Top Stirling Outdoor Activities

It's been a couple of weeks since we finished our trip across Scotland and the Islay Island. From the conversations among our small group during the trip and afterwards, all while enjoying newly acquired bottles of whisky, the general consensus is that we would do it all over again tomorrow. WhiskyWheels showed us that they have an incredible ability to line up a wonderful itinerary, find the perfect drivers, and put us in hotels that are comfortable and full of character.Now that we're home, and the flavor of peety whiskys from Islay disappear from our memories, we are making purchases from the other regions of Scotland. The way it's going, there could be another tour request coming to show off the Speyside region. The "challenge" of smoke is at times, exactly what I'm looking for. But when I'm not, the Speyside smoothness makes drinking whisky super comfortable and relaxing.WhiskyWheels has a lot to show off to the world. Of course the whisky, but also the beautiful landscape, incredible history of churches and castles, as well as the amazingly friendly people. I hope WhiskyWheels and their network of drivers succeed in doing just that.

We did the Stirling Run Tour today and it was absolutely brilliant. Such a great way to explore the city - informative, relaxed and really good fun.Colin was fantastic - friendly, knowledgeable and clearly passionate about Stirling. He made it funny and interesting throughout, sharing stories and details that really brought the city to life.The pace was easy and comfortable with plenty of breaks, and I loved that it focused on some of the lesser-known sights. It really complements a separate visit to Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument.I would genuinely recommend it to locals who want to learn more about where they live, as well as visitors to the area. We would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a unique and enjoyable way to experience Stirling.

Great experience learning about the hidden history of Stirling beyond the castle and monument. Colin knows his stuff, would highly recommend!

This 4 day trip was spectacular. 1 night in Oban and 2 nights on Islay. The recommended distilleries were all very enjoyable. Highly recommend Whiskywheels.

From beginning to end the service, knowledge, politeness and professionalism was exceptional. I had three divers over the 4 days responsible for different legs of the tour. Euon, the owner of Whiskywheels was day one and four,Sheena day two and three and Colin was there to meet me at the ferry terminal. The itinerary was full and well balanced on Isla. Lots of informative and beautiful Whisky Distilleries. Euon even actioned my conversation by taking me to see some Highland coos! Accommodation on Islay at Dha Urlar B&B was beautiful. The hosts were welcoming and the room was clean and comfortable. Breakfasts were so good. Sheena my wonderfully knowlegeable driver on Islay and herself an Islay taxi driver and resident of Islay seemed to know every Ileach. A great trip. Highly recommend Whiskywheels. Slainte.

Great way to see a city - a workout and education rolled into one. You learn lots of amazing details that are not in any guide books and have fun as well. Colin certainly knows his stuff! The pace is very easy and adjusted as necessary, the stops are nicely spaced and the route takes in some lovely paths and views.

Excellent running tour led by Colin. The idea is great in that it covers more distance than a normal walking tour - around 90 mins, 8km distance and 10 or so stops. Colin is very knowledgeable on the local history and described each stop with great enthusiasm. I learnt a lot. Highly recommended.

I first contacted Euan sometime in January of 2024 for a Scotch experience to be held in September with some of my closest friends. I found Whiskey Wheels during in a search and Cool Destinations but I chose to contact Euan directly.While the trip was not crystallized until later in April, Euan was very helpful in providing his suggestions and options for our tour. The challenge was accommodating the needs of 10 people in a span of 4-5 days as well as ensuring that we can cover distilleries and other sights. Euan was instrumental in providing regions to go to during our trip taking into consideration the length of time and number of people.Euan and I would exchange emails but also discussed matters over the phone. Once we settled on the locations that we were going to visit, Euan was to arrange all of the accommodations and travels between destinations. During the time of the initial booking and actual travel dates, there were some changes to the number of people and Euan was able to help.Euan also arranged for food locations. Many of the locations he chose for food were good, with the exception of 2, and we let Euan know after the trip. Obviously he won't have known the service offered unless he receives our feedback and services can vary. Our trip was customized and not a set trip, so Euan had to find places in each location. While we would have loved to visit each distillery and do a tour, I am glad that Euan suggested not to do so as it would have been too much. Euan arranged for a mix of tours that included a tasting and history, and other visits were just visiting where we chose to drink. Many of the places were to also capture the beauty of Scotland. His insights were helpful in the planning.There was one hiccup at one of the locations for accommodation, but Euan was able to resolve it in less than an hour. The rest of the trip was smooth. The drivers that he arranged were good and if you have a choice, ask for Collin to be a driver wherever he is able to.I do note that some people have complained that Euan does not get back. While it may appear that Euan does not get back, he does. He would sometimes get back late but he does correspond and follows through. My only issue was that we wanted the itinerary early on so we can also see what other things we can do on our trip (eg golf, restaurants) etc and where we were staying. I would book another trip with Euan if I were to go back to Scotland (probably in another few years) to visit the other distilleries. He definitely has an extensive knowledge of the distilleries and if you are looking for a customized tour and not a "out of the box", talk to Euan.Euan - thanks for the good memories. Looking forward to another trip one day in the future.

What a brilliant way to tour Stirling! Colin was really interesting with lots of local knowledge. The pace was perfect, nice and gentle so we could also chat as we went along. We covered about 7.5km on our tour but we stopped every km or so to hear about the next point of interest, stops were nicely spaced out. I’d definitely recommend this and will be looking out for similar tours when I visit other cities. Loved it!

Colin ensured we had a great day out on his Stirling Run Tour. He is extremely knowledgeable about Stirling and I learned loads of interesting historical facts about my local area and I enjoyed the visuals he provided along the way. I’ll definitely be paying more attention out and about. Colin set an enjoyable pace on this lovely crisp winters day and engaged with the whole group. I would not hesitate to recommend Colin as your guide if you are looking for something a bit different to do as a visitor, or indeed a local. I’m sure you’ll learn something useful and keep fit at the same time.

Lots of lesser known history & interesting facts, from our very attentive run tour guide Colin. Great way to spent a couple of hours on a Sun morning on a gentle run around Stirling. Then we finished with a nice coffee stops. Highly recommended :)

Excellent tour and high value for money. Very close to full score, details could have been communicated more in advance and a bit awkward communication through Cool Destinations are the only negative elements. Warehouse tour with Ian at Lagavulin was the best

Where do I start? Euan is a superb organizer and communicator. Every guide and driver we had was courteous and full of interesting nuggets of information about the locales and the products at Oban, Campbelltown and of course Islay.The coolest surprise was a trip to Campbelltown not originally on our Islay-focused itinerary. I was reunited with my former favorite Springbank that I had given up on because it's almost impossible to buy it without insane markups in California where I live.Glen Goyne was a nice touch as well, and a perfect start to our whisky marathon. The last time I had GG was in 2013 in Phuket, Thailand. Another happy reunion!What is most amazing is Euan took any hint of stress out of the planning, everything from communication to drivers to hotels was seamless. The roads on Islay are challenging to say the least, and our driver and guide Carole there was amazing. We visited the entire island, and went to Kilchoman, Caol Ila, Bunnahabain, Lagavulin, Bruichladdich, Ardbeg and Laphroaig.So amazing to see where these products we enjoy so much come from. An exhilarating feeling really.In Campbelltown, we stayed at the Craigard House hotel, steeped in history and the food there was absolutely Michelin caliber. There was a bizarre moment where we didn't receive flatware for about 10 minutes and the tables were not clean before we were seated. In Islay, we stayed at the Islay House hotel which was a manor akin to Downton Abbey. No food, but Euan was kind enough to provide early warning for us to book dinners well in advance. We had a rather interesting experience at the Bridgend hotel, where we waited 90 minutes for a table, and we were not alone with the wait time issue. However, the food once again was spectacular.The only minor nit I will pick is that the accommodation in Oban was clean, but the hotel Muthu Best Western was functional but way way below what I would ever classify as Platinum. There were many other hotels on the Esplanade we could have had for only a few pounds more, but we didn't do that.All in all, I highly recommend this tour for anyone who is passionate about whisky and does not want or need to plan and organize things themselves. Euan and Carole are stars in my book!

This was a fantastic, one of a kind tour of several amazing distilleries. I would recommend to anyone who loves whiskey and/or is looking to try something a little different. Staff could not have been more helpful. Drivers were prompt, attentive and gave inside scoop you can not get anywhere else. Also, everything was pretty much taken of care of for you. No need to drive anywhere, book any tours, schedule anything. Would 100% recommend and hope to be back to Scotland again to do some of the other tours Whiskywheels has to offer.

This was a great tour- we'd highly recommend it to anyone looking to experience the different distilleries on and on the way to Islay (especially for first timers). The tour was good value for money and took the stress out of planning the trip. All the accommodation was great and we didn't come across any issues throughout. The organiser seemed very willing to accommodate our interests within the premade tour, so anyone who feels that the itinerary is lacking something should get in touch beforehand. Overall great experience!

Great guide to Oban and distillery tour was top notch. The ferry to Islay was a chance to catch 40 winks. On Islay the accommodation was excellent and breakfast was the perfect start. Dougie Mactaggart, our guide round Islay knew just about everything and made sure we got to all of the distilleries there and advised to get the most tastes done. I would happily give him 100 stars for his advice on the island.Fully recommend this tour.