Speyside is a region in north central Scotland famous for producing whisky.

Landscape view of Speyside region — Speyside landscape

Introduction

Speyside is a region of northern Scotland positioned roughly between Inverness and the Great Glen in the west and Aberdeen and the east coast.

The River Spey flows through the region at a 45 degree angle between Grantown-on-Spey in the S.W. and Tugnet on the Moray Firth coast in the N.E

Iron bridge over River Spey at Craigellachie dating from 1814 — River Spey at Craigellachie

The region features landscapes and castles but is predominantly known as a whisky producing area, In fact Speyside is the largest such region in Scotland being home to forty-five distilleries.

Key towns in Speyside

Grantown-on-Spey, Dufftown and Aberlour are all pleasant and popular towns providing access to the distilleries and resourced with a wide range of visitor accommodation.

Grantown-on-Spey: A planned 18th century town close to the River Spey. There is an official ‘town trail’, museum, hiking routes through the Anagach Woods, bird watching in the Cairngorms (arranged via Grant Arms Hotel), golf, fishing and other activities.

View of main street at Grantown-on-Spey. — Grantown-on-Spey

Dufftown: Located close to the centre of the region and heavily focused on whisky. Glenfiddich and Balvenie distilleries are positioned on the edge of Dufftown whilst Balvenie Castle is also close by. Visitors can explore the locale via designated hiking trails. Dufftown is about sixty miles east of Inverness and about fifty- two miles N.W. of Aberdeen.

View of main street at Dufftown — Dufftown

Aberlour sits close to the the River Spey. Aberlour Distillery offers excellent tours. Away from whisky, there is fishing on the Spey and Walkers Shortbread Factory Shop is close to the shops.