A nip around Scotland by Keith Boardman & Peter Bevan
On Sunday 26th June 2005 Keith Boardman and Peter Bevan, from the Scottish Aero Club at Perth, established what they believe to be a unique record.
They flew over and photographed all of the malt whisky distilleries in Scotland, from the air, between dawn and dusk. Although conceived as a personal challenge, Keith & Peter obtained sponsorship from fellow flying club members and work colleagues to the tune of around £2000 for the Scottish Motor Neurone Disease Association.
The trip was made in a small two-seater Robin aircraft based at Perth, taking off at 5:40 and landing at 21:50 after 13 hours 40 mins flying time and distance covered over 1000 nautical miles. Air BP generously donated the majority of the fuel and the distilleries at Arran, Dalwhinnie and The Famous Grouse kindly donated bottles of whisky to be raffled to raise additional funds.
104 distilleries were identified during planning, and a route planned to over-fly them all. Whilst a few were missed in the photographs (especially in the very complex Speyside area) a couple of extra ones were subsequently identified in the photos, making a total of 100 confirmed.
Anyone wishing to make a donation to the Scottish Motor Neurone Disease Association can send a cheque to The Scottish Motor Neurone Disease Association, Glasgow B20 7BA, making reference to “A ‘nip’ around Scotland”, or consult their web-site at www.scotmnd.org.uk.