I’ve visited the Highlands of Perthshire many times over the last few years as my sister and her family live there. We stay in Blair Atholl and visit various places in the area with Dunkeld being a particular favourite. As you might expect in an area geared up to tourism in the summer, Perthshire has a wide range of accommodation available from hotels and B&Bs to self catering options like cottages, woodland lodges and caravans, or bring your own tent, camper van or touring caravan.
Getting There: If you are coming from England, Wales or Southern Scotland, it’s a 1.5-2 hour journey to this part of Perthshire from Edinburgh or Glasgow. We usually go by train and it takes about 2 hours from either Edinburgh or Glasgow. You can fly into either Edinburgh or Glasgow airports (or even Inverness or Aberdeen) and use shuttle buses or taxis to connect up to the rail network. By road the journey can be as little as 1.5 hours depending on traffic.
Getting Around: By car is the easiest in a rural area and cars can be hired at the airports or in Pitlochry. It’s far from impossible to get around by public transport. A train service connects Dunkeld & Birnam, Pitlochry and Blair Atholl and whilst you won’t get the frequency of service of a urban line, you can plan a day trip out around the train times. There’s also a bus service between Blair Atholl and Pitlochry and from Pitlochry you can get buses to a range of other places.
Places to Stay: I haven’t personally stayed in any accommodation, but would suggest the following: The Firs Guesthouse (I’ve heard good reports about this one) and Ptarmigan House (will be able to see trains from grounds and some of the rooms so good for the train mad) as B&Bs and the Woodland Lodges for Self Catering.
In Blair Atholl: The main attraction in Blair Atholl is Blair Castle. It’s a impressive Scottish castle and its dazzling white walls stand out in the surrounding landscape. There’s plenty to do here and you can easily spend a day here. There’s the house itself with its impressive weaponry display in the entrance hall. The Hercules Garden is a wonderful walled garden with ornamental ponds; bridges; nesting swans; ducks with duck house; an orchard; flowers and vegetables. There are some great walks through the grounds particularly through Diana’s grove and the ruined St.Brides Kirk (church).
Children will enjoy seeing the various animals in the fields along the castle drive. On our last visit we saw sheep, cows, deer (in a field near the castle), chickens and their respective young. You can take a tractor ride (specified days summer only) around the grounds or the estate depending on the time of year. There’s also a children’s playground which is suitable for older children up into their teens – my 4 year old could use some items with assistance.
The village boasts a working watermill with a tearoom and bakery. The bread is outstanding and can be bought to take away. There are some lovely cakes in the cafe and there’s a small giftshop where you can buy the flour and oatmeal ground by the mill plus a selection of Scottish products. It’s free to look around the mill and see the equipment or watch the waterwheel go round – my son watched this for ages absolutely transfixed.
On a practical level there are 2 pubs, 2 general stores, a cashpoint, a post office, cafe/takeaway, visiting mobile bank service and a lovely giftshop near the train station. A few miles away by car, but accessible by bus too, is the House of Bruar which is a shopping complex specialising in Scottish products from clothing to food.
There are plenty of lovely walks available and children will love throwing pebbles in the River Tilt that flows through the village. There are also 2 playgrounds: one at Blair Castle caravan park and another in the village behind the village hall.
In Dunkeld and Birnam: Dunkeld is a very picturesque town and well worth a wander round. There’s a cathedral, the river and a range of pretty shops including a fabulous deli. If you want to eat there, there are some lovely cafes and a few pubs to choose from or you could pick up a picnic from the deli.
Birnam is the neighbouring village and it’s an easy walk away (they share the same railway station). Birnam is, of course, famous for its woods which get a mention in Macbeth. A walk beside the river will take you to the famous Birnam Oak which is an ancient tree which is hollow and its lower branches are supported on crutches. There’s a couple of nice playgrounds in Birnam: one on the road between Dunkeld and Birnam by the Royal Dunkeld School and another between the Birnam Inn and the Birnam Oak.
My favourite place in Birnam is the Beatrix Potter Exhibition within the Birnam Art Institute. It’s full of activities for children: a school, a shop, puppet show, washing line and iron, dressing up costumes, books, jigsaws, etc. with a Beatrix Potter theme. My son would happily spend all day there playing. The Institute has a pleasant cafe too.
Overall: A great area to visit with the family especially if you enjoy the outdoors. The scenery is stunning and I’d recommend going in late spring/early summer so Easter, Whitsun or July school holidays. If the sun shines in these months it feels like you’re in Arcadia and even if it doesn’t the mountains are majestic.
I am from Pitlochry, and now live about a 30 min drive away. The ‘Green Bridge’ is always fun for the kids – I used to love bouncing up and down on the suspension bridge, and now my children love it too. The Pitlochry Festival Theater always has some tasty food or cakes on offer and children are mesmerised by the Dam when the gates are open and the water is gushing out.
For the more adventurous there is also several local companies in the Ballinluig/Grandtully/Kenmore area providing outdoor activities including White Water Rafting, Sphereing and a new Bungee Jump at the Gary Bridge for those with a strong stomach – not me though!!! x
Yes, Pitlochry’s a great place to visit too. Thanks for the suggestions – some ideas for my next visit.
what a lovely review – I will be sure to have a good mosey round if I’m ever in the area xx thanks for popping by my blog – Im following you now x
Sounds like you’ve had a lovely time away.
My Mum used to take us for day trips up there when we were growing up. The two places that stick in my mind are the Falls of Bruar, although you have to keep a very close eye on young children due to the steep drops, and Pitlochry Dam, Visitor’s Centre & Salmon Ladder. I was never lucky enough to see the dam when it was open but I do remember watching the salmon jump clean out of the water to make their way up.
Thanks for your comments. I’ve always fancied trying that Falls of Bruar walk, but apart from the steep drops, I’m not sure my son has the stamina for it yet. Hopefully, we’ll be able to try that in the not too distant future. I’ve never seen the Pitlochry Dam open either, but it must be a wonderful site. I’d love to see the salmon jumping.
Sounds like a really lovely place to visit.
Hi Erica, very belatedly I just followed a link from Britmums to check out your review – I thought it was great and really helpful, any would be visitor is left in no doubt about what’s on offer and while the press may have certain conventions about what they want to see in a review, your audience will find yours really useful. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Linda
Thanks for taking the time to visit. I really enjoyed writing that review as it’s about a place I love visiting. Part of me felt I was saying goodbye to it as my sister has moved away now so I won’t go there as regularly and I wanted to do it justice.
Erica
Just seen your later reviews – I don’t live very far away from Wightwick and have never been – sounds like they could be a bit more child friendly.
Yes, Linda. I love visiting Wightwick (I’m quite local too) , but I feel for most children it’s probably only an out of doors option because of the guided tour. Hopefully, catering facilities will improve soon as they have plans to expand that side.