ‘must-see’ when visiting Scotland. It’s a feast for all the senses and we urge you to come and immerse yourself in its wonders. The area is renowned for its rich selection of Castles and Malt Whisky distilleries, but also has the added bonus of offering its visitors a wealth of pre-history attractions, quaint country shops and unique wildlife (including men in kilts)! Its dramatic coastline gives way to lush undulating countryside cradling large country estates and old manor houses.

For the purposes of malt whisky classification, acclaimed writer and broadcaster Derek Cooper in The Whisky Roads of Scotland defines Speyside as being those parts of the counties of Banffshire and Morayshire which constitute ‘… a golden triangle in the north-east corner of Scotland centred on Elgin, Rothes, Keith and Dufftown’. Some 50 distilleries – around half Scotland’s current productive total – fit into the Speyside category, making whisky production, and all the ancillary roles associated with it, a major employer in an area otherwise dependent on farming and tourism for much of its income. A number of towns and villages such as Dufftown, Rothes and Keith are very much ‘whisky communities’, and each is home to several distilleries.

And Scotland's Castle and Whisky Country is home to more castles per acre than anywhere else in the UK (nearly 300 if you want to count!)