I turn 50 this year! Which seems a bit surreal as I don’t think of myself as that old (not that 50 is old of course) but nevertheless, I’ll be 50 in September. And to celebrate, I’m planning on a fabulously fun trip that includes two of my favourite things – walking and whisky. Although (mostly) not at the same time.
Walking…
The walking part of the trip will be walking the Speyside Way in Scotland – from Aviemore to Buckie, including the Tomintoul Spur and the Dufftown Loop – which will be a bit over 150km in total. While Aviemore isn’t the official end/start anymore, it was when I first started planning my walk (back in 2019) so I’m going to stick with it being my starting point. The same goes for why I choose to start in Aviemore and finish in Buckie even though it can be walked either way. The guidebook I bought in 2019 to help me plan my route focused on that direction, mountain to the sea, so I did and will too. Interestingly, while often there is a strong preference to walk in a certain direction on long distance walks – i.e. most walk the West Highland Way south to north – those in the Speyside Way Facebook group I’m in (great group by the way) seem to be split quite equally.
In addition to the main route, I added the Tomintoul Spur – a one-way 24km route – as it comes highly recommended, offers gorgeous views of different terrain, and runs past the Glenlivet Distillery. It will probably be both my most difficult day and my most rewarding day given the reports I’ve read. I can’t wait! And yes, I will be stopping at Glenlivet.
The Dufftown Loop was added mainly for whisky. Hey, I did say this was a walking and whisky trip. But also to give myself a bit of a break as I’m taking an off-day then to explore and visit a distillery or two. But honestly, it won’t be the only whisky stop on my walk. Plus I also wanted to visit Dufftown and this seemed like a good way to do it.
Whisky…
While walking the Speyside Way will allow me the opportunity for a few whisky stops, the main “whisky” part of the trip will be attending several Spirit of Speyside events, which I’m super excited about. Spirit of Speyside is a week-long whisky festival in the Speyside region of Scotland, which holds hundreds of events in several small towns in the region. There’s everything from distillery tours to special tastings on a historical steam train to outdoor events. Attending the whisky festival has been on my to-do list for a while and I’m glad that I’ll finally be able to do so. This is also part of my “splurge” part of my trip (see below). For more info on the festival, click here.
Why I’m thinking about it as my 50th present to myself
I tend to travel more on the budget side, often staying at hostels, walking and taking public transport, and using grocery stores for breakfast (when not included in my stay) and sometimes lunch. Okay, the grocery stores are both to help keep costs down and also because I like grocery shopping in different places. But as I’m only going to turn 50 once, I’ve allowed myself a couple of extra splurges this time – nothing extravagant but splurges for me. A couple of nights I’m staying at a slightly nicer place, one of the Spirit of Speyside events is a bit of a splurge (it sounds magical), and I’m planning on a couple of nicer dinners. But really, the whole trip is my birthday present to myself – a relaxing trip to enjoy a few of my favourite things: walking and whisky.
Final Thoughts
I love walking vacations as they are the perfect way for me to de-stress, relax and just be in the moment. And while this wasn’t the original trip/trail I’d planned for my 50th, I think it will be just what I need. You see, once I got back from walking the later half of the West Highland Way in Scotland in 2019, my first long distance multi-day walk of 70km in 4 days, I immediately starting planning for an epic walk for my 50th year. This would have given me 5 years to do other walks and build myself up to it. But life doesn’t always go according to plan and so the plan got adjusted. Regardless, I can’t wait!
Did you ever go on an epic birthday trip? Or plan something amazing for your birthday? I’d love to hear about it.
Rambles and Walks 
That sounds perfect birthday gift for my partner. He loves whisky. We did the Glenkinchie Master class tour for his 30th birthday.