The Glasgow & Clyde Whisky Trail: Auchentoshan, Clydeside & the Highland Line at Glengoyne
The trail at a glance
| Distance | ~50 miles from Jackton in the south to Glengoyne in the north, plus a 25-mile spur to the Clyde coast |
| Time | Two days; the city trio and Auchentoshan fit one day |
| Distilleries | 7 — Clydeside, The Glasgow Distillery, Auchentoshan, Loch Lomond, Glengoyne, Jackton and Ardgowan |
| Open to visit | Clydeside, Auchentoshan, Glengoyne and Ardgowan welcome visitors; The Glasgow Distillery by arrangement; Loch Lomond is an industrial site; Jackton is not yet confirmed |
| Start / end | Glasgow, finishing at Glengoyne on the Highland Line |
| Our take | Do the Clyde in the morning and head north to the loch for the evening |
Glasgow and the Clyde have a long history of distilling and blending, and malt whisky is coming back to the river. This trail starts in the city centre, follows the Clyde out to the classic triple-distilled malt at Clydebank, and finishes where the Lowlands meet the Highlands at Glengoyne.
Base 1 — Glasgow & Clydebank
Clydeside brought whisky-making back to the heart of the city, in the restored Queen’s Dock Pump House on the river; opened in 2017, it makes a light, unpeated Lowland malt behind a glass stillhouse looking straight over the Clyde, and runs a seven-day tour and tasting of about an hour and a quarter. The Glasgow Distillery at Hillington revived a name dating to 1770 in 2014 (its single malt is simply “1770”, and it also makes Makar gin); visits are limited and by arrangement. Then out to Auchentoshan at the foot of the Kilpatrick Hills: the classic Lowland malt, and the only Scottish distillery to triple-distil every drop. It is handily close to the city, with daily tours.
| Clydeside → The Glasgow Distillery | about 5 mi | ~10 min |
| The Glasgow Distillery → Auchentoshan | about 11 mi | ~15 min |
Road distances and drive times from OpenStreetMap routing (a guide — allow for traffic, single-track roads and ferries).
Base 2 — Loch Lomond & the Highland Line
Loch Lomond Distillery at Alexandria in the Vale of Leven is one of Scotland’s most versatile — malt and grain whisky on one site, with unusual straight-necked stills — but it is an industrial site with limited access, so treat it as a drive-by. Past the loch’s southern tip (Balloch, with its country park and paddle steamer, is right here), Glengoyne sits at the foot of Dumgoyne hill on the Highland Line itself: its stills are in the Highlands, its warehouses across the road in the Lowlands. It makes an unpeated, sherried malt by famously slow distillation and runs tours and tastings daily. Carry on up the loch to Loch Lomond, Balmaha and Luss.
| Auchentoshan → Loch Lomond Distillery | about 11 mi | ~19 min |
| Loch Lomond Distillery → Glengoyne | about 14 mi | ~22 min |
Road distances and drive times from OpenStreetMap routing (a guide — allow for traffic, single-track roads and ferries).
Spurs — Jackton & the Clyde coast
South of the city, Jackton near East Kilbride is a small family farm distillery making a grain-to-glass Lowland malt; its first release, RAER, is due in 2026, and we have not confirmed that it takes visitors. West on the Firth of Clyde, Ardgowan at Inverkip filled its first cask in June 2025 — the first distillery in Inverclyde in over a century — on the historic Ardgowan Estate, with views to the Argyll hills; it runs tours and tastings. It sits on the edge of the Argyll Coastal Route, which begins at the Gourock ferry for Dunoon.
| Jackton → Clydeside | about 12 mi | ~24 min |
| The Glasgow Distillery → Ardgowan | about 25 mi | ~38 min |
Road distances and drive times from OpenStreetMap routing (a guide — allow for traffic, single-track roads and ferries).
Overnights, food & the practical bit
Glasgow has every kind of hotel; for a motorhome, the Loch Lomond shore is the natural base (see our Loch Lomond page for a free lochside overnight). Book Clydeside and Auchentoshan at weekends, and remember the driver.
More whisky
- The full picture: Scotch whisky — regions, distilleries & the oldest of all.
- Next door: The Edinburgh & Forth Whisky Trail, and the Highland trail the A9 heading north from Stirling.