We stumbled upon Johnstons of Elgin during our Scottish Tour and decided to make a quick stop. We loved the dainty cafe' inside with fresh food and great service and wished we could have spent more time visiting the mill and the entire operation. The store had a wide array of clothing- alas they felt a bit pricey for us. We hope to be back next time we are in Scotland. read more

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Wow. I'm kind of in love with this place. This is a vertical business, meaning they source the wool locally and spin, dye and weave it at their B Corp certified mill, employing a staff second only to Scotland's largest employer, Walker's, of shortbread fame. Johnston's has been granted both Royal Warrant of Appointment for Manufacturing Estate Tweeds, Knitwear and Woven Accessories and The King's Award for Enterprise: International Trade 2024. And they keep bees, just because it's in line with their environmentally conscious, B Corp rated way of thinking. I admit, the tour we took was not high on my list of things to do in Scotland, but that was before I took the tour. It was very informative and educational, and I so enjoyed seeing the production end of things. I took a ton of pictures and geeked out a bit about midway through. The items in the shop are high end, meaning pricey, but so clearly way above average and of exceptional quality. I happily succumbed. read more

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My husband and I went to Johnstons of Elgin as part of a Scottish Highlands tour. When I saw this item on the itinerary, I assumed it was just a shopping stop. I could not have been more wrong! First, we had lunch at the cafe. It was simple lunch fare (with a very tempting bakery case) and was quite good. We both ordered sandwiches and I had a hot chocolate while my husband ordered a local Speyside beer. The cafe was comfortable and everything was tasty. After lunch, we took the tour of the mill. It was fascinating! To see the entire production process from cleaning the fiber, to dyeing, spinning the yarn, etc. was extremely interesting. It was hard to believe these enormous, greasy machines could produce such clean yarn and cloth. And whose job is it to clean all of the stray fluff off of the gears? Yikes! Our guide explained everything very well. Who knew that when cashmere cloth is woven it is rough, and its softness comes from running a specific dried plant "cone" over it??? Watching the quality control process to catch any flaws in the cloth before it is used for a final product was incredible (my eyes were tired just watching the expert!). Even my husband found the tour and process very interesting. There is a large shop selling all things Johnstons of Elgin. It isn't cheap, but there is a range of products, from gloves, socks, and scarves to sweaters, blazers, etc. Ask about their seconds. There was a small stack of items by the register (wool and cashmere) that are considered seconds (e.g., the last scarf cut from a piece of cloth may be an inch shorter than standard) and they were extremely inexpensive. If you are in the area, I would say that lunch and a tour at Johnstons, with a little shopping afterward, is a must. Plan an hour and a half to eat, tour, and shop. It is also worth running across the street to see the ruins of Elgin Cathedral while you are there. read more

The sweaters are indeed quite expensive, but what I really wanted was socks, and they had none. None in the whole store! Come on, you have to stock something lower-range for people who don't want to spend a week's wages on sweaters. I thought of settling for a scarf, but I have several scarves, including a Scottish wool one from my previous trip, so I passed. read more

Lovely mill shop selling their own brand cashmere and products made for other labels , such as Brora , Barbour and Joules . Also a great homeware shop similar to Anta , however it is a tad expensive . There is a great cafe / restaurant on site and hand on heart, they have the best empire biscuits ever . Also included is a lovely lunch menu and the produce is sourced locally and beautifully prepared . On a rainy day in Elgin you could spend hours here, just watch your wallet though , it's tempting to buy now and regret later when the credit card bill comes in . read more

My review is for the coffee shop... It wasn't great but wasn't too bad. The pea & ham soup was hearty & good but too salty. I had the ploughman's platter with gluten free bread. It was pretty much two hunks of liver wurst, two hunks o' cheese, a little bit if salad and three bread triangles. It wasn't bad, but then I do like liver wurst. Lastly I had the hot salmon salad bowl. Salmon was cold--though I think by hot the mean cooked. It was fair though pretty heavy on the capers and olives. I think, were I to come again, I would have one of the club sandwiches. They look a bit more interesting than what I ordered. The also have a fine collection of scones. read more

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A cashmere outlet store! If you like cashmere and you like outlet stores, this is the store for you. Granted, Scottish cashmere still isn't cheap despite being on sale, but the selection is incredible. There are all kinds of other woolen items, books, and inexpensive souvenirs if you don't want to buy a sweater for everyone. read more

Quality products - terrible service in the cafe and the most rude saleswomen I've ever encountered. Feel free to skip it.