Old Pulteney and Wolfburn – Tours in Wick and Thurso
A day.
The route
Old Pulteney has been at work in Wick's Pulteneytown since 1826, and Wolfburn is a small independent distillery on the edge of Thurso that carries the name of one founded in 1821.
This day takes a morning tour in Wick, lunch in the town and the 2pm tour in Thurso. One of the party is named as the driver before setting out and tastes nothing; both distilleries give drivers small bottles to take home.
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 House of the Northern Gate, 6 miles away. Sleeps 18.
Book the 2pm Classic Tour on Wolfburn's website, Monday to Friday: an hour and a half with the tasting, a miniature for the driver, no children under 6.
Book the Spirit of Wick tour on Old Pulteney's website for a start by 10.30am on a weekday: up to an hour, with drivers' drams for the driver and children of 12 to 17 only with an adult.
Book a lunch table at No 1 Bistro in Mackays Hotel for a quarter to twelve on 01955 602323; the hotel takes card details when you book.
Book a night nearby
Book accommodation nearby for the night. House of the Northern Gate, near Dunnet, east of Thurso, is let whole to one group of up to 18.
The day
Wick and Thurso
The morning is in Pulteneytown, the harbour side of Wick, where the distillery sits among dark stone streets. After lunch the road crosses Caithness to Thurso, where the afternoon's tour goes straight in among the stills.
About six hours
Old Pulteney Distillery
An attraction
Old Pulteney is on Huddart Street in Pulteneytown, the harbour side of Wick. It has no car park, so leave the car on the street nearby. Book the Spirit of Wick tour ahead for a start by 10.30am. It takes up to an hour and follows the spirit from the mill to the warehouse, ending with a tasting. Wear closed shoes: the floors are mesh and grating in places, and there are stairs. The named driver tastes nothing here or in Thurso, and is given drivers' drams in small bottles to take home. Scotland's drink-drive limit is 50 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood, and the Scottish Government's own guidance is that one drink can put a driver over it. Children of 12 to 17 may join this tour with an adult, and no one under 18 goes on the others. From October to March the distillery opens Monday to Friday, 10am to 4.30pm.
4 min by car
No 1 Bistro
Lunch
No 1 Bistro is in Mackays Hotel in the middle of Wick, 4 minutes' drive from the distillery. The hotel's front door is on Ebenezer Place, which is in the Guinness record books as the world's shortest street. Lunch is served until 1.45pm: sandwiches on locally baked bread, a full lunch menu, and vegetarian and vegan dishes. Book a table for a quarter to twelve on 01955 602323; the hotel takes card details when you book. Be back on the road by one o'clock. Thurso is three-quarters of an hour away, and the afternoon's tour starts at 2pm.
44 min by car
Wolfburn Distillery
From Wick it's 44 minutes' drive to Wolfburn, on Henderson Park at the western edge of Thurso. It has no visitor centre: the Classic Tour goes straight in among the stills and on to the warehouses. The tour runs Monday to Friday at 10am, noon and 2pm all year, and every place must be booked ahead on the distillery's website. The hour and a half includes the tasting, and the driver is given a miniature to take home instead. A small shop sits under the stills, where you can fill your own bottle; from October to March it closes at 4pm. Children under 6 can't come on the tour. The distillery is wheelchair friendly, toilets included, apart from a raised steel walkway. For the night, book accommodation nearby. House of the Northern Gate, near Dunnet, is let whole to one group of up to 18.
If it rains
Both tours and the lunch are indoors; rain changes only the drive across Caithness.
The Galley, Scrabster, a restaurant in Scrabster.
Olive, a café in Thurso.