A Journey to Discover Scotland’s Finest – Exploring the Treasures of the Northeast
Every year, I spend Christmas in the northeast of Scotland. The main city is Aberdeen, the third largest city in Scotland.
Even if you have been to Edinburgh or Glasgow, you may not have travelled this far. It takes more than seven hours by train from London to Aberdeen, so when I go from London, I always fly (Once I have travelled by night train from Aberdeen to London).
As the plane gained altitude during the flight from Heathrow to Aberdeen, I saw the most beautiful sky I have ever seen.
When I think about it, even in Japan, I get bored if I stay at home all the time during New Year’s season, and I’m already satisfied with Christmas after just a few days. So I decided to go a little further and visit a town called Elgin.
Contents
Northeast of Scotland
Dean’s Factory
Strathisla Distillery
River Spey
Johnstons of Elgin
Useful Information
Northeast of Scotland
There is a river called the Spey just before entering Elgin, and if you know what “Spey” means, you are probably a whisky lover! If you are a fashion lover, you may be familiar with Johnstons of Elgin. Or if you are a fan of the royal family, you may have heard of Gordonstoun School, where Prince Philip studied.
Dean’s Factory
Among the many types of shortbread, Dean’s shortbread has an exceptional flavour and texture, so I always buy it when I see it in the supermarket.
On the way to Elgin, there is a town called Huntly, where I heard there is a factory and a shop selling freshly baked shortbread, so I stopped by – unfortunately it was closed for the New Year holidays.
Strathisla Distillery
There are several areas in Scotland where Scotch whisky is produced, one of which is Speyside. If you like whisky, you should definitely visit a distillery (Click here for the article about Macallan distillery), but all of them are located in places that can only be reached by car, and if you drink, you won’t be able to drive, and it would be terrible if you couldn’t sample any whisky at the distillery.
This time, I found a distillery in the best location: Strathisla, which produces Chivas Regal, in the town of Keith. It is within walking distance of Keith Station, which is on the railway line between Aberdeen and Elgin.
I passed in front of the distillery late, so I wasn’t able to visit it this time, but at dusk, the red sky made the magnificent exterior stand out against the backdrop.
Apparently, there is a whisky sightseeing train that runs from Keith to a town called Dufftown. It would be fun to ride it and compare whiskies.
River Spey
On the way to Elgin from Keith, where the Chivas Regal distillery is located, we crossed the River Spey, but we took a slight detour and stopped off near the mouth of the river. If you’re lucky, you might be able to see wild bottlenose dolphins that live in the North Sea.
There is a facility called the Dolphin Centre where you can get information, but unfortunately it was closed for the New Year holidays.
Look at how low the sun is. It’s still around 12:30!
Johnstons of Elgin
After a 20-minute drive from the mouth of the River Spey, we arrived at our final destination, Elgin. The reason for our visit was none other than to go to the main store of Johnstons of Elgin (a woollen textile mill with store).
It must have been about 5 years since I last visited the main store (Click here for the article about the factory tour).
The impression inside the store was quite different. It seems that the interior had been completely renovated since I last visited.
It’s hard to tell from the outside, but there is a restaurant at the back of the store. It was just lunchtime, so we decided to eat first. I ordered a soup made of smoked white fish (haddock) and potatoes boiled in milk, which is a local specialty.
Next to the soup was a scone, which I chose instead of toast. It’s easy to imagine clam chowder made with white fish instead of clams. It was thicker than I expected, and went very well with the scone.
If you wear high-quality cashmere products even once, you will understand that the comfort and texture are completely different. Quality is important especially for mufflers and scarves that come into direct contact with the sensitive skin around the neck, and Johnstons’ designs are also sophisticated and attractive.
Perhaps due to inflation, the product prices seem to have gone up from before. Since the main store is adjacent to the mill, I remember that there used to be factory prices, but that seems to have disappeared.
Since the UK left the European Union, the tax-free system for tourists has been abolished, so Johnstons, which sells expensive, luxury products, is less affordable. The gloves I bought were on sale. There are a few stores around the UK, including London, so I recommend coming during sales periods.
I came all the way to Elgin and wanted to do some sightseeing, but the sun sets early at this time of year and I didn’t want to get home too late, so I quickly looked at Elgin Cathedral, which is very close to Johnstons, from the outside and headed back to Aberdeen.
Useful Information
Cars are the best way to travel around the northeast of Scotland, but you can also get to Elgin by train.
On the line from Aberdeen to Inverness, there are stations at Huntly, Keith and Elgin. Elgin is exactly halfway between Aberdeen and Inverness, making it a good place to stop by when you’re travelling to Inverness.
The journey time from Aberdeen Station is
50 minutes to Huntly Station. It’s about a 20-minute walk from the station to Dean’s. Keith Station is 1 hour and 10 minutes from Aberdeen by train. It’s about a 10-minute walk from the station to Strathisla. It’s about an hour and a half to Elgin Station from Aberdeen. From there, it’s about a 20-minute walk to the Johnstons store.
If you drive from Aberdeen Airport, it takes about 50 minutes to reach Dean’s factory on the A96, about an hour to reach Strathisla Distillery, and about an hour and a half to reach Johnstons.
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