It’s tempting to heap tourist towns and villages in whisky-drenched Speyside together, to pigeon hole them and in doing so risk stripping them of a real sense of community and identity. Grantown-on-Spey is a dynamic reminder of just how vibrant and community-led Speyside can be. And just how rewarding it is to visit.
Grantown’s story (it only became Grantown-on-Spey in 1898) delves back to 1765 when it emerged on the banks of the River Spey as a planned settlement named after landowner Sir James Grant. It was designed as a market town, its wide central thoroughfare and grand streets today echoing its fulcrum role. The Royal seal of approval came in 1860 when Queen Victoria stayed at the Grant Arms Hotel. Since then tourism has always been a lifeblood.
Forget any images of Grantown-on-Spey as just a tourist town with a Highland Games and little else. There is plenty to see and do, with the Grantown Society making sure everyone knows about it. Their chair Bill Sadler is typical of the local passion: “The Society is a local history and community heritage organisation. We preserve, protect and promote the area’s unique heritage and provide information for visitors. We do this through walks and talks, displays and exhibitions, bespoke research, community development projects and our new hub.”
I’ve been lucky as a travel writer to spend a lot of time in and around Grantown-on-Spey and it’s a town that keeps on giving. The new Society hub is the place to start any visit as they are busy arranging a series of guided walks, various exhibits and festivals, the sort of things that really put Grantown-on-Spey on the map alongside the Highlands Games and a rollicking Hogmanay.
Sadler sees the Society’s role as essential: “Our volunteers are out in all weathers. We know it can be a struggle getting the whole community involved, so we work hard at it. In our new premises we are able to offer a warm, informal welcome to people, who can just come in to just see what is on.”
It has already become an axis where visitors meet the community and friendships are fostered. To find out more about town beyond its flurry of independent shops a visit to the Grantown Museum is essential. It delves back as far as the Neolithic settlers here in the Spey Valley and sweeps through the centuries with a lot of light shone on the seminal Clan Grant. If you’re Clan Grant or want to know more they can organised bespoke guided theme tours. They also offer massively fun dressing up experiences when you can channel your inner Jane Austen or Claire from Outlander; Jamie too for that matter.
The local walking is superb too. The Grantown Heath Woodand is a short accessible option. The River Spey and Anagach Woods open up a sweep of wider options for all. There the Cromdale Hills too. If you want to branch out even further then you can join the Speyside Way, which eases off from Grantown-on-Spey west in search of Aviemore, or east towards its denouement by the Moray Firth. One lesser known walking route is the Dava Way, which sweeps from Grantown-on-Spey north in search of Forres.
Bravely Gordon & MacPhail are planning to resist the cash flow temptation of whacking out a young whisky, instead making their first release a 12-year-old in the 2030s. The Cairn aims to take the environment around them seriously, using cooling water from the Spey and utilising the draff as biomass fuel. It has a superb bistro and also offer tours and tastings. Those tastings dip into their CRN57 range, so named as the distillery lies at 57 degrees north. These are a sweep of blended malts you can only snare here.
Alongside more usual 18-year-olds, there are 30, 57 and 70-year-old drams. Director David King describes the latter, said to be the world’s oldest malted blend, as smelling like a ‘headmaster’s office’. We’re talking leather and tobacco. It’s great to see a distillery not just waiting for their first malts but offering up some fascinating drams in the meantime.
You are in serious whisky country around Grantown with a swathe of other distilleries. Macallan have gone for it with their Hobbit-esque distillery built into the hillside. Perhaps seeing the unbridled success of two Michelin star Glenturret Lalique Restaurant they’ve recently announced their own fine dining restaurant plans in conjunction with three star Girona restaurant El Celler de Can Roca.
Heading back in Grantown-on-Spey after another distillery visit the new community hub beckons alongside the tempting shops, restaurants and hotels of this trim Speyside town. No mere tourist town mind, but a Speyside bolthole with a beating community heart that enriches any visit.
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(Image: Robin McKelvie)
Bed down in Grantown-on-Spey
Grant Arms Hotel
A stately hotel right on Grantown-on-Spey, this is an ideal base. An old stone dame, she offers comfy rooms, can-do service and a cracking whisky bar with more than 130 single malts. You can set yourself up for the day with Speyside whisky-topped porridge.
grantarmshotel.com
Garth Hotel Restaurant and Bar
The Garth Hotel dates all the way back to 1769. An old wool mill, it has an illustrious history that you can discover when you stay. It was once home to Queen Victoria’s favourite author, and also the town’s physicians and ministers. Make sure to set aside time to settle in the snug with a dram.
garthhotel.com
Ravenscourt Guest House
A relaxed escape just a short stroll away from Grantown-on-Spey’s main street, this feels more rural than urban, set in leafy surrounds in an old manse. Choose from seven guest rooms – six are en-suite. A nice touch are the Highland Soap Company toiletries.
ravenscourthouse.co.uk
Foodie Grantown-On-Spey
The Gathering Restaurant
These days there are some fantastic places to eat in Scotland’s whisky distilleries and this welcoming, bistro-style option at The Cairn is one of them. Its Scottish tapas menu is curated by TV chef Tim Maddams, who weaves in local ingredients. How about carrot hummus or fresh asparagus with wild garlic and parmesan? Or maybe opt for the slow-cured Highland Charcuterie or a chunky Scotch Pie?
thecairndistillery.com/the-gathering
Mash Tun
The new team here have breathed fresh life into this bolthole down by the Spey less than half an hour from Grantown in Aberlour. Tuck into a platter of Highland charcuterie and cheese, or their venison bourguignon pie. Their whisky collection is nothing short of spectacular.
mashtun-aberlour.com
Durbury Room Restaurant
The Durbury Room at the Grant Arms Hotel is named for the mothers of the current owners, born in Durban and Bury-St-Edmonds. Savour hearty cullen skink followed by roast loin of Speyside pork laced with local butcher black pudding in a plum and apple sauce. Superb whisky list too.
grantarmshotel.com
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