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Situated at the gateway to
the Scottish Highlands and surrounded by the most resplendent mountain scenery in Europe,
Pitlochry is a gloriously colourful and vibrant Victorian town with the River Tummel
running along its edge. Pitlochry’s fame as a holiday resort dates from as long ago
as the 1960s ensuring that this is an area very proud of its tourism traditions and the
extraordinarily warm manner with which visitors are welcomed. An absolute must for any visitor to Pitlochry is one of the town’s best loved attractions, Pitlochry Dam and Fish Ladder. Here you will be fascinated by the sight of salmon negotiating the specially constructed ladder allowing them to bypass Pitlochry Dam into man made Loch Faskally. No holiday in the Pitlochry area is complete without a visit to ‘Scotland’s Theatre in the Hills’. The Pitlochry Festival Theatre lies on the banks of the River Tummel and is internationally renowned for its fine repertoire of drama and comedy. In Pitlochry town centre the splendidly restored Victorian buildings of Atholl Road offer a wide range of restaurants and specialist gift shops to suit discerning buyers. At Heathergems the crafts people can be viewed turning the stems of the heather pulled from the Perthshire Hills into attractive and unusual jewellery. You are sure to be overwhelmed by the sheer choice of things to see and do in Pitlochry and its surrounding countryside; battles; castles; lochs and breathtaking views. In the conservation village of Moulin where a church has stood for at least 1400 years there is a gravestone reputed to be that of a Crusader. One mile west of Pitlochry stands the richly sculptured Pictish Dunfallandy Stone which you can visit at any time to the year, Three miles north of Pitlochry visit the outstandingly beautiful Pass of Killiecrankie. The story of the famous battle in this tree lined gorge now in the care of The National Trust for Scotland is a feature of the Visitor Centre. Also located at Killiecrankie is a Reserve managed by the RSPB. The Vale of Atholl Pipe Band holds a very enjoyable Highland Night in the Recreation Field every Monday night from the end of May until the beginning of October. |
Another must on any
itinerary of Pitlochry is Blair Atholl, home to the magnificent Blair Castle, seat of the
Dukes of Atholl. The castle has 32 rooms open to the public and a wealth of arms,
porcelain, paintings and other objects d’art. Blair Castle International Horse Trials
are held in the challenging grounds of the castle and have become a major event here every
August followed in turn by the entertaining sheep dog trials. Blair Atholl itself is a friendly, traditional stone built village with something for everyone, be it family fun nights, pony trekking, mountain biking or golfing. The Atholl Ranger service offers guided walks around the local environment. Other village highlights include the Atholl Country Collection, a fascinating folk museum portraying Highland Life in a bygone era and a working water mill. The House of Bruar situated on the outskirts of the village is known as the 'Harrods' of Scotland and has a lovely walk to the Falls of Bruar for those not wishing to participate in this fantastic shopping outlet. Travel west on the B8019, the ‘Road to the Isles’ and take time to stop at the Queen’s View and through Tummel Bridge to Loch Rannoch and the quiet picturesque village of Kinloch Rannoch, which is dominated by the conical shaped Schiehaallion. In 1772 its 3554’ mass was the focus of an experiment to measure the density of the earth. Follow the lochside Clan Trail, making a detour to where the road ends at the remote Rannoch Station. From here, the renowned West Highland Railway Line crosses one of Europe’s last remaining wilderness, Rannoch Moor. As you’ll soon discover no day is long enough. Call in at Pitlochry Tourist Information Centre, whose staff will be happy to answer all your holiday questions. And if you can’t fit it all in we’ll look forward to welcoming you back.
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