Knockando & Ballindalloch: Barley and Castles

Knockando is rural, situated smack in the middle of Speyside’s farming region, this is barley country. For a relatively small town it is pretty well stocked on the distillery front. Not only this but it has a renowned woolen mill which has been producing fine material since the mid eighteenth century. When you are in this area its extremely easy to visualise the historic illicit still trade. Imagine local folk hiding small stills in and around the hills and glens that nurtured the birth of Scotch whisky. At the same time these enterprising distillers would have been running their stills, the Grant family would have been living in Ballindaloch Castle. The castle has been inhabited by the same family for over 450 years, known as the ‘Pearl of the North’ and even has a couple of distilleries on the grounds.