The Struie viewpoint - known to the locals as Millionaires View - over the Dornoch Firth will take your breath away. It is said that Andrew Carnegie who was a Scottish-American industrialist, business magnate, and philanthropist would bring his (Rich/famous) guests to this viewpoint which led to it being know to the locals as 'Millionaire's View'
Whether you have a passion for plants, a fascination for birds or fancy doing some seal and otter spotting, Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve provides a place to experience nature's delights in a magnificent setting. Linger on the edge of the tidal basin at low tide to watch the intense feeding activity of hungry wading birds. Walk out onto the sand dunes and you can enjoy the carpet of wild flowers that nestles on the dunes against a grey lichen backdrop. Or wander in the woodland and smell the fresh scent of pine needles, whilst searching out rare pinewood plants. The most northerly estuary on Scotland's east coast, Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve is a large tidal basin surrounded by dunes, saltmarsh and pine woods. Whatever the season, this wide range of habitats supports a huge variety of wildlife- making it a great place to visit at any time of the year. Fast-flowing currents empty the tidal basin on every tide, leaving sands exposed. Here, you can spot seals and their pups hauled out on the banks and waders feeding in the shallow waters.
Sitting on the edge of the Dornoch Firth, the small historic town of Dornoch boasts a tranquil location, stunning scenery and sunny climate. This thriving community sits on the east coast of the north Highlands that runs from the Moray Firth up to Sutherland. It is blessed with a particularly sunny climate thanks to its sheltered position, and has miles of golden sand beaches. The beach stretches from Dornoch Point heading past Embo beach to the mouth of Loch Fleet National Nature Reserve. Adjacent to the beach is a Site of Special Scientific Interest that features nesting birds, flora and fauna. And for those keen golfers, tee-off on the Royal Dornoch championship course, ranked 13th in the world.! The coast is also a favourite with wildlife such as seals and a sizeable population of both breeding and wintering birds.
By the tranquil shores of the Dornoch Firth, amidst the golden barley fields that border the Royal Burgh of Tain, lies the Glenmorangie Distillery where, accompanied by our expert guides, you will journey through all stages of our award-winning whisky creation, from mashing and fermenting to distilling and maturation.. Here you will find a warm Highland welcome from our select craftsmen, the Men of Tain. With skills passed down the generations, they have dedicated themselves to creating our exceptional single malt whisky for the last 175 years. Our tours offer an unparalleled insight into the Glenmorangie Distillery. Accompanied by our expert guides, you will journey through all stages of our award-winning whisky creation, from mashing and fermenting to distilling and maturation. Within our majestic Still House (we call it our Highland Cathedral) you will find the tallest stills in Scotland. Their long copper necks ensure that only the very finest vapours to rise to the top, to form a wonderfully pure and fragrant spirit. As you visit our traditional earth-floored warehouses, you will learn how we have led the industry over the years, by using only the finest casks in the most innovative ways, to mature the very best whisky.
We had the most delightful day with our private tour guide, Jonny. He was helpful, kind and very informative. He even came up with ideas that we had not thought of. I highly recommend this excusion.
Johnie provided a fantastic tour. This tour is a great alternative to cruise excursions. We hit all the best view places, ending the tour at a distillery. Johnie suggested we go to Balblair Distillery for a more intimate tasting, and we were not disappointed. Would highly recommend this tour, and to tour with Johnie.
We ended up with a personal tour through the highlands and a tour & tasting at the Balblair distillery. Our driver, Johnny recommended it rather than Glenmorangie due to time constraints. It was a wise move on his part. With his connections he was able to get us in on a great tour. The highlands were beautiful.
Good trip. Did not arrive at Glenmorangie in time to take the last tour of the was a disappointment.
One of my many goals on our cruise to the British Isles was to experience the Glenmorangie Distillery. It did not disappoint. We were able to order 2 flights of Scotch Whiskey and determine what was best for our pallets.
Saw the countryside and good stops. Guide was very receptive to what guests were interested in doing.
The unscheduled Balblair Distillery tour. Our tour operator showed that our prepaid trip was cancelled. I called Viator and they confirmed it was still on. We were too late to do the Glenmorangie distillery tour. His alternative was excellent. We were also late for the castle tour, but took nice photos from the grounds. It worked out well, considering the circumstances.
Definitely not what was expected or outlined in the tour description. We were expecting a well-guided tour to the expected spots highlighted on the website by someone who knew what they were doing. Instead, we basically got a driver, who wasn't a local, not from Scotland, and didn't know any history or facts about the area. He picked us up, asked us where we were going and just drove us around for 5 hours, dropped us off where we knew we were suppose to be and waited for us in the car every stop. Definitely wasted money and time. Some great reviews speak of a "Johnny" or "George" that had what they expected......but that was definitely NOT our experience.
John accepted us at last minute booking to this tour and was so friendly. We visited 3 distilleries, had whisky tastings and beautiful sightseeings during travels.
I would love to provide you some feedback regarding our tour today. It was a very big surprise to find out our tour guide was someone else. I understand things change but having someone take over that has no idea what they needed to do. We had to tell him what the tour was about. The 4 of us that were part of this tour, that was totally unplanned and a total waste of time and money. I do not know what happened but this was not what was sold to us. We felt is was a bait and switch. The reviews were all very good and well worth it. That is why we signed up with this tour in the first place. I would suggest you refund at least one of our tickets for this very disappointing, unplanned, and no tours of ant distillery’s were attended since nothing was arranged or planned. Very unfortunate.
Seeing an old school Distillery was a great experience. The tastings and assistance of the staff was wonderful!
My wife and I were in Scotland for our Honeymoon and booked a couple of tours during our stay in Inverness. We expected this to be a group tour, but either we got lucky or didn't realize it was a private one. Johnny was one of the best guides we've ever had. He was able to make some ad-hoc changes to the itinerary to fit what we wanted. We had a great time at the distillery, but the highlights for us were the hikes and castle tour. We'd highly recommend the tour and Johnny!
Johnny and his ability to make things interesting, provides suggestions, take little detours to show off his country. What a delightful day. Strongly recommend booking with him.
Johnny, our driver made the trip as he proudly showed us his home area. The sea side visits, the community stops to see how the residents shared their heritage and cared for their communities, the area history and Sutherland Clearances and current economics all made our journey through the Scottish countryside memorable. And it was topped off with a great tasting at Glenmorangie! The personal touch included special wee stops at bridges which, as an engineer, i especially enjoyed. We highly recommend this tour and more importantly our driver, Johnny.
When we booked this tour we thought the highlight would be the distillery tour. Not so! Johnny also took us to small fishing villages, Dunrobin Castle, Falls of Shin...and so much more. He takes you off the beaten path- and his local knowledge is unsurpassed. Not your cookie cutter tour! Definitely recommend!
We had 2 lovely days in the highlands and we were luck enough to have George as our tour guide. George has a second to none History knowledge and he shared every single detail about the Highlands and the Scottish culture with us in a very passionate and enthusiastic fashion. Further, George were flexible enough to adapt our tour in order to accommodate a last minute request from my husband (another visit in a Whisky distillery). We will definitely come back to Scotland and will make sure that we book our tour in advance with GoHighlands so we can continue to explore and learn more about this beautiful country!
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