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Still house from North-West, Balmenach Distillery, Highland.
Balmenach Distillery was formally established in 1824, when legend has it James Macgregor was visited by an exciseman who advised him to 'take out a license on yon peat shed' in which he had been illicitly distilling whisky. Like most distilleries it has been renovated and has changed hands several times in the course of its history, before being 'mothballed' in 1993. It was acquired by Inver House distillers in 1997, and is now once more in use.

This shows the copper pot stills in the still house. These are used to heat the wash from the fermentation process until the alcohol vaporizes and passes over the lyne arm (narrow tube at the top of each still) and is condensed in the worm tubs (coiled copper tubes in tanks of cold water) outside. The spirit safe is also visible (centre).

Stills are arranged in pairs. The wash still creates an impure product called 'low wines', which passes through the spirit safe to be distilled once more in the spirit still. Each distillery attributes part of the flavour of the finished whisky to the unique shape of their own stills and the circumstances of the spirit's maturation. This photograph was taken in 1988.

Entrance arch, North lodge and railway bridge at Castle Grant, Highland, photographed in 1993.

Incised Pictish symbol stones at Parc-an-Caipal, Congash, Highland. The lithograph is from J Stuart, The Sculptured Stones of Scotland, 1867.

RAF photograph of Grantown on Spey, Highland, taken in 1948.