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“Pitlochry is well sited as a base for day touring.”

From the Blue Guide to Scotland, 1986

If you want to travel further afield, there are many places of interest within short distances of Pitlochry

within short

Dunkeld

Dunkeld is a twenty-minute drive from Pitlochry. It is the original Highland Perthshire town, having survived for more than a thousand years. For much of that time it was an important centre for church affairs. Today many visitors come to its ancient Cathedral, part of which is a magnificent ruin with the remainder still in daily use by the local congregation.

The Cathedral’s beautiful grounds and the approach through the “Little Houses” enhance the experience.

Look out, also, for Thomas Telford’s magnificent bridge over the Tay, with its original toll house. You can’t miss it if you enter Dunkeld from the direction of the A9 road.

Nearby is The Hermitage, an 18th century wild tree garden set on the banks of the River Braan. This is a popular attraction whose car parks are full all the year round.

Dunkeld Cathedral

Aberfeldy

A twenty-minute drive to the south-west of Pitlochry brings you to Aberfeldy, a town with historical associations as well as many up-to-date activities.

General Wade built his famous bridge over the River Tay in 1733 as part of his road-building project to open up the Highlands. So good was his construction that the Bridge continues to be used by traffic almost three hundred years later. Nearby is the impressive monument to the first muster of the Black Watch regiment in 1740.

Robert Burns, perhaps Scotland’s best known poet, visited in 1787 and walked amongst “The Birks o’ Aberfeldy”. He was so impressed that he wrote his song of the same name. You can walk in his footsteps, today. You might try writing a song, too.

The area around Aberfeldy is rich in attractions. On the shores of Loch Tay is the conservation village of Kenmore while a little further brings you to the award-winning Scottish Crannog Centre with its reconstruction of an Iron Age stilt dwelling.

Loch Tay, itself, is a centre for sailing. Take your pick from water skiing, canoeing, windsurfing or a gentler cruise.

Birnam

Dunkeld’s close neighbour is Birnam, a Victorian settlement where a park and museum commemorate Beatrix Potter’s association with the area. She and her family resided at several addresses during eleven summers. With the help of a number of local residents she developed the appreciation of natural history and drawing which led to her books, still-famous after a hundred years.

William Shakespeare placed Birnam Wood in his play about Macbeth, King of Scotland. The Wood is long gone but one oak tree survives, reputedly dating from Macbeth’s time. The Birnam Oak is one more of the area’s (possible) links with our history.