HERE is the first look at the eagerly-anticipated Ardgowan Distillery which is set to provide a huge tourist boost to the area.

Construction will finally start on the multi-million pound project later this year, the News can reveal.

Ambitious plans to build the distillery and visitor centre on the Ardgowan Estate near Inverkip were hit by the pandemic, which caused major delays to the project.

It is expected to bring jobs, investment and tourism opportunities to the area.

It looks to utilise the history of Ardgowan Estate and its links with Sir Robert the Bruce through the visitor centre, shop and cafe.

The vision is to produce a flagship seven-year-old lowland single malt with a maritime influence that will become the venture's signature drink.

Initial designs first surfaced submitted for the project three years ago, but now the vision is complete and the management group are looking to secure the final investment required to make it a reality.

Ardgowan Distillery CEO Martin McAdam says: "All is going well with the distillery project.

“Like many businesses in the pandemic we have moved online and over the last 12 months have built up a terrific fanbase for our Clydebuilt series of whiskies, made by our Inverkip-based master whisky maker Max McFarlane.

“Our Coppersmith blended malt has proved extremely popular and we are about to release the next whisky in the series in April – and we look forward to revealing it really soon.

“It has been a tough fundraising environment, but we have a very strong shareholder base and hope to announce some major new funding soon.

"The plan is to start work on the distillery's construction later this year.”

The new distillery will be built in a cluster of ancient farm buildings on Ardgowan Estate’s Bankfoot site, which has been, at various times, stables, a coal gasification plant, a sawmill and an equestrian arena.

The structure will be created in a manner which is sympathetic to the existing cut stone and brick buildings situated on the land.

Martin added: "Many of the original engineering and architectural drawings dating back to the 1800s for the buildings at Bankfoot are available and will form part of the distillery visitor experience.

"It is an exciting time and we are looking forward to moving the project forward."