Campbeltown Trip Day 1 (Glen Scotia)

Itinerary

07:30 – 08:22: Train (ScotRail: Glasgow): Edinburgh Waverley – Glasgow Queen Street
09:10 – 13:23: Bus (CityLink: Campbeltown) Glasgow Bus Station – Campbeltown
14:00 – 14:45: Pint at Fidlers Inn
15:00 – 16:00: Tour: Glen Scotia Warehouse Tour
Overnight – Airbnb

Campbeltown

Today I headed for the only whisky region that I had yet to visit in Scotland. The reason I had delayed visiting was mostly because the trip to Campbeltown is a bit of a trek, as the town is on a peninsula, and it is a very long route to get there via public transport. As there are only three whisky distilleries in Campbeltown, there has been some debate about whether it should remain as a distinct whisky region, as originally there were 30+. However, the whisky in this region does have some unique characteristics due to its interesting location, with notes of salty sea air and maritime flavours that you don’t get elsewhere.

The public transport options for getting to Campbeltown include a Loganair flight from Glasgow (quickest option), or the cheaper bus option, which leaves daily from Glasgow (which is what I went with). I opted to take the train to Glasgow from Edinburgh as I knew I had a long bus trip ahead of me. I boarded the 7.30 am train, which took less than an hour, giving me plenty of time to connect with my bus at Buchanan Street Bus Station. This meant I had enough time to get a McMuffin for breakfast on my way from Queen Street Railway Station to Buchanan Street Bus Station (required to build up my energy for the long trip ahead). My bus arrived on time, but the driver soon announced some unfortunate news that due to a landslide on the A83, the bus was going to have to be rerouted, which would add around 50 minutes to the journey time (not ideal when the trip was already due to take over 4 hours!). I found out later that the Rest and Be Thankful road is prone to landslides whenever there is some rainy weather, and it is a source of frustration for locals and anyone who has to take that route.

I booked my bus online through CityLink and it was only £26 return for a student fare, which was pretty decent value. The bus was a West Coast Motors bus, and it was comfortable enough, although one negative was the lack of USB charge points. My trip was a bit rushed as the driver was trying to ensure that people would catch their ferry due to our diversion, so at times it was a bit fast and furious as the diversion took us on a route with winding roads that were not really set up for buses and lorries. This meant the bus had to slow down sharply when logging trucks were coming in the opposite direction. The slalom road, time on the bus and stop-start nature of the trip made me a bit nauseous and in need of some fresh air by the end!!  I had originally booked the warehouse tour and tasting at Glen Scotia, but due to my late arrival, I had to just do the warehouse tasting, which takes place after the first hour of the tour.

I arrived in Campbeltown at around 2 pm, which was 40 minutes later than I intended, and the minute I stepped off the bus, I was greeted with a torrential rainstorm. Although it lasted only a few minutes, the rain was properly heavy, and it seemed to be indicative of the weather in Campbeltown that day, where there would be sunshine and then a really heavy downpour that would last for a few minutes but would totally soak you! Although I was too late for my tour, I still had 40 minutes before my tour, and as the weather was pretty wet, I decided to take shelter in a nearby bar called the Fiddlers Inn.  It was quite small, but I liked to low-key vibes inside, and it was full of locals on a Monday afternoon, which means it’s obviously popular.

Glen Scotia

It was only a few minutes from the bar to the Glen Scotia distillery. I just took a right out of the bar and found the distillery on the right-hand side. There is a small shop on site, which is where I started, but no bar or food options from what I could see (although plenty in town, a few minutes walk away).

Although I was late for my tour, it also included a warehouse tasting, which I was able to join. The tasting took place within one of the dunnage-style warehouses, which was accessed by heading down the stairs from the shop.  I joined the people who had done the tour, who were already waiting in the warehouse and seated. There was a shortage of seats for the tour, so I had to stand, but after sitting for 5 hours on a bus, that was fine by me, although it was strange that they didn’t have enough seats to accommodate everyone on the tasting, as some people might not want to stand for an hour. The warehouse tasting at Glen Scotia included 5 drams drawn straight from the cask and poured directly into your glass. They have a selection of peated and unpeated expressions and a mix of cask types on offer, and this was reflected in the tasting.  During my visit, I was able to sample a couple of bourbon 10-year-old (one was heavily peated), port finish 11-year-old, PX sherry 9-year-old, and an oloroso 6-year-old. There was a good range of flavours to enjoy, the master blender does favour a bourbon finish, and I did enjoy the heavily peated bourbon; despite it being around 55ppm, it was not overpowering. The Oloroso cask was also very smooth, but my personal favourite was the PX-sherry finish, although sometimes I find PX to be way too sweet, I did not find that with this dram; it had a hint of sweetness but a lot of flavours coming through on the palate and finish.

At the end of the tour, they do give you the option of buying a 20cl bottle of any of the cask whiskies that you sampled on the tour, which was a nice touch as it gives you something unique to take home. They were not bad in price to as the most expensive was around £30.

Overnight

I booked an Airbnb for my overnight stay, and I checked in just after my tour at 4 pm. I had never stayed in an Airbnb before, but it was quite a straightforward process; there were clear instructions given on the app, so I was able to self-check in easily. Also, having my own kitchen meant that I saved on food costs as I was able to pick up food from Tesco and cook myself some dinner in the evening and breakfast in the morning.

I had some time in the evening, so I explored a couple of the bars in town, starting at the Ardsheil Hotel, where I met a friend for a couple of drinks. They have a pretty decent bar area and the staff were extremely friendly, and then afterwards I headed to Feathers, which was a bit more livley as they had music and a nice outdoor area.