Stannergill Distillery: A Highlands Historical Landmark Is Transformed into a Distillery

For decades, the old Castletown Mill stood silent on Scotland’s rugged Northern Highlands coast—a fading reminder of the industrial past of this northernmost tip of mainland Scotland, where the Orkney islands lie just 10 miles off the coast. Now the founders of nearby Dunnet Bay Distillers, best known for Rock Rose gin, have completed a multi-million-dollar restoration of the historic building to transform it into Stannergill Distillery.

Castletown is situated at the southern end of the surfer’s paradise of Dunnet Bay, on the road between Thurso and John O’Groats. In its early 19^th-century heyday, the village was famous for producing flagstones for sidewalks. The Castletown mill and grain store was built over 200 years ago; an imposing T-shaped structure with thick walls of Caithness stone and stepped gables. The millers stopped work there nearly a century ago, when the mill was closed in 1930. The buildings were sold to a local butcher for use as a slaughterhouse, and then commandeered during World War II as an equipment store by the Royal Air Force. By 1991, however, the structure was long abandoned and derelict. Much of the roof was missing, hastening the building’s descent into ruin.

Twenty years ago, a charity led by Prince Charles (now King Charles III) launched a major heritage initiative in the area, which included plans for restoring and preserving Castletown Mill for residential, retail, or hospitality use. No serious proposal came forward until November 2020, when husband-and-wife team Claire and Martin Murray, founders of Dunnet Bay Distillers, stepped in and purchased Castletown Mill with the intent to convert it into a distillery. Now the mill stands once again at the entrance to the village, ready to take its place as a new destination for whisky lovers on the North Coast 500, welcoming visitors to its café and restaurant. At the heart of the restoration is Stannergill Distillery, which is set to go into full production in late March 2026. It joins a cluster of other scotch distilleries in Caithness, including Wolfburn, North Point, 8 Doors, and Old Pulteney. The name Stannergill, derived from Old Norse, means a stone-sided gorge or canyon. The Stannergill Burn once powered the water wheel at Castletown Mill, turning the millstones to grind bere barley and other grains into flour.

Stannergill Distillery will produce 80,000 liters of pure alcohol per year, making it larger than Daftmill, but slightly smaller than Nc’nean. The team plans to use locally grown barley, with milling returning to the facility for the first time since 1930. Water will be drawn from an on-site borehole, and the distillery is equipped with a one-ton mash tun and four Douglas fir washbacks, which each hold 5,000 liters. Fermentation will take 96–120 hours. The still room has a 5,000-liter wash still and a 3,500-liter spirit still.

They plan to mature the spirit in sherry and bourbon casks, and Stannergill aims to combine Speyside-style elegance with Highland coastal character.

Tours, tastings, and the distillery bar will be open beginning in April 2026, and with the mill restoration now complete, the team is crowdfunding to encourage the local community, Caithness diaspora, and whisky enthusiasts to help finance the construction of a new maturation warehouse and support the expansion of the team in exchange for exclusive Stannergill experiences and limited-edition releases. The restoration of Castletown Mill breathes new life into the community while safeguarding the heritage of the mill as a cultural landmark, along with the prospect of a new Highland single malt to look forward to in the years ahead.