Ben Nevis Distillery – a Tour, a Dram and Lunch Nearby
A few hours.
The route
Ben Nevis Distillery has been making whisky at the foot of the mountain since 1825, with water that runs down from the lochans, or small lochs, high on its north face.
A guided tour takes you past the wooden washbacks to the stills and ends with a tasting, and just down the road the Highland Soap Company's Larder Café serves a warm lunch with a view of the Ben. It's a relaxed weekday morning for whisky lovers and their friends.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Woodlands Glencoe, 11 miles away. Sleeps 2.
Book a tour at Ben Nevis Distillery for about 10.30am on a weekday, by email through its visitor centre page or on 01397 700200: from September to May it opens Monday to Friday only, 9.30am to 5pm, and it shuts from Christmas to New Year.
The day
Lochy Bridge
The distillery under Ben Nevis, a tour and a dram, then lunch and a look round the soap makers' shop.
About three and a half hours
Ben Nevis Distillery
A tour
Ben Nevis Distillery is on the A82 at Lochy Bridge; park in front of the white visitor centre. From September to May it opens Monday to Friday only, from 9.30am to 5pm, and it shuts from Christmas to New Year. Tours must be booked ahead, by email or on 01397 700200: ask for one at about 10.30am. A guide takes you through how the whisky is made, from the mash to the stills, and the tour ends with a tasting. Allow an hour or so. The water starts as rain and snow high on Ben Nevis, gathers in two lochans on its north face and runs down the Allt a' Mhuilinn to the distillery. Long John MacDonald built it in 1825, and Queen Victoria called in 1847. Whoever is driving should skip the drams and take a bottle home from the shop instead, or come by taxi.
2 min by car
The Highland Soap Company Fort William
A shop
Drive 2 minutes on to the Highland Soap Company, set between the River Lochy and the ruins of Old Inverlochy Castle, with free parking. Watch the soap being made through the big window onto the workshop, and try the hand washes at the long basin in the shop.
The Larder Café
Lunch
Lunch is in the Highland Soap Company's Larder Café, a few steps from the workshop window. It serves brunch and lunch made with local produce and ingredients from its own garden, with views to Ben Nevis. It's busy at lunchtime, so there can be a short wait for a table, and dogs are welcome. The Highland Soap Company's visitor centre opens 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 5pm on Sundays, and the café stops serving half an hour before it closes.
If it rains
Rain makes no difference here: the tour is indoors, and the Larder Café is two minutes on by car.
Where to stay
Photograph by Ben Nevis Distillery via Google