3. The Speyside Way

For a long walk that also tells a great story, choose this one. The Speyside Way is a fine walk in itself, but it is also the story of one of Scotland’s proudest intellectual properties: the Speyside single malt whisky. The trail is roughly 65 miles long, from Kincraig in the Cairngorms to Buckie on the east coast – and plans are afoot to extend it 12 miles west from Kincraig to Newtonmore. It mostly follows the valley of the Spey, whose waters form the prime ingredient in a Speyside single malt, and along the way you’ll pass about a dozen distilleries that use it, including Cragganmore, Macallan and (via the hilly spur that leads to Tomintoul) The Glenlivet. As Burns had it: “Freedom an’ whisky gang thegigther; take aff your dram!” WALK IT: Official trail website www.speysideway.org; also try Cicerone’s guidebook (£16.95, www.cicerone.co.uk)