From Highland single malts to Trappist ales, Europe is a cultural hotbed of drinking traditions and craft beer. With monasteries going back centuries and brewing millennia, Scotland, England, Belgium and Germany form a connected journey of ancient trails where you can see the best booze Europe has to offer.
Scotland: Whisky country
Scotland’s most famous long-distance trail, the 96-mile West Highland Way, cuts straight through the heart of whisky country. Starting near Glasgow, the route heads north through Loch Lomond and into the Highlands. It passes many legendary distilleries like Glengoyne and Ben Nevis Distillery.
The trail’s midpoint at Inveroran is a great time to detour slightly towards the nearby Inveroran Hotel, where walkers have been welcomed with drams since 1705. The route skirts Ben Nevis then heads into Fort William, where you can toast your achievement with a Highland single malt while looking out at Britain’s highest peak.
England: Traditional pub culture
England has contributed greatly to ale and pub culture, so this best experienced through the 102-mile Cotswolds Way. Or, if you’re shorter on time, you can complete the Orbis Ways’ 47 miles version.
These villages define the quintessential English countryside. Almost the entire trail is stopping off at yet another village, with yet another centuries-old inn that still serves local cask ales that are brewed on site. You can sit in front of a roaring fire and warm up from the often wet and windy walk.
Highlights include Painswick, which is the “Queen of the Cotswolds.” Here, the Falcon Inn has been serving travellers since the 15th century, and Broadway, which is home to the Russell Arms, has an exceptional selection of local bitters.
Belgium: The beer route through medieval cities
Belgium’s size makes it manageable to get from town to town and see the best of their breweries. As you connect through the medieval beer capitals, the informal “Belgian Beer Route” links Brussels, Ghent and Bruges via regional walking paths.
Brussels has dozens of traditional cafés and the famous Cantillon brewery. Then you can head northwest to the flat Flemish countryside of Ghent, where Trappist traditions have recently seen modern craft innovation. The final stretch to Bruges has some hop-growing regions which have supplied the nation for centuries..
Germany: Bavaria’s beer garden trail
Germany’s segment is great fun, but a big challenge. Heading through Bavaria’s Bier-und-Burgenweg (Beer and Castle Trail), it’s a 500-mile network through the beer heartland. The most accessible section is perhaps from Munich through to the Alps – many traditional beer gardens are around serving mountain hikers, sitting besides fairy-tale castles.
Freising is on the way and is home to the world’s oldest continuously operating brewery (Weihenstephan, founded 1040). You then head through the countryside to beer gardens in towns like Erding and Rosenheim. Despite the long trail, each day’s walk essentially ends at a traditional Biergarten where you can sample a local Weissbier and Märzen and enjoy pretzels and hearty Bavarian fare.
Europe has some of the best alcohol in the world, and this list doesn’t include the wine regions of France, Italy, Slovenia and Georgia. But for whisky and beer, this route can be done continuously without flying, and even continued into Czechia if you have the stomach for it.
