Travel - Follow that dram Photo by Damian Shields/VisitScotland The road to Craigellachie
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Follow that dram
he stretch of road from Tomintoul to Fochabers is only 36 miles long but takes travellers on a journey through time and the very heart of Scotland’s whisky country.
As the trail winds its way through beautiful countryside there are numerous picturesque villages, distilleries, castles, historic battle grounds and wild secluded glens,
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once home to whisky smugglers, to grab the attention of tourists.
Setting out from Tomintoul, on the B9008, the tiny village of Knockandhu, which lies just eight miles to the north-east, is the first stop. The settlement takes its name from the Gaelic ‘Cnoc Cheannachd’ meaning “Hill of Commerce” and is home to two world renowned distilleries of note.
Knockando distillery was the first in Scotland to be built with electric lighting and the nearby Tamdhu distillery is one of the last distilleries to malt all of its barley on the spot. Less than two miles further on lies Tomnavoulin, a small hamlet situated a short distance south of the Glenlivet Distillery. Back in the late 1700s this area was full of illicit stills making illegal spirits