As well as some outstanding chefs, it's the top quality of the local produce that's been putting tiny Scottish villages on the foodie map. Give your trip a gastronomic focus, enjoying the freshest of seafood or perhaps a more liquid flavour with a whisky weekend to a couple of distilleries (though perhaps an unfocused weekend might prove a more apt description!) 
Recommended tour operator: McKinlay Kidd
McKinlay Kidd says
We specialise in tailor-made self-drive short breaks and longer holidays in Scotland, and have personally sampled everything we recommend so you can make the most of your time - however short it may be.
Islay (pronounced ‘eye-la’), the southernmost island of the Inner Scottish Hebrides, combines heather-clad hills with an impressive 130 miles of stunning coastline. More importantly, Islay is amongst the best places in the world for producing the ‘water of life’. It houses eight working distilleries which combine centuries of experience with the uniquely peaty character of the Islay soil.
Our Islay Whisky Breaks, between February and November, take in two of the distilleries and cost from £279 per person for three nights including B&B accommodation in a luxurious small hotel on the edge of a loch.
Our Seafood Trail sets out from Glasgow with a ferry ride to your hotel, overlooking the Isle of Bute. Here, an award-winning chef takes you on a hands-on seafood cookery demonstration before enjoying the results. The next stop is Loch Linnhe, where mouthwatering langoustines are caught off the end of the pier before being served by candlelight in one of Argyll’s finest restaurants.
Finally, head north to secluded Wester Ross where your idyllic loch-side base has been converted from a row of white-washed cottages. From there you can join a local fisherman as he brings in his creels - then enjoy the catch of the day shore-side. The Seafood Trail costs from £495 per person for 5 nights and is available between mid-March and mid-October.
Click here for more ideas and prices for foodie breaks in Scotland.
