Dalwhinnie

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Dalwhinnie
Gaelic: Dail Chuinnidh
Inverness-shire
Dalwhinnie Distillery.jpg
Dalwhinnie distillery
Location
Grid reference: NN634849
Location: 56°56’10"N, 4°14’38"W
Data
Post town: Dalwhinnie
Postcode: PH19
Dialling code: 01528
Local Government
Council: Highland

Dalwhinnie is a small village in south-east Inverness-shire. Its name is from the Gaelic Dail Chuinnidh, meaning "Meeting Place".

Location

Dalwhinnie sits at an altitude of 1,152 ft. It is one of the coldest villages in the UK, having an average annual temperature of 6.6°C, making it suitable for winter walking and mountaineering. It is north of Drumochter, just off the A9 road from Perth to Inverness and has been bypassed since 1975. It is about 2 to 2½ hours drive from both Edinburgh and Glasgow, 25 miles from Aviemore, 13 from Newtonmore and 17 from Kingussie.

Dalwhinnie railway station lies on the Highland Main Line from Perth to Inverness.

Climate

Dalwhinnie experiences a borderline subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc), with frequently overcast skies, cool temperatures and rainfall throughout the year. Sunshine here averages only 1032 hours, which is one of the lowest in the United Kingdom. Dalwhinnie holds the UK low temperature records for the months of June, September and October.[1] In addition it also holds Scotland's record for the lowest April daytime maximum temperature of -1°C in 1975, and the record lowest October temperature for Scotland of -11.7°C.[2] For the 1951-1980 observation period it averaged a temperature of 6.3°C compared to Braemar's 6.4°C,[3] making Dalwhinnie one of the coldest inhabited places in the British Isles. In fact, according to the 1981-2010 observation period Dalwhinnie is the coldest place in the UK below 1,600 ft above sea level, with a mean temperature of 6.6°C,[4] lower than its closest rivals Leadhills and Braemar which both have mean temperatures of 6.8°C for this period. The lowest temperatures in recent years have been -15.8°C in January 2010[5] and -16.1°C during December 2010. Winter snowfall can be heavy, with accumulations often exceeding 12 inches.[6]

Tourism

The area is teeming with wildlife and there are walks along the River Truim and in Cairngorm and Monadhliath Mountains in the Cairngorm National Park.[7]

Dalwhinnie is on the Sustrans National Cycle Route No. 7, Glasgow to Inverness. There are several cycle routes in the area including one alongside Loch Ericht.

Distillery

The local distillery is the highest-elevation working distillery in Scotland. Dalwhinnie Single Malt is a light, heathery whisky.

Activities

  • Golf
  • Walking
  • Mountain Biking
  • Watersports
  • Horse Riding and Pony Trekking
  • Fishing
  • Shooting

Outside links

See also

References