Balavil
Estate with its central location in Scotland is ideally situated
to cover north, east, west and south. We can either provide
you with chauffeur driven cars or mini buses or simply direct you
with your own transport to a host of interesting sights and shops
in the area.
A 2-hour drive from Balavil will take you to Edinburgh,
Glasgow, the Isle of Skye, Aberdeen and Deeside and north
up into Sutherland. The following sights and shops
are all worthy of a visit.
CASTLES Both Blair Castle and Cawdor
Castle are within 40 mins
drive of the house. Both are open to the public have excellent
visitor facilities and show a fascinating insight into local history.
Further a field are Eillan Donnan, Dunrobin, Balmoral, Crathes,
Craigevar and scores of others open to the public and
all part of Scotland's rich history.
DISTILLERIES
Our nearest distillery is Dalwhinnie which is 15 mins
from the house and which has an excellent visitor centre. The
River Spey is probably the most famous river in the whisky
making world
and many distilleries can be found along its banks and
those of its tributaries including Macallan, Glenlivet,
Glenfarclas, Glen
Grant, Tamdhu, Cardhu etc. All the distilleries around Dufftown
are well worth a look and many are now open to the public
with excellent visitor facilities.
ANTIQUE SHOPS
There is a local shop in Newtonmore which is well
worth a look and further afield in Inverness, Nairn and
Beauly there are specialists
in Scottish silver and furniture. On the road south there
are antique shops at Blair Atholl, Dunkeld and Perth.
THE HOUSE OF BRUAR 30 mins south of Balavil at Blair Atholl there is the House
of Bruar and emporium of all that is best in Scottish produce. Known
at the "Harrods of the North" the House of Bruar has
one of the finest selections of cashmere to be found in
Scotland and quality ladies and gents country clothing. There
is a gift shop and also an excellent food hall
selling
the finest Scottish produce with an adjoining restaurant
so that guests can enjoy a full day trip to Bruar and
shop and eat to their
hearts content. Ladies come from far and wide to enjoy the
delights of the ladies loo, regarded as the finest in
Scotland.
WOOLEN AND TWEED SHOPS
From Johnston's of Elgin to Haggarts in Aberfeldy
and Campbells in Beauly there are a wide selection
of traditional shops offering
a selection of cashmere, woolens and tweeds.
ART GALLERIES
Perth, Dunkeld and Inverness all have art galleries
of merit and at Ballater, the McEwan
Gallery specialises
in Sporting Art.
Both 
30 mins south of Balavil at Blair Atholl there is the 
