Glenallachie distillery

The moment you walk into Glenallachie, you're hit with that unmistakable smell - warm grain, copper, wood smoke. It's proper whisky country round here, just outside Keith in Aberdeenshire, and this distillery doesn't mess about with the tourist experience. You get the real thing: a working facility where they're actually making the stuff, not a museum pretending to.

The tour takes you through the whole process - mashing, fermentation, distillation in those copper stills that catch the light beautifully. Staff know their stuff and will answer questions without dumbing it down. The tasting at the end is generous; they're not counting measures like it's liquid gold. Single malts are what they do best here, and the house style is rich and honeyed, which makes a pleasant change from some of the rougher Highland offerings.

It's a solid two to three hours if you do the full tour and don't rush the tasting. Walkers will appreciate the location - there's proper Speyside scenery around Keith, and Hillside Havens is only 3 miles away if you're basing yourself in a holiday park. Families with kids aged ten and up will manage fine; younger ones get bored once the talking stops.

Not free entry, but worth the fee. Go midweek if possible - weekends get rammed with tour groups. The shop's decent but not exploitative, which is refreshing.