Dalwhinnie
Dalwhinnie is located in Badenoch and Strathspey
Dalwhinnie
Dalwhinnie
Location within the Badenoch and Strathspey area
OS grid referenceNN634849
Council area
CountryScotland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townDalwhinnie
Postcode districtPH19
Dialling code015282
PoliceScotland
FireScottish
AmbulanceScottish
UK Parliament
Scottish Parliament

Dalwhinnie (/dælˈhwɪni/ dal-WHIN-ee; Scottish Gaelic: Dail Chuinnidh "meeting place") is a small village in the Scottish Highlands.[1] Dalwhinnie is located at the head of Glen Truim and the north-east end of Loch Ericht, on the western edge of the Cairngorms National Park.

Location

Dalwhinnie sits at an altitude of 351 m (1,152 ft). It is one of the coldest villages in the UK, having an average annual temperature of 6.6 °C (43.9 °F), making it suitable for winter walking and mountaineering.

It is north of Drumochter, just off the A9 road from Perth to Inverness and has been bypassed since 1975. It is about 75 miles (121 km) from both Edinburgh and Glasgow, 25 miles (40 km) from Aviemore, 13 miles (21 km) from Newtonmore and 17 miles (27 km) from Kingussie. Dalwhinnie railway station lies on the Highland Main Line from Perth to Inverness.

Tourism

The area is walking destination along the River Truim and in Cairngorm and Monadhliath Mountains in the Cairngorm National Park.[2]

Dalwhinnie is on the Sustrans National Cycle Route 7, Glasgow to Inverness. There are several cycle routes in the area including one alongside Loch Ericht.

Loch Ericht Hotel stands on the banks of the River Truim.[3]

Distillery

Diageo owns the local distillery, the highest-elevation working distillery in Scotland. Dalwhinnie Single Malt is a light, heathery whisky.[4]

Climate

Dalwhinnie experiences a subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc) that very closely borders a humid continental climate (Dfb) with strong influences of an oceanic climate (Cfb), a climate very rare for a UK town.

Skies are frequently overcast with cool temperatures and rainfall throughout the year. Sunshine here averages only 1,032 hours, which is one of the lowest in the United Kingdom.

Dalwhinnie holds the UK low temperature records for the months of June, September and October.[5] In addition, it also holds Scotland's record for the lowest April daytime maximum temperature of −1.0 °C (30.2 °F) in 1975, and the record lowest October temperature for the United Kingdom of −11.7 °C (10.9 °F).[6]

For the 1951–1980 observation period, it averaged a temperature of 6.3 °C (43.3 °F) compared to Braemar's 6.4 °C (43.5 °F),[7] making Dalwhinnie one of the coldest inhabited places in the British Isles.

According to the 1981–2010 observation period, Dalwhinnie is the coldest place in the UK below 500 metres above sea level, with a mean temperature of 6.6 °C (43.9 °F),[8] lower than Leadhills and Braemar which both have mean temperatures of 6.8 °C (44.2 °F) for this period.

The lowest temperatures in recent years have been −15.8 °C (3.6 °F) in January 2010[9] and −16.1 °C (3.0 °F) during December 2010. Winter snowfall can be heavy, with accumulations often exceeding 30 cm (12 in).[10]

Climate data for Dalwhinnie, Elevation: 351 m (1,152 ft), 1991–2020
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 4.6
(40.3)		 4.9
(40.8)		 6.7
(44.1)		 9.8
(49.6)		 13.3
(55.9)		 15.4
(59.7)		 17.1
(62.8)		 16.6
(61.9)		 14.3
(57.7)		 10.5
(50.9)		 7.1
(44.8)		 4.9
(40.8)		 10.4
(50.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) 1.8
(35.2)		 1.9
(35.4)		 3.4
(38.1)		 5.7
(42.3)		 8.5
(47.3)		 11.2
(52.2)		 13.0
(55.4)		 12.6
(54.7)		 10.6
(51.1)		 7.3
(45.1)		 4.2
(39.6)		 1.9
(35.4)		 6.8
(44.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −1.0
(30.2)		 −1.0
(30.2)		 0.0
(32.0)		 1.7
(35.1)		 3.8
(38.8)		 7.0
(44.6)		 9.0
(48.2)		 8.7
(47.7)		 6.9
(44.4)		 4.1
(39.4)		 1.4
(34.5)		 −1.2
(29.8)		 3.3
(37.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 170.7
(6.72)		 119.6
(4.71)		 106.3
(4.19)		 69.3
(2.73)		 75.6
(2.98)		 68.9
(2.71)		 73.4
(2.89)		 84.9
(3.34)		 89.4
(3.52)		 136.1
(5.36)		 142.8
(5.62)		 145.5
(5.73)		 1,282.5
(50.5)
Source: Met Office[11]
Climate data for Dalwhinnie (359 m asl, averages 1951–1980, sunshine 1931–1960, extremes 1951–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 13.3
(55.9)		 11.7
(53.1)		 17.2
(63.0)		 19.4
(66.9)		 25.6
(78.1)		 28.8
(83.8)		 30.0
(86.0)		 27.2
(81.0)		 23.3
(73.9)		 20.6
(69.1)		 15.6
(60.1)		 13.3
(55.9)		 30.0
(86.0)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 2.7
(36.9)		 3.4
(38.1)		 6.2
(43.2)		 9.3
(48.7)		 12.8
(55.0)		 15.8
(60.4)		 16.7
(62.1)		 16.4
(61.5)		 13.7
(56.7)		 9.8
(49.6)		 6.2
(43.2)		 4.0
(39.2)		 9.8
(49.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) 0.3
(32.5)		 0.7
(33.3)		 2.8
(37.0)		 5.1
(41.2)		 7.9
(46.2)		 10.9
(51.6)		 12.5
(54.5)		 12.2
(54.0)		 10
(50)		 6.8
(44.2)		 3.7
(38.7)		 1.9
(35.4)		 6.2
(43.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −2.1
(28.2)		 −2.0
(28.4)		 −0.7
(30.7)		 0.8
(33.4)		 3.1
(37.6)		 6.1
(43.0)		 8.2
(46.8)		 8.0
(46.4)		 6.2
(43.2)		 3.8
(38.8)		 1.2
(34.2)		 −0.3
(31.5)		 2.7
(36.9)
Record low °C (°F) −20.6
(−5.1)		 −21.7
(−7.1)		 −17.8
(0.0)		 −10
(14)		 −7.2
(19.0)		 −5.6
(21.9)		 −1.7
(28.9)		 −2.8
(27.0)		 −6.7
(19.9)		 −11.7
(10.9)		 −17.2
(1.0)		 −18.3
(−0.9)		 −21.7
(−7.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 133
(5.2)		 97
(3.8)		 70
(2.8)		 78
(3.1)		 69
(2.7)		 66
(2.6)		 90
(3.5)		 85
(3.3)		 103
(4.1)		 143
(5.6)		 125
(4.9)		 158
(6.2)		 1,217
(47.9)
Mean monthly sunshine hours 27 51 92 118 158 150 121 115 91 61 31 17 1,032
Source 1: Globalbioclimatics/Salvador Rivas-Martínez[12]
Source 2: DMI/Danish Meteorology Institute - page 254[13]
Climate data for Dalwhinnie No 2 (351m elevation) 1981–2010
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 4.3
(39.7)		 4.5
(40.1)		 6.4
(43.5)		 9.4
(48.9)		 13.0
(55.4)		 15.3
(59.5)		 17.2
(63.0)		 16.6
(61.9)		 13.9
(57.0)		 10.2
(50.4)		 6.8
(44.2)		 4.6
(40.3)		 10.2
(50.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −1.4
(29.5)		 −1.4
(29.5)		 −0.2
(31.6)		 1.3
(34.3)		 3.6
(38.5)		 6.6
(43.9)		 8.9
(48.0)		 8.5
(47.3)		 6.5
(43.7)		 3.9
(39.0)		 1.2
(34.2)		 −1.5
(29.3)		 3.0
(37.4)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 179.0
(7.05)		 123.7
(4.87)		 127.0
(5.00)		 63.7
(2.51)		 70.0
(2.76)		 64.5
(2.54)		 68.7
(2.70)		 79.9
(3.15)		 99.8
(3.93)		 147.2
(5.80)		 143.1
(5.63)		 137.4
(5.41)		 1,304
(51.34)
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) 18.5 15.4 17.4 13.7 12.9 12.6 13.2 13.6 14.1 18.5 17.4 16.3 183.6
Mean monthly sunshine hours 24.9 56.4 87.7 127.3 165.6 135.8 135.1 128.2 99.9 66.7 31.8 17.6 1,077.2
Source: metoffice.gov.uk[14]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Dalwhinnie". The Gazetteer for Scotland. School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh and The Royal Scottish Geographical Society. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  2. ↑ "Cairngorms National Park". Cairngorms National Park Authority. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  3. ↑ Dalwhinnie, Loch Ericht Hotel - Canmore
  4. ↑ "Dalwhinnie Distillery". Whisky.com Database. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  5. ↑ "Monthly Cold records". TORRO.org. Archived from the original on 5 February 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  6. ↑ "Monthly records". UKMO. Archived from the original on 6 February 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  7. ↑ "Average Temperature". Scotclim. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  8. ↑ "Dalwhinnie climate information". Met Office. 1 May 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2015.
  9. ↑ Rogers, Simon (7 January 2010). "Jan2010 temperature". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  10. ↑ "Dec2010 temperature". UKMO. 22 December 2010. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  11. ↑ "Dalwhinnie Climate". Met Office. Retrieved 25 November 2023.
  12. ↑ "Temp/Rain 1901-1950". Globalbioclimatics. April 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  13. ↑ "Sunshine 1931-1960" (PDF). DMI.DK. April 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  14. ↑ "Climate Normals 1981–2010". Met Office. Retrieved 24 February 2021.
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