The beautiful South
The Lowlands distilleries are surprisingly varied and highly satisfying.Caroline Dewar reports
You might think there isn’t a lot to say about the Lowlands as a whisky area. There may be only three main distilleries here and this part of Scotland often seems ignored outside of Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Single malts produced here are softer in character than from other regions but equally versatile for different drinking occasions and mixed drinks (an Auchentoshan Whisky Smash – heaven).
My word limit does not allow inclusion of all the non-whisky tourist activity in these areas. But part of the pleasure of such visits is any discovery you make yourself, once you have some basic information to work from.
Let’s take the distilleries and their surrounding areas one at a time.
In the far southwest of Scotland we have Bladnoch. The distillery shop is open all year, Monday-Friday from 9am-5pm; weekends and Bank Holidays during July and August 11am-5pm on Saturdays and 12pm-5pm on Sundays.
The distillery itself does not produce spirit all year round. There is a significant lay off in summer. Bladnoch also runs a little whisky school a few times a year to coincide with distillation. Check out dates at www.bladnoch.co.uk.
As it is quite out of the way, you’ll have a long drive, though Stranraer as a port serving Ireland is not too far. Troon is a bit further.
Glasgow airport is nearly 100 miles away with Edinburgh at 133 miles. Prestwick in Ayrshire is closer if your nearest airport is served by flights there.
However, do not be put off by distances as this part of .....
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By Caroline Dewar
Section : Visitor Guides
Page number : 48
