Cairngorms National Park & Speyside Whisky

We depart Inverness and travel through the spellbinding landscapes of Speyside for some great views of the Cairngorms National Park. Keep your camera ready to capture the vibrant colour of blooming heather if you’re visiting in the summer and autumn months. Our first destination is the forest village of Carrbridge. Here, you can get some refreshments, breathe in the cool mountain air and wander around the Old Packhorse Bridge.

We continue south to the Glenmore Forest Park, where you have free time to explore. Your options include a walk through the woods to Loch Morlich, which is one of Scotland’s most scenic and popular lochs. You can admire a sandy beach and large and ancient pine trees before you make your way back to the mini-coach. If you prefer not to walk, there’s a café and exhibition at the visitor centre.

All this walking and fresh air must have worked up your appetite, so you head to Aviemore for lunch. This cute little town has been inhabited since at least the 1600s and today is a great hub from which to explore the national park.

This great day must be finished off with a dram of delicious whisky at Tomatin Distillery. You’ll savour the aromas of fruit and spice at Tomatin, a distillery with a difference. They care about their community and those who wish to be a part of it. And that’s what makes their whisky easy-going yet unique. Follow your guide to discover the production site and finish with a tutored tasting of three single malts.

*Itinerary and distillery visits are subject to change.

Leave the remote landscapes of the Highlands behind and start your journey back to Inverness, but not before stopping in at Clava Cairns. These striking standing stones and cairns are one of Scotland’s most impressive prehistoric sites, said to be about 4000 years old. Outlander fans will also get a thrill, as it’s said to be an inspiration for the standing stones in the series. We then head back into Inverness and arrive in the early evening.