Wild History and Whisky Tours

29/04/2025

Sunday saw the first Gordon tour of the season, with two lovely ladies, Robin and Jill from the States. It was a bit dull and overcast for much of the day, so not a great photo day, but that didn't stop us enjoying the trip. Our first stop was some Highland Coos not too far from Alford, but I omitted to take any photos, so next time!

After taking in the panorama of the 'upland' Gordon territory from Suie Hill and checking out the Rhynie Pictish stones, we visited Huntly and Fyvie Castles, and then Haddo House. By the time we finished the tour of the house, the sun had come out and we enjoyed some down time in the beautiful gardens, plus cake and ice cream from the cafe in the country park. On the way home we had an impromptu stop at Maryculter House Hotel, a Gordon House, to look at the ruins of the associated Medieval Knights Templar Kirk and kirkyard.

02/04/2025

We're super excited to give a heads up about our new project that will be launched in a few months time. We're opening self catering accommodation and a retreat here at Dalherrick Farm, the home of Wild History and Whisky Tours. The completion certificate for building works was obtained last week, with final outside works to be finished shortly.

For about 25% of the time, we intend to use the accommodation as a retreat for folk who might be in need of peace and serenity where they can have time to 'just be'. This could be those who have suffered bereavements, life changing diagnoses, or maybe long-term carers in need of respite. Guests can have as little or as much interaction with us as they wish - we're here to listen or to respect a need for peace and seclusion. We're planning to offer a range of complementary and alternative therapies.

For the rest of the time, the accommodation (suitable for couples or single people) will be run as commercial self catering, which will partly subsidise the retreat. The property is nestled on the edge of the Grampian Mountains, but is only 30 minutes from Aberdeen Airport. The spectacular Royal Deeside and the whisky region of Speyside are just short drives away. Views from the property grounds are stunning and we invite our guests to use the sitooterie (say it slowly!) by the wildlife pond where they can drink in the vista. Here are a few photos of the sitooterie and its views to whet your appetite.

06/03/2025

We're excited to announce that this year we're branching out into small group private tours of up to 15 people. We're also delighted to announce that one of the first bookings is the USA House of Gordon group, who will be doing a three day Gordon tour, followed by a day at the Aboyne Games.

A few photos from Gordon tours in previous years to whet the appetite!

27/11/2024

Last week Hubbie and I decided to flee the coming bad weather and took a short break in snow-free North Fife. It turned out to be quite a busman's holiday. We indulged in a history tour of Lindores Abbey, which is owned by Lindores Abbey Distillery at Newburgh, on the southern bank of the Tay Estuary.

While the distillery was set up in 2017, the abbey dates from the 12th century, but is now much ruined due to the antics of the 16th century Reformation vandals and subsequent cannibalism of the stone for local buildings. The Benedictine monks who lived at the abbey were from the order of Tiron, France, or Tironensians. As well as being famed for their horticultural skill in growing apple and plum orchards, they also produced the earliest recorded form of whisky, aqua vitae, which was ordered from the monks by the King in 1494. As if to prove a point, archaeological excavations ahead of the distillery build uncovered what might be the earliest whisky still in the world!

Instead of producing the usual run of gin botanicals for the first three years (three years and a day being the point at which the spirit can be called whisky), in a very inspired move the distillery produced what they believed to be a close representation of the aqua vitae. We sampled it after the tour, and it really is delicious!

The excitement of the day didn't end there, as we ferreted out a lovely Pictish symbol stone at nearby Abdie Kirk, just outside Grange of Lindores. This has one of the clearest representations of the crescent moon and bent arrow (the WHW Tours logo) that I've seen to date, so all in all it was a brilliant day!

The photos of the tour were somewhat snatched as I wanted to keep up with the information being imparted rather than spend much time lining up pictures. The wintery conditions of bright sun, low in the sky and deep, long shadows were quite challenging, but did give the place an extra layer of atmosphere.

21/10/2024

Finished the season last week with four lovely ladies from Maine, discovering their Gordon roots over a two day tour. Despite being mid October, Gordon Castle Walled Garden was still looking wonderful in that reddish light that seems to come with autumnal afternoon sun. The eight acre walled garden is the largest in Scotland and everything grown there has a purpose, including fresh produce for the cafe, raw ingredients for the many Gordon Castle products and the supply of cut flowers.

23/09/2024

Such an enjoyable tour last week with the lovely Steeper Huntleys from Canada, making the most of the Indian summer. We did a mash up of the Wool and Whisky Tour, the Secret Life of Glenlivet Tour and the Gordon Tour. Also fitted in a stone circle and some Pictish symbol stones - obligatory viewing on WHW tours 😄!

11/06/2024

A lovely start to the 2024 tour season! Fred and Melissa Gordon from North Carolina did the two day Gordon Tour at the end of May. The weather was rather cold and sulky but it didn't dampen their spirits!

We visited Gordon Castle for the first time on the tour, which has to be carefully scheduled in due to its distance from the other Gordon sites. As Gordon enthusiasts will know, there isn't much left of the original castle, nor the once massive Georgian mansion, and no public access to them is possible. However, the beautiful eight acre walled garden, cafe and shop selling products produced from the garden are well worth a visit. I will have to go back later in the season to view the garden's summer attire!

24/12/2023

Merry Christmas from Wild History and Whisky Tours, and a Happy New Year. Looking forward to more adventures next year!

How stunning is this?! 🤩 The famous Ullapool 'Creel Tree', made by a local community group using hundreds of fishing creels as a festive tradition that started in 2016 🎄🦀

📍 Ullapool, Highlands
📷 Instagram.com/johnpow37

15/12/2023

Catching up on some posting. This is the lovely Gordon family from Seattle doing the Gordon tour in late September. As I've shown photos of the prime places on the Gordon tour in the previous post, I thought I'd show some different aspects of the tour. We visited The GlenDronach distillery near Huntly in the heart of Gordon country, a first for WHWT, and enjoyed it very much!

11/09/2023

The new One Day Gordon Tour is up and running! I had the pleasure of recently taking Meredith and Les from Massachusetts and then Bart from Texas on the tour to discover their Gordon roots. We visited Aboyne Castle, Glenbuchat Castle, Rhynie Pictish Stones, Huntly Castle, Fyvie Castle and Haddo House in the glorious late summer sunshine.

08/07/2023

After their Deeside day, Amy and Michael had a mini tour on their way down to St Andrews, stopping to look around the atmospheric Dunnottar Castle, followed by a lovely lunch at Stonehaven harbour and a wander along the seafront to see the Stonehaven Banksies. One further stop at the enigmatic Aberlemno Pictish stones rounded the afternoon off nicely.

07/07/2023

This week Amy and Michael from Georgia, USA, enjoyed a bespoke tour in Royal Deeside looking at ancestral connections. We started the day investigating the ruined medieval Knights Templars' kirk in the grounds of the Maryculter House Hotel, followed by a visit to nearby Drum Castle, seat of the Irvines who acquired much of the Templars' Deeside estate. On to Crathes Castle, the seat of the Burnetts, famous for its rare 16th century painted ceilings, ghost of the Green Lady and superb gardens.

After travelling through the magnificent scenery of Deeside to Balmoral, we toured the stately grounds and the castle Ballroom, admiring the productive gardens. An interesting tour and lively tasting at the next door Royal Lochnagar Distillery polished off our Balmoral experience. We finished the day with stops at two enigmatic sites, the Tullich Pictish Stones and the Bronze Age Tomnaverie Stone Circle, on the way home.