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The Nature Ceilidh at Kinkell Byre in St Andrews was a vibrant celebration that combined Scotland’s rich culture with a strong focus on the natural world. Set in the atmospheric converted barn overlooking Fife’s stunning coastline, the event brought together 250 guests to engage with music, nature, and community action for the environment.

Evening Highlights

Arrival & Stalls

Guests arrived at 6 p.m., showcasing an array of creative outfits, with kilts encouraged but not required, adding to the colorful diversity. The stalls, run by knowledgeable presenters, offered engaging insights into sustainability and opportunities for collaboration, creating a welcoming and educational atmosphere.

Speeches

By 7 p.m., Rory Fyfe invited attendees to the main area for speeches:

• Mairi Gougeon, Cabinet Minister for Rural Affairs, delivered a passionate speech outlining ambitious rural and environmental policies for Scotland.

• Charlie Davis provided a detailed overview of rewilding at Corrour Estate, focusing on:

• Biodiversity Recovery: Restoration of Caledonian pine forests, peatlands, and grasslands.

• Sustainable Land Use: Managing deer populations to promote natural regeneration.

• Carbon Sequestration: Revitalizing peatlands to act as carbon sinks.

• Wildlife Conservation: Supporting native species such as red deer, otters, and golden eagles.

Davis also celebrated a 100-year partnership between Corrour Estate and the University of St Andrews, showcasing how private estates and academic institutions can collaboratively drive meaningful environmental change.

Food & Dancing

The Wild Rover team provided sustainable and delicious food. The evening culminated with traditional Scottish ceilidh dancing, led by skilled musicians, as guests joyfully joined in, embodying the spirit of celebration and unity.

The event was a dynamic blend of cultural heritage, education, and environmental advocacy, setting an inspiring example of how communities can come together to support nature and sustainability.

“Expanding Our Horizons: Collaborative Pathways for Nature Tourism in Scotland,” was held on November 20th at Fishers Hotel in Pitlochry. The event brought together industry professionals to discuss trends, sustainability, and opportunities in adventure and wildlife tourism.

Speakers:
-> David Symes from the Adventure Travel Trade Association will lead an interactive session on developing adventure tourism for international markets.

-> Patrick O’Shaughnessy from VisitScotland will discuss optimizing online visibility for tourism businesses.

-> Clyde & Co on Package Trade Regulations, travel services as well as laws and processes surronding accident reporting and preventation

-> Rebecca Gibson, an outdoor writer, will share insights on slow travel in Scotland.

-> Pete Creech on discussions ro reintroduce lynx to Scotland, which stood out as a unique conservation topic.

-> Andy Bateman highlighted the Importance of Whisky with some help from myself.

The event emphasized sustainable practices and collaboration in nature tourism, offering attendees actionable insights and strategies for growth in Scotland’s tourism sector. For more details and registration, visit the Wild Scotland website or Eventbrite pages.

Besides presentations there were a number of networking/collaboration exercises which were very insightful and fun. We even had a meditative breathing exercise, which left all participant being able to hold the breath for a minute.

Lean back and reflect!!!

Scotland has roughly 152 whisky distilleries. Some are very well established, others were closed, got mothballed and finally re-opened, like Rosebank as one of the latest example.

There are, however, numerous newcomers and I am in the privileged position of having two amazing distilleries near my home.

I have at many occassions mentioned the amazing Daftmill, but today I turn to my other neighbours, Lindores Abbey Distillery.

Drew McKenzie Smith, the owner of Lindores, came to distilling almost by accident: A whisky writer with the name Michael Jackson approach him to tell about the exchequer rolls of 1494, noting that Friar John Cor of Lindores Abbey in Fife paid duty on eight bolls of malt to make aqua vitae (400 70cl bottles) for King James IV. After much research and very carefully designing the distillery in 2017 -after a 523 break- whisky producting at Lindores resumed.

When Lindores started bottling it already was an amazing -though young- expression, more delightfully delicious expressions followed:

On 12th of September 2024 Thiron was brought out ! Wow, it is so good! Have you tried it? If so, tell us about it. Here is what Lindores promotes it to be:

“WHAT TO EXPECT
Imbued with beautiful aromas of mellow vanilla cake, caramel syrup, baking spices and fruity plum jam. Discover flavours of oaky vanilla, butterscotch, with undertones of more plum jam playing with cinnamon and ginger, and layers of roasted chestnuts. The result is a finely balanced and complex whisky, with a delightful finish and the smooth, silky texture characteristic of Lindores whisky.”

Starfish Travel obviously stocks a variety of Lindores’ Abbey Distillery expressions which you get to sample when booking a tour with us.

If you are interested in a whisky tour – in Fife our any other or even all of the region, fill in the contact form below:

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I made my way to Blair Castle yesterday for one of their newest experiences: Blair Castle Whisky Talk & Tour.

We were very warmly welcomed by Keren Guthrie, the senior archivist at Blair Castle, who led this private tour and focused on the rooms which were important to tell the whisky stories of Blair Castle (your ticket includes a general admission so you can tour all 30 rooms at your own leisure once the whisky tour has finished).

In 2022 40 bottles of whisky were discovered in one of Blair Castles cellars with a note stating distilling date of 1833, first bottled in 1841 and then rebottled in 1932. These dates were verified by both Edinburgh and Glasgow University. The whisky still was above 60% of alcohol.

24 of them were auctioned in November and December of 2023 and sold for £385.000. They may have come from the Edradour or Tullimet Distillery. However, they may have been distilled illicitly on the estate itslef.

Queen Victoria during her visit at Blair Castle may have even been drinking some of this whisky. Four bottles of whiskies were consumed at her visit according to the house hold book.

Sadly, your whisky Talk & Tour will not let you try the oldest whisky but you will be presented with a flight of whiskies relating to Blair Castle: a cask strength Blair Castle, which is a Berinnes cask bought and bottled by the estate, a 15 year old Tullibardine at 43 % and a Triple Wood Glenturret 43%. The estate has applied for a license and hope to add a tastingto the tour, which will be in the library (which is not open to the public) in 2025, which would certainly add to this experience.

Keren’s expertise added a true authenticity to the very interesting tour of the story of whisky at Blair Castle, from the records kept to the very origins of the family obtaining their influence in Scotland and being granted this estate. You will get to see some of the bottles discovered as well as an old still, but also old tools used by the exise officers to detect the illicit liquid. It is a tour offering quite a different perspective and certainly is fascinating!

It has been a joyful and busy summer with such a variety of lovely clients and interesting locations. It was- to be honest- somewhat wet, but for all the tours I did so far there was only one day which was a wash out (though still enjoyed by me and my guests).

Let me begin with this: There are still castles without queues and even better without entrance fees.

For some you need to travel a bit: Brochel Castle on the Isle of Raasay which is certainly a place I love to visit. It is situated on the north east of the island just before the old council road stopped and turned into Calum’s Road:

For closer inspection you will need to walk through a field of sheep which in our case really did not appreciate our disturbance. The little cottage which may house the sheeps’ owner does not even have a space for parking a car.

Calum’s road was build in two decades by an islander who refused to accept the council declining a request to build a road from Brochel to Arnish. Calum did not even hold a driving licence!

With much denser population you can go and visit Mugdock Castle, near Glasgow but as Brochel castle you will have to walk for a bit. However, it is very worthwhile and free:

There is a lovely footpath to the castle along a nice loch and the castle itself may be a ruin but there is quite a bit still standing.

Castle number three is still in the central belt and is Castle Struthers at the back of a farm in Craigrothie, Fife:

This just goes to show it does not always have to be Edinburgh or Urquhart castle.

What castles off the beaten track have you enjoyed visiting?

As a tour guide there are many inevitable locations one ends up visiting again and again. I honestly do not mind because Scotland’s weather is so changeable that it will always be different. Scotland really never does get boring, but over the years the number of people visiting Scotland’s amazing beauty has increased dramatically. This in turn has created some hotspots, such as Loch Ness or the Isle of Skye.

I may be a tour guide but that does not make me a fan of massive crowds trampeling their way to the fairy pools on Skye.

I am just about to visit the Isle of Skye again with some guests and what I have tried to communicate to my clients over the years is to take a little time with your locations. This time we will spend two nights on Skye and were lucky enough to find accommodation.

Two nights is not a long stay but it is long enough to seek nice enough spells of weather to take in the breath-taking landscapes of Skye and embracd the outdoors, to mingle with the locals, to experience some local cousine and to actually enjoy your stay rather than just passing by.

Look at the pictures below taken at vist back in April this year. There is sooo much so see & experience!

If you like a bespoke tour for your visit to anywhere in Scotland get in touch:

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Nature & Whisky

Two weeks ago I was lucky enough to visit Glndronach Whisky Distillery. I bought their 21 year old:

I bought it on advise of the distillery staff members and a valued whisky friend of mine. When I finally got around to sampling it last week I was blown away both by its complexity and smoothness. It truly is one of those whiskies you need to nestle in with and give it a few hours to fully appreciate it and you only need a small amount.

I have shared it since with a few friends who all really enjoyed.

I was very lucky to be able to get two wee tasters of Glendronach’s handfills as I -obviously- could not do so during my visit as I was as per usual driving.

This Olorosso Pucheon at 58.8 % is stunningly smooth and not really that sweet but comes across very sherried and brings with it a heartwarming mouth-feel.

Handfill number two,a PX Puncheon, at 61.6% is surprinsingly stronger, not too sweet either and is a real explosion of flavours in your mouth. It feels somewhat lighter as in the density of the liquid itself:

I will be back in due course and intend to buy one of them (if still available) but I really struggle to make up my mind. They are, as most, of what Glendronach produces really very nice whikies.

Have you tried any of these? If so tell me what you think…

As I have a genuine love for for uisge beatha- gaelic for the water of life = whisky I do not necessarily require customers to visit distilleries. Back in February I went with my better half to a soothing visit of Skye, Harris & Lewis. At Abhainn Dearg it felt like owner Marko had just opened the place for the two of us. The Isle of Harris Distillery was even closed for some reservations but we had brought our own supply of the gorgeous Hearach. I love both their whisky but do favour Abhainn Dearg’s expressions.

In March Fife Whisky Festival was another welcome break to sample some good spirits and we had the chance to attend Woodrow of Edinburgh’s tasting and I fell truely in love with his Bunnahabhain 16:

A tour of the NC500 -this time with a bunch of lovely clients from Germany- got me to visit The Speyside Cooperage, GlenAllachie,the wee Dornoch Whisky Distillery, Glenmorangie, Brora, Clynelish, Singelton, Wolfburn, Balblair, Edradour (which, sadly, still remains closed to the public since Covid). We even went to sample some Rockrose Gin at the Dunet Bay Distillery and last but not least nipped into the Glengoyne on the back back to the airport.

Gin still remains somewhat of a closed book to me (maybe just as well?) but I truly enjoy Persie’s Spaniel Gin.

Often the Diageo whisky distilleries are somewhat frowned upon but I have to say they all still very much sport their own characters – look at Dalwhinnie or Talisker for one and Diageo does provide an amazing whisky experience in each of their distilleries and- not to forget- their staff are enthusiatic, friendly and much fun to be with.

I should also add while travelling the NC500 we did visit many, many other sites, besides the whisky distilleries.

Not much later and again on the way with some lovely Germans we opted to visit Auchentoshan, which is a lovely distillery and quite special due to their tripple distilling (like Springbank!). They were, however, faced with some sort of staff shortage, slightly overbooked and for this tour and had that one person who could not stop asking questions. I felt a little sorry for our tour guide and -as the tour was in English/Glaswegian- and not the easiest to understand for my German guests.

I went off and did a few none whisky related tours and revisited Glengoyne, Lindores and Holyrood Distillery. Lindores are pretty much my neighnours and one of my go to whiskies next to another fabulous neighbour: Daftmill (sadly again not open to the public). Holyrood Distillery sells the flavoured new make spirit which is an odd but interesting experience.

I then had another tour with some Swiss people to Arran, Campbeltown and Speyside, starting with the newly re-opened Rosebank, followed by Lagg & Lochranza, Springbank, Kilkerran, Cadenhead & GlenScotia and then over to Speyside with GlenAllachie, Dalwhinnie (again), Benromach, GlenMoray, Glendornach. Benromach and Glendornach are both distilleries I adore visiting as they are that little bit less busy, have amazing staff members and even better whisky.

The attentative reader will have noticed that I have clearly been missing out on my faviourite of all whisky regions: Islay! Bear with me it will come in due course.

Which are your favourite distilleries and/or whiskies and why?

Do you have whisky shops you love? I do and it is Luvians (both in St Andrews and Cupar)

Do you have preferred “whisky” places to stay? I love the Speyside Hotel (Ghillies bar & food) and the Highlander Inn (among others)

On Monday I take some lovely guests to Arran, Campbeltown and Speyside for six days. So, what to take for a wee taster? Here is my first collection:

Something we will not be able to visit and/or drink…

For Cambeltown I took my favourite GlenScotia 11 years old special edition:

We will be missing both the Lowlands and Islay. For the Lowlands I opted to bring a along my neighbours’ Lindores Abbey. Their standard expression is a very likeable and smooth dram. I have recently fallen in love with their Sherry Butt at 49.4% which I sadly finished and brought instead a Sherry at cask strength 61.4% which I am sure will be equally devive.

The other lowland is another of my favourites even though I am a peat head really: Daftmill 15. Daftmill is a small farm distillery with quite a small but amazingly delightful output. I would have a Daftmill over MacAllan any time.

From Islay I present the Bunnahabhain 12, which is their standard expression but this one is bottled at cask strength. The same spirit matured and bottled by Woodrow of Edinburgh will add more Islay flavour.

I also got my hands onto the inaugural release of the long awaited Jim McEwan Ardnahoe, which again is in my opinion a very good dram.

Turning our focus to Speyside now: Craigellachie is sadly not open to the public so I took along their 13 year old. Balvenie is a very small distillery and they do tours but you need to book them well in advance. We will miss it this time around. So my remaining three whiskies from Speyside are all peated: Balvenie 14, Ballantruan and an 18 year old Caperdonich (a distilery which no longer exists and one which had links both to Glen Grant “2” and Glenlivet). Balvenie runs a peat week before they close down the distillery for the annual “deep clean”. Ballantruan has always beeen heavily peated just to state not all Speyside is smooth and light.

Turning our focus to the Highlands now and lets just briefly stay on the mainland, where on the remote peninsula of Movern in Drimmin’ to be precise you can find an amazingly new women led venture called NcNean. The name comes from the Gaelic Neachneohain which litteraly means the queen of spirit and that she is. The distillery is a B-corb and has a zero carbon footprint. It is also well worth the rather long drive to visit. If you are touring distilleries you can add Ardnamurchan and Tobermory on Mull.

Staying north and in the Highlands but onto the outer hebrideas now: Lewis with Abhainn Dearg (the red river) and Harris with the gorgeous Hearach, both relatively new ventures and Abhainn Dearg very clearly sticking to the traditional island techniques:

Finally, last comes a bottling from the Scottish Malt Wisky Society at cask strength (always) with a funniy name: “Gummidge VS Puswash”, only the number gives away the distillery. 66 it is on this bottle which is and Ardmore (SMWS codes).

This is just one example of what you may get to try when you join me for a whisky tour, or even any other tour, that is, if you would like to try a wee dram.

What do you think? Is there something important missing? Have you got favourites you would add? Get in touch!

If you have read my previous post (ULEZ saga) you will remember I bought a ULEZ compliant vehicle and put it on private plates which made it – interestlingly enough – not compliant.

I eventually received a Euro Status letter from my manufacturer for the price of £35 advising me that it is a common occurance that private plates are not updated (if you recently put a private plate on you better check here: ULEZ Scotland checker or UK ULEZ checker or London Transport Checker.

You will need to update you V5 document at DVLA. I tried and as person not owning a UK passport (why passport and not driving license I wonder?) I needed to enter the ID document I used when I applied for my permanent UK Residency. This was my ID card (which is no longer a valid document in post-Brexit UK). I promptly got kicked out and ended up begging every LEZ authority in Scotland to update my files. Edinburgh was kind enough to do so and now my compliant ULEZ is actually ULEZ compliant.

I do still wonder why this country is so very good in creating rules which are impossible to adhere to.

Have you had issues? Please get in touch and tell me!