Lowland whisky: easy days from the cities

The lie of the land

The Lowland region covers southern Scotland below the Highland line. It has fewer historic distilleries than the north. Over the last decade, though, many new ones have opened, from city-centre sites in Edinburgh and Glasgow to farm distilleries in the Borders, Fife and Dumfries & Galloway.

• East Lothian: farmland and barley fields under the Lammermuir Hills, about 30–40 minutes from Edinburgh.
• Edinburgh and Leith: newer urban distilleries and plenty of whisky bars. Read our Edinburgh food walk.
• Glasgow and the Clyde: distilleries on the river and on the city's edge.
• The Borders and the south-west: farm-to-bottle projects, for longer road trips.

How to plan it

Pick one distillery and pair it with something else: a coastal walk in East Lothian, a castle, or lunch in a market town. City distilleries are often open more days of the week than rural ones. They make a good rainy-afternoon plan, but book anyway.

If you are heading north, start in the Lowlands and work up. Our seven-day route begins with a Lowland distillery near Edinburgh.