A trip to Scotland is not complete without a visit to Cairngorms National Park. Or a visit to a whisky distillery. Luckily, this tour combines the two!
Our first stop on this tour was actually at the village of Carrbridge- a gateway of sorts to Cairngorms National Park.
This village is a great place to grab a cup of coffee while admiring the famous Carrbridge Packhorse Bridge- from which the village takes its name.
The bridge was built in 1717 and was in use for over 100 years before a massive flood washed most of it away, leaving it in the unusable condition it remains in today.
This village is also known for its Carve Carrbridge Scottish Open Chainsaw Carving Competition and is The Golden Spurtle World Porridge Making Championship- both delightfully bizarre claims to fame.
I didn’t sample any porridge while I was in town, but I did get to see a stunning work of chainsaw art, so keep an eye out for that.
Our next stop was to Castle Roy- a 12th century fortress in a field of wildflowers that was fun to explore, with plenty of informational plaques. A Highland Cow named Murdo grazed in the shadow of the castle. All Scottish tours make a genuine effort to show you a Highland Cow, but this was the best one.
Murdo has unfortunately passed on since my visit, and I’m not sure if they’ll get a new cow in the future!
After stopping at Castle Roy, we had a brief stop at a viewpoint overlooking the Cairngorms, but it was so uncomfortably windy that we didn’t stay for long- choosing instead to head straight over to Loch Morlich.
The freshwater loch butts right up to a sandy beach and tall forest, which makes for beautiful photos. On warmer days, visitors can sit out on the beach or even rent water equipment such as kayaks or paddleboards to explore the loch from the water.
Our lunch stop was at Aviemore- which was the best place to find souvenirs! The shops had a lot of original gifts- which was nice because most of the gift shops in the main towns are owned by the same company and are very similar. One of the shops was giving out gin samples, which was fun!
I got a quick snack at Harry Gow and spent most of the break taking advantage of the nice weather and exploring the town.
The main event on this tour was our stop to Tomatin Distillery, helpfully scheduled after lunch so we weren’t drinking on an empty stomach.
The tour took us through several buildings, exploring the history of whisky and the distillery itself. It’s definitely a must for a whisky lover! The tour ends with a whisky tasting back at their main entrance. My tour got a sample of Legacy, Twelve, and Colugin, along with an explanation of the best way to drink whisky and what notes to pull from each tasting.
We were then set free to explore the shop- which, after three whiskies, they had a laughably easy time talking me into buying a few whisky souvenirs to take home with me.
The actual whisky tasting isn’t mandatory on this tour- it is in fact an additional cost, but I think it was worth it!
Our last stop was to Clava Cairns. The standing stones at Clava Cairns reportedly inspired the stones that send Claire through time in the Outlander series. This spot is pretty popular since it’s super close to Inverness and easy to get to. When I visited this spot ten years ago before Outlander came out, we were the only people there! I mentioned this to my guide and he said that when he was a kid, this was just a spot to come and drink!
Aside from its popularity as an Outlander stop, the Cairns are burial sites. The massive ring shaped stone piles are nearly 4,000 years old and give great insight into ancient Scottish culture.
With just a short drive back to Inverness, the tour lasted about nine hours- making it one of the shorter day trip options out there!
I feel like I saw a lot of interesting parts of Scotland- I’d never even heard of Carrbridge before this trip, so it was a great way to see more out of the way attractions.
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