Dalwhinnie
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.
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.
Distillery
Diageo owns the local distillery, the highest-elevation working distillery in Scotland. Dalwhinnie Single Malt is a light, heathery whisky.
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. 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).
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), 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), 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 and −16.1 °C (3.0 °F) during December 2010. Winter snowfall can be heavy, with accumulations often exceeding 30 cm (12 in).
| 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 | |||||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: DMI/Danish Meteorology Institute - page 254 | |||||||||||||
| 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 | |||||||||||||
See also
- Centre points of the United Kingdom
- Battle of Invernahavon - the remnants of a party of Clan Cameron raiders escaped via Dalwhinnie after their defeat by the Chattan Confederation south west of Newtonmore in this 14th century battle.