Craigellachie, United Kingdom

The small settlement of CRAIGELLACHIE (pronounced "Craig-ell-ach-ee") sits above the confluence of the sparkling waters of the Fiddich and the Spey, spanned by a beautiful iron bridge built by Thomas Telford in 1815. For an unusual alternative to a distillery tour, the Speyside Cooperage (Mon– Fri 9.30am–4pm; £3.20) is worth a visit: after the exhibition explaining the ancient and skilled art of cooperage, you're shown onto a balcony overlooking the workshop where the oak casks for whisky are made and repaired by fast-working, highly skilled coopers.

For somewhere tostay in the village there's an extremely welcoming and tasteful B&B attached to the AGreen Hall Gallery on Victoria Street (Tel:01340/871010, Web: www.aboutscotland.com/greenhall ; Price: ₤61-70); in Archiestown, a few miles west of Craigellachie, the pleasant, traditional Archiestown Hotel (Tel:01340/810218, Web: www.archiestownhotel.co.uk ; Price: ₤111-150) caters for fishermen and outdoor types, and serves good evening meals.