Boat of Garten, where we were staying, is about a 45-minute drive from Dufftown, home of the Glenfiddich Distillery and heart of the festival. Before arriving in Dufftown, however, we made a quick stop at Aberlour to visit the distillery there. We did not arrive in time for the tour (which we discovered wasn’t suitable for us anyway – it was 2 hours long and not open to Liam), but we took a few pictures.
Our next stop was the Glenlivet Distillery. Liam wasn’t allowed on the tour there either, so he and I stayed behind while Brendan and Christy learned about George Smith’s whisky making. The day was perfect, once again, so Liam and I enjoyed a walk around the beautiful Glenlivet estate before catching up with the others. Brendan was beaming as he came out of the warehouse. It had been a great tour, he told me, with an exceptional guide. We then tasted the whiskies – a 12 year old, a 16 year old cask strength, and an 18 year old. The favourite was the cask strength, which can only be purchased at the distillery. It can now also be tasted at our house (but only on very special occasions!). ☺
We then visited Glenfiddich. This time B and I went inside while Christy babysat. My favourite part of the tour was being greeted by different smells around every corner – it’s amazing what variety of aroma and flavour that can be gleaned from just three simple ingredients (whisky is made of water, malted barley, and yeast).
Balvenie Castle is a short walk from the Glenfiddich Distillery, so we went there next. The Balvenie Distillery is located a bit further off, but the shop at the castle was offering a free whisky and shortbread tasting in honour of the festival. We partook, naturally!
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| Liam at Balvenie Castle |
The day was getting on at this point, so we found ourselves a place to sit down and enjoy a good Scottish steak. The restaurant we chose was the self-proclaimed best around. The food was good, but the atmosphere was… well, strange. The restaurant doubled as an antique shop and was cluttered with old stuff from floor to ceiling. Most of the pictures on the wall had price tags on them – apparently everything was for sale. The place also had a jukebox, which Brendan had to try. He put in his coins and chose an Elvis tune – the song then blasted through the whole restaurant at an absurd volume. The owner quickly rushed over to turn the thing down, but that proved trickier than anticipated. He finally succeeded, and the rest of Brendan’s songs played softly in the background.
The biggest surprise at this restaurant was our discovery of the ladies bathroom. I opened the door expecting to see a tiny cubicle and was met instead with a sweeping staircase, which led to a whole other antique-cluttered room (the ladies toilet being in a tiny cubicle at the back of the room)! My description fails to appropriately convey the shock of this spectacle. I wish we had taken pictures.
We returned to the hostel that evening well satisfied with the events of the day, and after snacks and conversation, retired for the night.
The next day we packed up for the trip home. We made only one stop, in Dalwhinnie. Dalwhinnie is one of Brendan’s favourite whiskies, so he wanted to visit that distillery. We didn’t have time for the tour, but we did taste some whisky, this time enjoying the privilege of trying a 21-year-old – a rare treat indeed!
We arrived home around midday, just in time for Brendan to make it to a lunch meeting. So ended our last road trip through Scotland. Although there are many parts of this beautiful country we have not seen, we’ve done our best to take in as much of it as we could during our time here. We’ve been coast to coast, north and south, visited three islands and fallen in love with the hills… it’s hard to believe we’ll be leaving this place so soon. Whether we make it back in the future or not, Scotland will always be a second home to us.
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