SPEYSIDE a whisky-lover's paradise

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postmedia news The Trochelhill House Bed & Breakfast in Fochabers welcomes visitors with extras. (CNS)

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mary ann anderson / mct The distilling room at Glenlivit overlooks the pastoral countryside of Speyside, where almost half of all of Scotland�s distilleries are located. (TRIBUNE MEDIA MCT)

SCOTLAND, a country where supposedly every penny is a prisoner, enthusiastically reports revenues of over $100 million from Canadians visiting in 2010.

It's no wonder individual regions throughout Scotland are vying for the chance to entice 2012 visitors to their region, and Speyside, in northeast Scotland, is a very worthwhile holiday destination.

Local tour highlights in Speyside all begin with distillery visits. It's easy to make plans to visit more than one a day as most distilleries are located near each other. But if your time is limited to just one or two days in Speyside, make sure to visit Glenfarclas and Balvenie distilleries as they are two of the best.

Glenfarclas distillery is the first choice of many whisky connoisseurs. It was one of the first distilleries in the area to open a visitor centre and has a unique history of being owned and managed by the Grant family since 1865.

Tours include the opportunity to walk through the numerous buildings to observe the complex process of turning barley and water into whisky. There is also a chance to go inside the cool, dark and musky stone buildings and walk along the many rows of maturing malt casks. The tour guides are experts in not only their product but the intriguing history of whisky making. Anyone planning on taking a tour and sampling a few drams at Glenfarclas should check www.glenfarclas.co.uk.

Balvenie distillery has the distinction of being the only distillery that still grows some of its own barley and continues the tradition of floor maltings. Visitors can watch the maltmen turning the barley with wooden shovels as it begins to germinate on the floor. This practice of floor malting takes place four times a day, seven days a week as the barley is prepared for transferring to the kiln room.

Balvenie is an exceptional charming distillery where visitors are given a unique opportunity to watch the complete process of whisky making before sampling their exceptional single malts. Details for touring are available at www.thebalvenie.com.

Accommodation choices range from first-class hotels to outstanding bed and breakfast establishments. The Craigellachie Hotel, located right in Craigellachie, is a wonderful old hotel for visitors wanting traditional hotel service including a dining room offering fine meals. Just across the street is the Highlander Inn where the rooms are more modest but the restaurant and bar are well worth visiting.

A complete list of bed and breakfast and guest houses in the Speyside region can be found at www.visitscotland.com. Here are my top two choices for what makes the perfect place to come home to after a day of touring the countryside:

-- Lynwood B&B offers luxury modern ensuite rooms in a rural area just outside Craigellachie. This home provides the ideal location for visiting distilleries and taking in the many events in the area including the whisky festivals.

The owners offer special services such as providing transportation if you want to enjoy whisky tastings and not have to worry about driving. The delicious breakfasts reach the same high standard of the region's whiskies. More information is available at www. lynwood-bedandbreakfast.co.uk.

-- Trochelhill Country House Bed & Breakfast, located in Fochabers, is a beautiful house with gardens offering great accommodation. Little extras like hot-water bottles put in your bed at night give Trochelhill a high rating with guests.

The house has been completely modernized without losing any of the charm of the old building. Guests are made to feel very welcome with offers of transportation and the option of using the dining room if they would like to bring in an evening meal from a take-away shop.

Breakfast choices are all tempting but I suggest the option of silky scrambled eggs that come with haggis and you will know you are in a Scottish home. More information is available at www.trochelhill.co.uk.

Trochelhill is a great location for coastal walks. Our hosts drove us to Spey Bay and we spent a day walking along the Moray Coastal Trail to Cullen. This shoreline path travels along high cliffs and down onto sandy beaches with stops in small harbours busy with fishing boats and lifeboat stations.

-- Postmedia News

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition April 7, 2012 D5