There are so many reasons to escape Glasgow this summer and head Doon the Watter to the Ayrshire coast, and onto the islands you'll find off the coast there – especially when the weather is good.
However, one place drinks fans should be heading to in particular is the Island of Arran, which is easily accessible by car (or train) and ferry from Glasgow, and is home to a whisky distillery that Obi-Wan Kenobi himself loves.
That's right, found on the higher ground (sorry we couldn't help ourselves) close to the village of Lochranza on this beautiful island is the whisky distillery which Scottish star Ewan McGregor visited in 1998 to help open their first ever cask of single malt whisky.
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Originally known as Arran Distillery, the production site and visitor centre has since been rebranded as Lochranza Distillery after sister site Lagg was opened on the south of the island in 2019.
Founded in 1993, a much younger Ewan visited the site in 1998, sporting a chic beige suit and mustard tie combo, to help open their first-ever legal cask of single malt whisky (which has to be aged for a minimum of three years) with the Trainspotting star spotted sampling the goods outside of the distillery.
He was then pictured sitting on an upturned boat at Lochranza posing with a bottle of the Arran uisge beatha, the first legal whisky on the island after 160 years.
Set within stunning surroundings and home to an exciting visitor centre that explores the distillery (and the island's) whisky-making past, the building project was even halted in the early 90s to allow a pair of golden eagles to nest high in the hills above the site.
Today, not only can you learn all about this fascinating single malt, as well as sampling, and buying some of their exciting products, you can even still spot the eagle pair, who still nest nearby and can often be seen soaring high about the distillery.
If you are lucky, you even may spot the famous White Stag, which is said to roam near the grounds and is the name given to the popular members' community.
Though there aren't guided tours of the distillery available until later this summer, there are plenty of fun things to do in the Visitor Centre including a range of tastings such as the Whisky and Arran Chocolate Pairing (yum) and The Lochranza Select tasting which offers some of the more unusual whiskies you can get from this exciting distillery.
And if your hankering for whisky isn't satisfied, you can even head south to a Lagg for a visit to their other exciting whisky distillery.
And Ewan isn't the only famous visitor to have checked out the distillery, in 1997, the award-winning Visitor Centre was opened by Her Majesty The Queen with two casks were presented to her for Princes William and Harry.
How to get there
You can drive to Ardrossan, or get a train from Glasgow Central or Paisley Gilmour Street train station, which will take you to the ferry terminal. From there you can get a ferry to Brodick (find out more on the Calmac website) where buses are available to take you to Lochranza or you can drive in around half an hour by car.
What's on offer at the Distillery
The distillery is home to both a visitor centre and shop, which are both open daily from 10 am until 4.30 pm and the Casks Café which is open 10 am until 4 pm Wednesday to Sunday.
Tours of the distillery are also available, you can find out more on the Lochranza Distillery website.
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