These were the two toughest routes of our Speyside Way tour. The woman responsible for moving our baggage drove us up the A95 to Tomintoul after our substantial breakfast; she had already performed her role as school bus driver that morning. The weather was cold and intermittently rainy so I wore rain pants all day. Our track rose up over 1800 feet over creeks and boardwalks and through mature forest, providing great views between rain the squalls.
A steep descent eventually led through the original site of the Glenlivet Distillery on an open hillside before turning directly through the modern facility, which had a much more industrial air than romantic, although there was certainly some strong malty fermentation present in the wind.
After 8 miles, we ate lunch on a convenient stone wall before crossing the River Livet to begin a series of punishingly steep climbs straight up hillsides along fence lines. Michael had pulled ahead leaving me in the heather to follow faint paths that eventually became real tracks, then farm roads and finally pavement on the return to Delnashaugh Hotel. It had been an exhausting 14 mile day but dinner was excellent and I sampled some very nice Knocando 12-year single-malt, but I liked the 15-year-old better.
The penultimate day's trek was even tougher. Although it did not go as high, it persisted in dropping precipitously from whatever heights it gained and then climbing steeply and quickly back up again over 17.5 miles of wet, muddy, rainy paths. To make it even more challenging, the signage was weak and we added 2 miles of backtracking. The day began with a walk back to the River Spey past the gatehouse to Ballindalloch Castle and over the Bridge of Avon.
We began following the old railway line between the river and the A95 but when we left the river and crossed the road, we made a wrong turn, the first of three. Generally, the scenery was less inspiring than the previous day. As a result of too much uninteresting forestry and general exhaustion, I took very few pictures.
When we eventually reached our B&B after nine and a half hours, our hostess greeted us with considerable relief; apparently her guests often arrived in much worse shape than we showed after walking this section of the Speyside Way.
Full photo album for Ballindalloch 2026
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