Talisker by Loch Harport – Distillery Tour and Lunch
A day.
The route
Talisker whisky is made in Carbost, a small village on the shore of Loch Harport on the west of Skye, and the distillery dates from 1830.
This is an easy few hours to see where it is made, with a tour and a tasting, and then a long, unhurried lunch right next door.
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 Skyewalker Hostel, 3 miles away. Sleeps 1.
Book the late-morning Distillery Tour and Tasting (about an hour, no children under 8).
Book the Three Chimneys at Talisker
Book a table at the Three Chimneys at Talisker for 15 to 30 minutes after the tour ends, choosing Carbost, not Colbost; the restaurant is shut on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
The day
Carbost
The distillery, the coffee hatch and lunch are a few steps apart on the shore of Loch Harport.
About four hours
Talisker Distillery
An attraction
The last stretch of road into Carbost is single track and slow behind traffic, so allow time before your tour, and have a coffee first at Caora, the coffee hatch by the loch. The tour takes about an hour, past the copper stills to a tasting. Children under 8 cannot join it, and it pauses for a few weeks each autumn. Scotland's drink-drive limit is lower than the rest of the UK's, so the driver drinks nothing at all: ask for a driver's pack when you book, to take the drams home.
The Three Chimneys at Talisker
Lunch
Lunch is next door at the Three Chimneys at Talisker, beside the visitor centre. Book a table for 15 to 30 minutes after the tour ends, and choose Carbost, not Colbost. It serves seafood and local meat, with a children's menu, from noon to 7pm in summer and for lunch only, noon to 3pm, in winter. It's shut on Wednesdays and Thursdays, when the Old Inn, a short walk back along the road, serves food from noon, and Café Cùil at Sàtran is open Wednesday to Sunday.
If it rains
A wet day changes very little here: the tour, the shop and lunch are all under a roof, with the loch outside the window.
Worth a detour
- Sligachan Old Bridge
On the A87 at Sligachan, where the road to Carbost turns off, with no extra driving: Telford's old stone bridge of the early 1800s, which no longer carries traffic, with the Cuillin behind it. Ten minutes is enough, and the first thing to drop if time runs short.
