Speyside Way to Glenfiddich

Thursday 9th and Friday 10th June 2016

At the end of my holiday in Scotland I walked a section of the Speyside Way from Ballindalloch to Dufftown, however my attention was more focussed on the many whisky distilleries that are in the area. I had spent the night camped at the site of the old Ballindalloch Station, which is just around the corner from the Cragganmore Distillery. I had already visited the distillery the previous day so didn’t really need to go back, but I had been so impressed with the dram of whisky that I’d tasted that I changed my plans so I could return. However, the visitor centre didn’t open until ten o’clock so I took a walk south along the track of the old railway line where I had already been for a wander the previous evening. I returned from this pleasant stroll in time for the visitor centre opening and promptly took the tour of the distillery, which I had been unable to do the previous day. On returning to the visitor centre I had another sample of the delicious, slightly smoky whisky and couldn’t resist buying a small bottle that wouldn’t be too heavy in my rucksack.

With my previous cargo secured I rejoined the Speyside Way and headed north over the River Spey along the old railway line that would be my track for the whole of my walk on both of these days. Considering that I shouldn’t have had any gradient to climb this should have been a very relaxing end to my holiday as I walked through gorgeous leafy countryside at the bottom of the Spey valley. The white flowers of cow parsley and stitchworts accompanied by the pungent yellow flowers of gorse lined the track bed under hot, sunny skies. Despite the supposed ease of the walking I found this day surprisingly tiring, which can mostly be attributed to the warm weather, but also due to a diversion that I made off the Speyside Way in order to find a particular distillery that I was looking for. Just after passing the large, industrial looking Tamdhu Distillery, I stopped to eat my lunch on the platform of the old Knockando station, now signed as Tamdhu after the nearby distillery.

Neither Tamdhu nor the Knockando Distillery that is a short distance down the line caters for visitors, but the Cardhu Distillery does. According to my map the Cardhu Distillery was where the Knockando Distillery is actually located so I was rather frustrated when I learnt that the distillery was actually some distance up the northern slopes of the valley. A long, winding road took me up the hill beside the Knoackando Burn as I became hotter and more tired with every step. Eventually I reached the Cardhu Distillery only to discover that the next tour was in forty minutes. Instead of waiting I made do with a sample of their eighteen year old whisky, which wasn’t bad, but not as tasty as the Cragganmore. Instead of retracing my steps south to Tamdhu I headed east past the rhododendron-decorated Knockando House back onto the Speyside Way. Despite their invasive reputation I did enjoy seeing the lovely displays of rhododendron that successfully lifted my spirits after my exhausting diversion to Cardhu.

Mile after mile along the Speyside Way on the track of the old railway followed, over the River Spey and past pungent smells from a site that is labelled on OS maps as Effluent Plant. I was glad to get away from the smells emanating from the plant and continued walking along the tree covered path amongst the pleasanter smells of wild garlic. Walking along an old railway line can become rather monotonous as the view rarely varies, especially on this walk where the track is tree lined almost all the way, which further restricts the view. Woodland flowers added to the spectacle and somewhat compensated for the restricted distant views. When I got to the small town of Aberlour I nipped off the Way for some resources, including some cookies to keep me going, until I eventually reached Craigellachie where there is a free camping spot within Fiddich Park.

My mind was in two places on this walk with the many whisky distilleries in the area distracting me from the relatively easy path under warm, draining skies. By the end of the walk my legs were beginning to ache possibly after two weeks of carrying a heavy rucksack. The heat on this holiday had been unexpected and unusual for this time of the year. One of the reasons why I go on holiday at this time of the year is because it should be cooler than at the height of summer, which should make the walking pleasanter, but how can I complain about the gorgeous views that I have had on this holiday? The final walk of my holiday, after my night in Fiddich Park, was along the last section of the former Strathspey Railway from Craigellachie to Dufftown through the picturesque Glenfiddich valley.

This is a much more spectacular walk than the previous day as Glenfiddich is a very narrow valley with steep sides requiring deep cuttings through solid rock. The track initially passed the same banks of cow parsley and stitchwort that had graced the previous day's walk before plunging through beautiful, wild woodland with forget-me-nots and other flowers covering the floors. This delightful walk was wonderful, but woefully short and soon I encountered dozens of whisky warehouses heralding my entrance into Dufftown, a place known as being “the Malt Whisky Capital of the World”. Dufftown produces more whisky than any other town in Scotland and the largest, and best known, of the local whiskies is Glenfiddich. Even though this is not my favourite whisky, its flavour is too mild for my taste, I couldn’t resist visiting the distillery and taking the tour including the sampling of four of the Glenfiddich whiskies. At the end I staggered out into Dufftown for a wander around, stopping off at Balvenie Castle before walking back past the Glenfiddich Distillery to Dufftown railway station.

The disused railway line that I had walked along at the start of the day ends at the start of the preserved railway of the Keith and Dufftown Railway that runs a DMU service between the two towns. I took this train to Keith in order to start my journey home. At one point on this holiday I feared that I was wasting the good weather, but a burst of mountain walking around the middle weekend eased my fears. This was the first time that I have spent my whole holiday in the Cairngorms and it has coincided with good weather that has made for a good holiday. I prefer the more rugged mountains of the west coast of the Highlands, and with my passion for mountains reignited by this holiday I am all the more eager to return to that area. My memory of the awesome sight of Scottish mountains as far as the eye can see from the top of my last mountain on this holiday, on Ben Avon, will stay with me until I can return to Scotland.