Moray: Whisky Country and Fighter Jets
Moray produces more single malt Scotch whisky than anywhere else in Scotland. The Speyside whisky trail runs through the heart of the council area — Glenfiddich, The Macallan, Glenlivet, Aberlour, Cardhu, and dozens more, all drawing water from the Spey and its tributaries. Dufftown alone has six working distilleries within walking distance. Whisky tourism has become a serious economic force, with distillery visitor centres, tasting experiences, and the Spirit of Speyside festival bringing thousands of visitors each May. But Moray is not all whisky.
Elgin, the administrative centre, is a handsome town of around 24,000 people with a ruined cathedral that was once among the finest in Scotland — the "Lantern of the North" before it was sacked and abandoned. RAF Lossiemouth, on the coast, is one of the UK's two main fast jet bases, operating Typhoon fighters and contributing significantly to the local economy. The Findhorn Foundation, near the village of Findhorn, has been an international eco-community and spiritual retreat since the 1960s — an unlikely presence in rural northeast Scotland. Farming, food processing, and fishing (Buckie and Lossiemouth harbours) round out the economy. The climate on the Moray coast is drier and sunnier than most of Scotland — it sits in a rain shadow created by the Cairngorms to the south.
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Moray produces more single malt Scotch whisky than anywhere else in Scotland. The Speyside whisky trail runs through the heart of the council area — Glenfiddich, The Macallan, Glenlivet, Aberlour, Cardhu, and dozens more, all drawing water from the Spey and its tributaries. Dufftown alone has six working distilleries within walking distance. Whisky tourism has become a serious economic force, with distillery visitor centres, tasting experiences, and the Spirit of Speyside festival bringing thousands of visitors each May. But Moray is not all whisky.
Elgin, the administrative centre, is a handsome town of around 24,000 people with a ruined cathedral that was once among the finest in Scotland — the "Lantern of the North" before it was sacked and abandoned. RAF Lossiemouth, on the coast, is one of the UK's two main fast jet bases, operating Typhoon fighters and contributing significantly to the local economy. The Findhorn Foundation, near the village of Findhorn, has been an international eco-community and spiritual retreat since the 1960s — an unlikely presence in rural northeast Scotland. Farming, food processing, and fishing (Buckie and Lossiemouth harbours) round out the economy. The climate on the Moray coast is drier and sunnier than most of Scotland — it sits in a rain shadow created by the Cairngorms to the south.
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