Whiskey Tour from Edinburgh- West Coast & Islay

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Whiskey Tour from Edinburgh – West Coast and Islay Itinerary

The West coast and Islay whiskey tour from Edinburgh departs from your arranged pick up point in Edinburgh or surrounding area.

Day 1 – Departing at 9:00 am we set off and highlights of the day include:

The mighty Stirling Castle,
Deanston Distillery for a tour and a wee dram of single malt.
North into the Highlands where the landscape becomes more mountainous and where stories of folk heroes and Highland clans come alive.
Rest stop at the popular Green Welly.
The romantic 15th-century part-ruins of Kilchurn Castle, a former stronghold of the Clan Campbell.
Oban, the seafood capital of the Scottish Highlands for the evening.

Day 2 – Highlights:

Tour of Oban Distillery. The distillery is unusual in that it sits in the heart of the town of Oban and offers regular guided tours of the distillery. The tours finish with a wee dram of Oban’s excellent 14 yr old single malt whiskey.
Continuing on, we travel along the wonderfully scenic west coast to Kilmartin Glen and into the ancient Kingdom of Dalriada. This is one of the most important areas of Neolithic sites in Scotland. There are over 350 monuments to discover including burial mounds, mysterious stone carvings and standing stones.
From here we then journey to Kennacraig, to board the early evening ferry (2 hours crossing) to the beautiful island of Islay. This will be our base for the next 3 nights.

Day 3 – Highlights:

Ardbeg Distillery situated on the south coast of the island. Ardbeg is peatiest of all the malt whiskey on Islay and offers regular tours and tastings. After a dram or two, you can enjoy a delicious lunch at the old kiln cafe.
13th-century Kildalton Church to view the magnificent 8th-century Kildalton Cross, carved by skilled sculptors around 1,200 yrs ago.
Lagavulin Distillery, known for its long maturation and rich peaty character, or
A tour of Laphroaig Distillery and a journey through the ages including four choice drams. It’s then onto your accommodation for the evening.

Day 4 – Highlights:

Bruichladdich Distillery, located on the shores of Loch Indaal. Here you can enjoy a 2-hour tour and a dram of Bruichladdich. You will find it less peaty and lighter than all of the Islay whiskies. There’s also the opportunity to bottle your own personal malt.
After lunch, we will visit the newest and smallest distillery Kilchoman. This is a farm distillery established in 2015 and the first to open on Islay for 124 yrs.
Bowmore Distillery for an afternoon behind the scenes tour and a wee dram.

Day 5 – Highlights:

Morning ferry back to Kennacraig.
Loch Fyne and the pretty town of Inveraray and our lunch stop at the excellent George Hotel, serving traditional Scottish fayre including locally caught wild Haggis.
After lunch, there’s the opportunity to visit the town’s famous Whisky shop, before visiting Inveraray Castle home of the Duke of Argyll.
Leaving Inveraray we continue along the shores of Loch Fyne, to the stunning ”Rest and be Thankful” viewpoint.
The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond Scotland’s most celebrated loch – written in poem & song.

From here we then make our way back to your base in Edinburgh where will say our fond farewells.

Alternative – Why not extend your tour to include a visit to the world-famous Speyside Malt Whisky Trail.