Forbidden Seminary and Illicit Stills, The Secret Life of Glenlivet
Travelling to the remote Glenlivet area of Speyside, we’ll peer into a secret history of Jacobite refugees, secretly trained ‘Heather Priests’, illicit whisky production and a lost way of life on the moorland fringes. Moving downhill to the Spey Valley we visit the contrasting opulence of the grand highland castle, before rounding the day off with a tour and tasting at one of the whisky distilleries for which the area is famous.
Itinerary
Driving through scenic Glengairn and up onto the wild Snow Road, we’ll stop at the Watchers to look at how Corgarff Castle, a 16th century tower house, played its part in the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion and the later somewhat futile attempts to prevent illicit whisky distilling and smuggling in the surrounding remote glens.
Pressing deep into the remote Braes of Glenlivet, we’ll walk for 15 minutes across a lonely moorland to the atmospheric and peaceful Forbidden Seminary of Scalan, where 18th century boys trained in secret to be Catholic priests, playing cat and mouse with the Redcoats sent over from Corgarff to hunt them out. Standing in the empty glen today, it’s hard to imagine that Sunday services in the local church had to be rotated to accommodate the large number of people that once scratched a living in the surrounding crofts and farms.
Driving on to nearby Ballindalloch Castle we look at past lives at the other end of the social spectrum. An interesting mix of 16th century tower house and attractive Scottish baronial mansion, Ballindalloch is one of the few private Scottish castles that has been lived in continuously by the family which founded it, the Macpherson-Grants. Highlights include one of the finest country house libraries in all of Scotland, the grand dining room with its magnificent fireplace and the delightful nursery with its antique toys. Outside, the Rockery, the Courtyard Garden and the Walled Garden provide a profusion of colour and perfume all year round and wait to be explored.
We round the day off with a visit to either the stunningly located Glenlivet distillery or the intimate and cosy Cragganmore distillery at Ballindalloch, both with historical links to the Braes of Glenlivet. Here we’ll partake in a guided tour and tasting of three aged malts, while hearing some colourful tales of the Smiths of Glenlivet who were instrumental in the founding of both establishments. The legalisation of whisky distilling came early to the area, much to the chagrin of the illicit distillers and smugglers!
On the way home we’ll stop at the atmospheric and historic packhorse bridge over the River Livet, where the only sounds are the pure, flowing water and the wind in the trees, before making our way back through winding Donside and over the hill to Deeside.
Visits to: The Watchers and Corgarff Castle (view from road); Braes of Glenlivet and Scalan Seminary (2km return walk on track); Ballindalloch Castle (including lunch stop); either Glenlivet Distillery or Cragganmore Distillery tour & tasting; Glenlivet Packhorse Bridge.