I love travelling Scotland in the winter months. Mostly the climate is mild, though it can snow and you may get stuck! It is also a time where most attractions are closed and if you come to the Hebrides all places -except for the ones the locals need- are closed.
This enables you to explore the true remoteness of these places with all the wonderful romanticism but also with a real insight to what it takes to live on the Outer Hebrides.
I once went in the second January week to the Isle of Islay and most distilleries had just re-opened after their Christmas break. You walk in and feel like a Royal as you happen to be the one and only visitor. You can chat to people at length, learn about the place and get a true feeling.
This time it took me to Harris & Lewis and one of the places I was really looking forward to visit was the Abhainn Dearg Distillery. I was lucky enough to get my hands on two Abhainn Dearg whiskies prior to visiting:
Abhainn Dearg X single malt, 10 year old, bourbon cask at 46%,
Abhainn Dearg single malt, 10 year old, Pedro Ximenz cask, cask strength 63
I adored the X with its cloudiness, hint of seasweed, salt, a touch of smokiness and such complexity. I usually do not like sweet drinks, nevermind alcoholic sweet drinks, but the PX (Pedro Ximenez) litterally blew my head off. It is strong, it is sweet, but divinely so with sugar cane, caramel hints, some seaweed, saltiness and a hint of peat. I loved it so much that that alone was a reason to travel all the way to Lewis.
I pre-booked a tour and we were warmly greeted by Marko Tayburn himself. He took great pride in showing us around this small and truely unique distillery. You could immediatly feel that he has his whole heart in the venture.
The barley is grown near Stornoway, the water is taken from the river Caslabhat, which the locals named red river (Abhainn Dearg in Gaelic) near the distillery, the peat is harvested near by using a peat cutter (Taisgeir in Gaelic). The only none local ingredient is the live yeast.
The distills were created based on the old illicit distilling process of the Isle of Lewis and they are very unique.
Unique Abhainn Dearg Distills
Pretty much everything is done in-house including malting on a wee table:
Abhainn Dearg Distillery malting table
The distillery keeps cows who are fed on the barley once the sugar has been extracted for distilling. So the distilliery utilises the concept of taking from the ground and returning back to it and even has plans to switch to hydrogen as a powersource!
We eventually got to taste the cask strangth Pedro Ximenez 60% which is one of the best whiskies I have ever tasted. We also tried the cask strength Madeira. Both amazing drams so we bought both bottles.
Tasting the good stuff
You can listen to Marko Tayburn’s vision here:
If this article has inspired you to visit you can certainly utilise Starfish Travel to do so; click here for a sample tour.
Beach opposite of Abhainn Dearg DistilleryMost important employee of Abhainn Dearg!
Unlike my usual touring mode this time we hired a camper van since we are way out of season, which implies nothing is open in areas as remote as Harris and Lewis.
We did a tour around South Harris, ventured around North Harris into Lewis stopping at standing stones, breathtakingly beautiful beaches, black houses and some very unique moonlike landscapes.
Dail Mor BeachCallanish Standing StonesGearrannan Black Houses
Yesterday, Sunday, we managed to have a pint in a pub before moving on to yet another chin dropping gorgeous beach east of Vatisker.
Sitting laptop on my knees, coffee in my hand starring at that beach with the rain making a soothing noise on the roof of the van. It is 8.45 am and barely daylight. A February day in Lewis! It is total bliss.
The weather has not been kind, but added to the wildness of this place and to created the background for some amazing photos. Let me share:
Dun Carloway BrochDrive away from Butt of LewisButt of Lewis lighthouseSheep sheltering walls near Butt of Lewis
Every year Scotland celebrates her favourite poet’s birthday Robbie Burns on the 25th of January. He lived a rather short life in poverty even though he had some success publishing his poems during his life time. He lived for love which he explored in a wedlock with Jane Armour who bore him 9 children in ten years of which three survived. He was also well known for his various affairs; the first one with his mother’s servant which resulted in another child. He had 12 in total. He grew up as a farm worker, but was well eductated by his father and some formal education. The farming could not sustain the family so eventually he became tax & excise officers which took him around Scotland collecting taxes from whisky distilleries.
Besides his romantic poems and the fact that he found his voice in Scots he also had a very humurous side to him when he addressed the Haggis
Fair fa’ your honest, sonsie face, Great Chieftain o’ the Puddin-race! Aboon them a’ ye tak your place, Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye wordy of a grace As lang ‘s my arm
The groaning trencher there ye fill, Your hurdies like a distant hill, Your pin wad help to mend a mill In time o’ need, While thro’ your pores the dews distil Like amber bead.
His knife see Rustic-labour dight, An’ cut ye up wi’ ready slight, Trenching your gushing entrails bright, Like onie ditch; And then, O what a glorious sight, Warm-reekin, rich!
Then, horn for horn, they stretch an’ strive: Deil tak the hindmost, on they drive, Till a’ their weel-swall’d kytes belyve Are bent like drums; Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive, Bethankit hums.
Is there that owre his French ragout, Or olio that wad staw a sow, Or fricassee wad mak her spew Wi’ perfect sconner, Looks down wi’ sneering, scornfu’ view On sic a dinner?
Poor devil! see him owre his trash, As feckless as a wither’d rash, His spindle shank a guid whip-lash, His nieve a nit; Thro’ bluidy flood or field to dash, O how unfit!
But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed, The trembling earth resounds his tread, Clap in his walie nieve a blade, He’ll make it whissle; An’ legs, an’ arms, an’ heads will sned, Like taps o’ thrissle.
Ye Pow’rs wha mak mankind your care, And dish them out their bill o’ fare, Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware That jaups in luggies; But, if ye wish her gratefu’ prayer, Gie her a Haggis!
First printed 1786 Robert Burns
Another one of his peoms made it almost to the national athem:
Scots wha hae (poem by Robert Burns)
The address to the Haggis can be enjoyed annually during the worldwide celebrations of Burn’s Night on the 25th of January usually alongside some good old Haggis, neeps (turnips) and tatties (potatoes). Other ingredients to a successful Burn’s Nights are good Scottish whisky (blended or single malt if your prefer) and a good bit of ceilidh:
Robert Burns died in 1796 only 37 years old and over 250 years later here we are still celebrating his birthday.
I create bespoke, tailor-made tours throughout Scotland for a living and I abslutely love doing it. Each and every single one of my clients adds something new and exiting to my own expirience of this fabulous country.
My own approach is client-led, usually my customers have some ideas, I take them on board, curate a tour and utilise my experience to make further suggestions, we discuss and eventually develop a tour “made for you”.
This is all done fairly old fashioned. I use google maps to create an itinerary and provide weblinks of other attractions. It is my responsibility to turn your dreams in tours which are fun and manageable without rushing or sitting for hours on end in the vehicle.
Times have moved on of course. For once there are chatbots. I tend to converse with ChatGPT, who is a patient listener but not always helpful. I ask him (I selected a male voice no offence) if he could tell me which Islay whisky distilleries are closed on Sunday:
ChatGPT was correct in informing that Ardbeg is closed on Sundays, but neither Bunnahabhain nor Lagavulin are closed on Sundays. ChatGPT also correctly confirmed Bowmore to be closed on Sundays but also Laphroaig is closed on Sundays.
Bottomline is -as helpful as ChatGPT appears- you end up researching opening times yourself and while I am thinking of it let me ask how many whisky distilleries there are on Islay. From ten whisky distilleries ChatGPT got eight and knew about Port Ellen, which is a pretty decent answer:
Let’s turn back to real people: another source of very useful information can be obtained from travel bloggers such as the Wayfairing Kiwi or The Chaotic Scot. They are both lovely personalities and very knowlegable. I personally enjoy reading their blogs and posts. I have not, yet, recruited either of them for itineraries as I feel I would be cheating.
The other very famous one is -of course- Rick Steves, who produces sound and highly entertaining content.
Staying to the social media there are various groups which are fun and provide good advice. I am showing my age here just naming the FB group “Travel to Scotland” you can engage with fellow travellers and Scots, ask questions and get some decent recommendations.
Then there are a number of specialities, such cruise ship pages, or if you are interested in outdoor activities; Wild Scotland, or wellbeing; Heal Scotland or remote locations with Hidden Scotland or WalktheHighlands. This is only a selection of course if you want more do get in touch.
Lastly back to technology: apps. I have recently downloaded “Discover Scotland”, “Holiday Scotland Mapps”, “traveline Scotland”, “AllTrails”, “NorthCoast500” and “Highland Discovery”. They all provided some good information but were mostly lacking in linking into different areas. If you wish to plan a trip in a certain region that works you can even add music or postcasts to your driving experience, but if you go out of the region or switch to a different mood of transport it gets tricky. Local tourist associations have also engaged in apps. such as “The Coig” or “Inthefootstepsofthekings”. I am not yet convinced about any of them but am very happy to be proven wrong.
Tell me your experiences and also do provide advice on other sources you have found helpful.
We are on day number three of 2024. It is winter and we have a mere 7 hrs and (wait for it!) 5 mins of daylight. That in combination with constant rain, fog and sometimes sleet can place the most sturdiest of persons easily into a deep depression. Beside our dear uisge beatha (whisky) there are also glimpses of hope. the first day of 2024 in the east of Scotland presented itself with the most glorious day.
I took the opportunity to visit Lunan Bay beach in Angus:
Lunan Bay beach and Red Castle, Angus, Scotland
On the way we briefly stopped at Hosptialfield House, which was closed on the first of January but still presents you with some lovely walks:
Since that day we have seen hardly any sun or daylight for that matter….
I am claiming to have the best job in the world, sharing my love for Scotland with my amazing customers, who come from all over the world with different ideas of what Scotland means to them. It is always interesting and I always learn something new about poeple but also about Scotland.
If you are looking to visit Scotland find some inspiration from the images I managed to capture throughout my 2023 season travelling.
I live at the shores of the river Tay in January days are way too short so I managed to capture an early sunset at about 3.30 pm.
I also managed to visit Kinkel Byre, which not only operates as a wedding and party venue but it is also engaged in rewilding, below you see one of their Highland cows, who assist in grazing down weeds.
The snow drop season does begin in January but the image below was taken in early Fabruary. Just outside of St Andrews in Kingsbarns you can visit Cambo House if you do so in January you experience a great vaierty of snowdrops.
In March the University of St Andrews hired me to assist with one of the their local expeditions and beside other attractions we visited this lovely Cairn.
April got considerably busier and below you find a sunset in Broadford, daffodils in the sunshine, Loch Ba in Corrour, St Andrews at dawn and another sunset over the river Tay.
In Scotland spring starts white with snowdrops, followed by yellow daffodils and concludes with the gorgeous blue bells in May.
May brought more guests and more adventures and naturally more nature exitements too. Below we have a close up of a blue bell, some fake standing stones (by an Outlander lover) at Invermoriston, woodlands with and without blue bells and yet another gorgeous sunrise at Nairn beach.
June took me to Dura Den water falls, some nice lunches at St Andrews Link’s Clubhouse, the old course, Pittenweem mill, Doune Castle (famous in Outland but also Monty Python’s Flying Circus) and the McManus gallery in Dundee. I started my annual outdoor swimming and reading my friend’s (Rebecca Gibson’s) book on the North East. In July I followed her guidance throughout Aberdeen.
Linlithgow Palace, historically famous as Queen Mary of the Scots birthplace but also admired in Outlander wheras modern Scotland presents you with the Kelpies and the Falkirk Wheel, which joins up the Union and the Caledonian Canal.
Culross palace as well as Midhope Castle feature in Outlander.
August showed off with some amazing summer shots of thistles. I was lucky to stay at Ardeonaig Hotel on the east side of Loch Tay, which is gorgerously remote.
The Pictish fort of Burghead is intriguing if you are interested in the Picts but also because it simply is a stunning location where you may spot some dolphines.
Fittie is an old fishing village in Aberdeen. Aberdeen is often neclected, mostly known for the oil industry, besides this it holds many secret historic spots, such a Bridge of Balgownie.
Glamis castle is where late Queen Elisabeth’s mother grow up and which aledgely inspired Shakespeare to write about MacBeth. In the grounds you will find wooden sculptures relating to the play.
St Andrews Castle is in a prestine location and tells a good part of Scotland’s reformation story though its orgins date much further back. Sadly, it is a ruin.
If you travel to Aberfeldy in Perthsire I highly recommend a visit at Errichel for a lovely lunch and a cuddle with their Highland pony stallions and if you are so intrigued it offers itself to the outdoor enthusiast with amble options to mountain/e-bike and kayak on the wild river Tay.
September contained numerous cruiship days tours and again some longer tours and took me twice to Arran, once to Skye and Islay. I adore whisky so Islay is one of my favourite places.
The images however begin with Drummond Castle, situated in Perthshire and closely linked (by clan) to another of my favourite places, Innerpefferay Library.
The first sunset it was photographed from the ferry returning to the mainland from beautiful Arran and the stunning morning sun over the Atlantic was taken from Arran.
Bowmore on Islay is the next location for a romantic sunset and Islay of course always invites to a wee dram of uisge beath (Gaelic for whisky), which brings us straight to Laphroaig on a malting day. It this case make sure sure Laphroaig is peaty enough for its reputation.
Port Ellen on Islay sports the only blue postbox to my knowledge in any case and the new/old Port Ellen whisky distillery, which is eagerly anticipated to open in February 2024.
Kilnaughton beach (and lighthouse) is one of my favourite place for some wild swimming and so it Laphroaig bay if you get such a gorgeous Indian summer day.
Machir Hotel is the most famous hotel in Islay next to the airport (which does not really contribute to too much noise pollution) and offers some amazing golf experiences if you love the sport Scotland is most famous for -apart from Shinty in Kingussie.
Finlaggan as former seat of the Lordship of Isles is an intriguing place to explore on Islay, where Lagavulin whisky distillery\ and beach should not be missed. Oban is certainly blessed with a nice whisky distillery but so is the tiny island of Raasay, which is is a relative new venture but already with tasty results.
Oban also host the Perle Hotel, Dunollie castle but also some quirky accommodation at the Soroba bothy which I highly recommend. Raasay’s views towards the Isle of Skye concludes my take on September.
If you have found something of interest get in touch:
Scotland as the home of golf is a very popular destination amongst golfers. Often they aim to make the best of their time in Scotland and try to play as many of these wonderful Scottish golf courses as they can fit in. Not everyone plays golf everyday of their ordinary life and playing two courses a day if you only play twice a month at home might strain your stamina and muscle capacity.
To recover you could take a day’s rest and visit some of Scotland’s amazing landscapes, castles, towns or whisky distilleries. This also might be a welcome break for members of your group who do not share your full enthusiasm about golf.
At Starfish Travel you can combine this with slightly unusual twist as your tourguide is also a qualified yoga teacher and certified FRC Mobility Specialist (FRCms).
While you are taking a wee break from golf you can endulge in some real helpful exercises to maintain peak golfing performance either in nature or in a cosy indoor space as you prefer.
Campbeltown is know for many things, among others to be the fictional Kinnloch in Denzil Meyrick’s fabulous crime novels-> bloody Scotland for a change.
Other than that Campbeltown is also one of Scotland’s five whisky regions with GlenScotia, Glengyle and Springbank. Springbank also being one of the very few remaining distilleries who still do their own malting.
Campbeltown is also home Cadenhead, Scotland’s oldest independent bottler (1842).
To cut a long story short this is a place the collective whisky drinkers should visit if they have not already done so.
Springbank Distillery not only produces the obvious Springbank, but also Hazelburn, the peated Longrow and not to forget Kilkerran (at Glengyle) Their 12 year old Kilkerran is much appreciated amongst the “cognoscenti” as it is an excellent drum for an affordable price at £48 per bottle (their are others such as Laphroaig 10 at £29 and Bunnahabhain 12 at £39.95).
Usually the “wee town” delivers to the local whisky shops across Scotland on quarterly basis but this time there was no stock refill of Kilkerran12. In the community of whisky lovers the news did not take long to spread and the spirit for much missed from the “daily” diet and people began to ask around where this much appreciated spirit could still be bought.
One of the gentleman in “the know” approached Archie from Luvian’s Bottle Shop and asked the question: Did the shops still stock any Kilkerran 12. Archie directed that person to the Cupar shop and indeed there were some left so if you are in urgent need for Kilkerran12 visit Luvian’s in Cupar:
A whisky region has to have at least three distilleries Campbeltown nearly lost this status but was saved from it by the re-opening of Glengyle (Kilkerran) in 2004. Read the full story HIER (article by James Gilles)
If you rather wish to watch a little more on the history of Campbeltown go ahead:
I had curated a tour to Strahcarron Adrheslaig in the very north western highlands in August and was once again acutely aware of the impact toursim has in remote communities like Shieldaig. Shieldaig is a tiny and gorgeously beautiful village at the shores of Loch Torridon.
Shieldaig drone view
My guests stayed in The Torridon which is a five star hotel, with sustainability credentials and offering an experience totally away from any real life. I opted to stay a little further “down the road” (which had of course been a single track for many miles) in the Tigh an Eilean (Gaelic meaning: house of the island) which was fully booked and buzzing.
The place is “dominating” Shieldaig a local resident told me and that was indeed very true. It also, naturally supplies jobs and brings income to the place being the only hotel in town. The night I stayed in August there were clearly more tourists than residents in town (or perhaps the residents were in hiding?).
The little family run hotel was excessively busy but everyone was still kind, caring and very friendly indeed. Let me add that I travelled “on my own” and felt very welcome and safe of course.
I had one of the best meals ever with the nicest view over Loch Torridon:
The room was equally cosy and very comfy and by the nature of this remote place geared up to get you walking & hiking with plenty of information as to how to.
I was so taken by their food offerings that I cannot help but post two more photos of the delightful breakfast I had:
I do apologise for blethering on about the food but it simply was so outstandingly delicious. Coming back to the community: the village has the usual store which acts as post office (I think) and partially art gallery for the resident creative people.
When walking in and caring to engage in a conversation it becomes quickly very clear that this little place sports a vibrant community and I personally would advise to come back out of season to really get to know the tightly knit quality of living remote. People have to rely on each other but also respect differences. It does give me a very warm feeling. I hope I am not romanticizing this too much as I am sure there will be conflicts but still you need each other living in a place like this.
I did bump into the big tourist bus invading the local coffee shop the following day which took away the feeling of remoteness but when walking into the hills I immediately got it back. This is a fabulous place to go exploring, hiking, being mindful and not to forget go swimming and as said I would also highly recommend to do so out of season if you can. Enjoy!!!
There is a guide available on the history of the place by Alice and Vivienne MacLennan which I highly recommend:
My vision for Starfish Travel was to go electric in 2023 but that was not meant to happen based on vehicle capacity, costs but mostly reach and re-charge time. Based on annual mileage this could save up to 21 t of CO2 emmission- the biggest saving.
I am usually a little suspicious of “green washing” but with failing to switch to an EV Starfish Travel still needed to contirbute something.
In January 2023 Starfish Travel invested a small amount into Highlands Rewilding.
In February 2023 Starfish Travel achieved the Green Toursim Silver Award:
This is only the beginning and achieving a Gold award somewhere in the furture would be fabulous.
On a monthly bases Starfish Travel also contributes to Ecology:
I am aware that these are only very small contributions but it is a start.
On a broader range Starfish Travel also supports the National Trust Scotland both as a member and with volunteering occassionally at Kellie Castle:
