Taste of the
Highlands

The Royal Scotsman departs Edinburgh in the early afternoon, heading north through the former Kingdom of Fife before crossing the Tay and climbing into the Highlands. The landscape changes noticeably as the train gains altitude, the rolling farmland of Perthshire giving way to the more dramatic scenery of the upper glens. There is no better way to arrive in the Highlands than by train, and the Royal Scotsman gives that arrival a proper sense of occasion.

Dinner this evening is convivial rather than formal, and the Observation Car comes into its own afterwards. The entertainment on board on a first evening sets the tone for what follows, and the Royal Scotsman does this well. The train stables overnight in the village of Boat of Garten on the private Strathspey Railway, deep in the Cairngorms and about as far from the city as it is possible to feel.

Breakfast is served with the Cairngorms outside the window, which is a reasonable way to begin a day. A coach then takes guests to Rothiemurchus Estate in the heart of the national park, where broadcaster and food anthropologist Ghillie Basan and her son Zeki have designed a morning that covers Scottish wildlife and Highland survival skills with considerable knowledge and enthusiasm. Ghillie was elected a Food Ambassador for Scotland, and her understanding of the landscape and its produce is genuine rather than performed.

A barbecue lunch follows, served by the fire while Ghillie talks through how she came to live in the Cairngorms and what that life looks like day to day. The food and kombucha pairing that accompanies it showcases the seasonal produce of the Highlands with real care. It is the kind of morning that stays with you.

The train collects everyone at Carrbridge for a relaxed afternoon travelling through Inverness and Keith. One option this afternoon is worth mentioning specifically: a visit to Strathisla Distillery, which has been producing whisky since 1786, making it one of the oldest working distilleries in the Highlands. It is also one of the most beautiful, and the malt produced here forms the heart of Chivas Regal. For those who have never visited a working Highland distillery, this is an excellent introduction.

The train follows the coast south through Aberdeenshire and Angus, the light on the North Sea in the late afternoon providing a fine backdrop for the gala dinner that follows. This is a formal evening: dress accordingly. Live jazz provides the soundtrack, and the combination of exceptional food, good wine and fine company on the east coast of Scotland after dark is one of the more memorable evenings the Royal Scotsman offers.

A final breakfast is served as the train leaves Dundee and makes its way south through Fife and back to Edinburgh Waverley, where the journey ends. Two nights and three days in the Highlands, covering the Cairngorms, a working distillery, an estate that few visitors ever reach, and a gala dinner on the east coast. It is a considerable amount to fit into a short break, and the Royal Scotsman manages it without any sense of hurry.

Itineraries and timings shown may be changed for seasonal or operational reasons.