ELTIPS AV R T
I could understand the cereal but the drop of whisky was a surprise.
Then, after one sip, it all made perfect sense.
It was a fitting breakfast for someone on a tour of Aberdeenshire to visit the setting for the new Eddie Izzard film Whisky Galore!
The power of whisky as a pickme-up is celebrated everywhere in this beautiful part of the world.
Whisky Galore! is a remake of the 1949 Ealing comedy classic based on a true story about a small Scottish island out of whisky in wartime.
The islanders’ prayers are answered when a ship carrying 50,000 cases is wrecked in a cove.
A lot of the new version, also starring James Cosmo and Tim Pigott- Smith, was s hot in Aberdeenshire. I checked out some of the locations while finding out what all the fuss is about over Scotland’s most celebrated drink.
First up was Glen Garioch, pronounced Geery, a distillery that’s been making acclaimed single malts since 1797.
The tasting that rounded off the tour paired some of their best whiskies with expertly chosen Scottish cheeses and chutneys.
My favourite was a 15-year-old sherry- cask matured whisky, teamed with smoked cheese and a marrow chutney. I got to drink from a quaich, a little sharing bowl with handles, like the one in Whisky Galore’s engagement scene. The tasting was in a bothy – traditionally small huts or cottages that housed farm labourers in rural Scotland. Now they are refuges for walkers.
Warmed by a few drams, it was time for a selfie stop on the pebble beach of Abedour, site of the cave where they hide the liquor from Izzard’s annoying Captain Wagget.
From there it was on to Portsoy, where a lot of the film was shot. The small fishing town has seen a surge in visitors on the back of the movie.
Lunch at the Beggars Belief Coffee Cove, a dinky cafe with lovely warm booths and cheery service, was TRY roller skiing, a mix of skiing and skateboarding but without the snow, at Huntly Nordic and Outdoor Centre, see hnoc.nordicski.co.uk A bothy is never locked and might have a sleeping area and fireplace. It’s customary to leave provisions for the next visitors. But there’s never a loo. Layer up. Weather is very changeable in Scotland but the chill is worth those wonderful skies. a mean cullen skink, a hearty haddock and potato soup. I devoured it with a generous chunk of bread and an Irn-Bru.
After a mini tour of some of the exteriors used in the movie, I ended up on a hillock in front of a ruined old fishing station where a part of the whisky pilfering scene was shot.
The views of the Moray Firth were breathtaking.
Hammer
From here it was off to The Boatshed to try my hand at boat building. This enterprising community offers boat building holidays to families, fam groups and individuals.
You Y can stay nearby in one of the beautiful bea hotels or self- catering accommodation acc – including the newly new refurbished The Sail Loft, voted vot one of the top 20 coolest bunkhouses bu in the world by American Express. There is help building a boat using traditional techniques and you take your creation home at the end of the week.
My home for the weekend was the historic four- star Meldrum House hotel, set in gorgeous countryside only a few miles from the centre of Aberdeen.
I thought it fitting to finish off my time in Scotland with some Mini Highland Games at Lochter Activity Centre and got to have a go at activities including shot put and hammer throwing. I was embarrassingly bad at all of them but I did help pull my team win the tug of war.
Saying goodbye to Aberdeenshire, I hoped the spirit of Scotland would be with me for a while. Now where’s that porridge and a dram? FACTFILE: Flights from Gatwick to Aberdeen from £49 return. For guided Whisky Galore! tours see app.stga. co.uk/guides/alasdair-brodie. For more about Scotland and locations featured in Whisky Galore! checkvisitscotland. com/films. Also see glengarioch.com, meldrumhouse.com, l ochter. co. uk andportsoyicecream.co.uk.
Whisky Galore! is out on Blu-ray and DVD.