Balmenach Distillery

The smell hits you before you've walked through the gates - that warm, yeasty fug of barley and oak that makes you understand why whisky folk get so obsessed. Balmenach sits just outside Grantown-on-Spey in the heart of Speyside, and while it's not one of the flashy distilleries with visitor centres the size of supermarkets, that's rather the point.

This is a working distillery where they actually make the stuff, not a museum that happens to have whisky. You can watch the process unfold - copper stills catching the light, the patient alchemy of fermentation - without the crowds you'd battle through at the big names. The guides know their stuff and genuinely seem to enjoy having people around who want to learn rather than just get tanked.

Allow two hours if you're doing a proper tour with tasting, ninety minutes if you're poking about informally. The tour price is reasonable, though I'd ring ahead to confirm they're running that day - being small has its downsides. The single malts are excellent and worth picking up, though they're not cheap.

It works brilliantly as a half-day stop if you're based at Grantown on Spey Caravan Park, just down the road. Pair it with a walk along the Spey itself or a mooch around Grantown's proper little high street. If your camping party includes whisky enthusiasts, this beats the tourist trap version every time. Others might find an hour enough.