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HEAVENLY PRESS Young entrepreneur Paul Cannavan, tired of the rat race, recently created 'Whisky in the Wild' tours. His Heavenly Highlands company will take groups of up to eight off-road in his specially adapted Land Rover. Having got special permission from the Crown, he can take you to parts high in the hills of the Glenlivet Estate that nobody else can. With local knowledge gained from years working in the Glenlivet distillery, and family connections going back generations, it really was something special driving up the snow covered hills. His knowledge came to bear going through one small settlement when I quizzed him on how he knew that an inconspicuous looking outbuilding had once been the local cobblers. "My family owned the house next door for generations." came the reply. Not only do you get an insight into the history and wildlife of this amazing part of the world, but an al fresco lunch of soup, salad, cake and assorted delicacies is laid on as you take in the mountain air. Then comes the unique sellig point of the tour: a range of whiskies were brought out for us to taste, with Mr Cannavan taking us through the finer points. As you look around you realise you are living for real the TV advert for the Glen of Tranquility that was on ours screens a few years ago. (March 2006)  Paul Cannavan turned his back on a career in banking when he came up with the idea of taking visitors on off-road Land Rover tours of malt whisky country. That has now added up to a wise decision, as interest in Heavenly Highlands from home and abroad has exceeded all expectations. He now has bookings well into the summer months. "Bookings just keep on coming. I thought people would b ekeen to learn more about the area surrounding our famous distilleries, but the interest has been amazing," said Paul. Paul is originally from Edinburgh, but his his family have lived in Glenlivet for generations. He spent all of his holidays in Speyside as a child, and considers it his real home. "After University I joined the Halifax Bank of Scotland's graduate scheme, but discovered that banking was not for me. I was desperate to move up to Glenlivet and, because I studied tourism at university, started to think about tourism ventures. I love Glenlivet and I enjoy whisky, so I came up with the idea of combining both. Far too many people come to a distillery and then get straight back on a train to Inverness or Aberdeen. Very few get to see the countryside, see the sites of the illicit stills, learn how they made whisky 100 years ago and the old smuggling routes. Hopefully by by taking in the countryside, seeing the wildlife and getting to taste some of the local produce visitors will get a feel for the real Glenlivet." (April 2006) |
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