Dalwhinnie ( ; "meeting place") is a small village in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

. Dalwhinnie is located at the head of Glen Truim and the north-east end of

Loch Ericht Loch Ericht () is a freshwater loch on the border between the former Perthshire, now Perth and Kinross and the former Inverness-shire, now Highlands Council areas of Scotland. It has a north-east to south-west orientation. The village of Dalwh ...

, on the western edge of the

Cairngorms National Park Cairngorms National Park () is a national park in northeast Scotland, established in 2003. It was the second of National parks of Scotland, two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament, after Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National ...

Location

Dalwhinnie sits at an altitude of . It is one of the coldest villages in the UK, having an average annual temperature of , 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 from both

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, from

Aviemore Aviemore (; ) is a town and tourist resort, situated within the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands of Scotland. It is in the Badenoch and Strathspey committee area, within the Highland council area. The town is popular for skiing and ...

, from

Newtonmore Newtonmore ( ) is a village of approximately 1100 inhabitants in Badenoch, within the Highland (council area), Highland council area of Scotland. The village is only a few miles from a location that is claimed to be the exact geographical centre ...

and from

Kingussie Kingussie ( ; ) is a small town in the Badenoch and Strathspey ward of the Highland council area of Scotland. Counties of Scotland, Historically in Inverness-shire, it lies beside the A9 road (Great Britain), A9 road, although the old route of ...

. Dalwhinnie railway station lies on the

Highland Main Line The Highland Main Line is a railway line in Scotland. It is long and runs through the central Scottish Highlands, mainly following the route of the A9 road (Scotland), A9, and linking a series of small towns and villages with Perth, Scotland, ...

from

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

Tourism

The area is walking destination along the River Truim and in Cairngorm and Monadhliath Mountains in the Cairngorm National Park. Dalwhinnie is on the

Sustrans Sustrans ( ) is a United Kingdom-based walking, wheeling and cycling charity, and the custodian of the National Cycle Network. Its flagship project is the National Cycle Network, which has created of signed cycle routes throughout the United ...

National Cycle Route 7, Glasgow to Inverness. There are several cycle routes in the area including one alongside

. Loch Ericht Hotel stands on the banks of the River Truim.

Distillery

Diageo Diageo plc ( ) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It is a major distributor of Scotch whisky and other spirits and operates from 132 sites around the world ...

owns the local

distillery Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

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

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

Climate

Dalwhinnie experiences a

subpolar oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring co ...

('' Cfc'') that very closely borders a

humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...

('' Dfb'') with strong influences of an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

('' Cfb),'' a climate very rare for a UK town. Skies are frequently overcast with cool temperatures and rainfall throughout the year. Sunshine here averages only 1,032 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. In addition, it also holds Scotland's record for the lowest April daytime maximum temperature of in 1975, and the record lowest October temperature for the United Kingdom of . For the 1951–1980 observation period, it averaged a temperature of compared to

Braemar Braemar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen in the Highlands. It is the closest significantly-sized settlement to the upper course of the River Dee, sitting at an elevation of . The Gaelic ''Bràigh Mhàrr'' p ...

's , making Dalwhinnie one of the coldest inhabited places in the British Isles. According to the 1981–2010 observation period, Dalwhinnie is the coldest place in the UK below 500 metres above sea level, with a mean temperature of , lower than

Leadhills Leadhills, originally settled for the accommodation of miners, is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, WSW of Elvanfoot. The population in 1901 was 835. It was originally known as Waterhead. It is the second highest village in Scotland, ...

and Braemar which both have mean temperatures of for this period. The lowest temperatures in recent years have been in January 2010 and during December 2010. Winter snowfall can be heavy, with accumulations often exceeding .

References

External links