| Even though Perthshire isn't spread over a large
area, there are still so many things to see and do while you are here. Sports and leisure
pastimes, quiet walks in the countryside - or visits to museums, castles and parks. You
may, for example, choose to play a few rounds of golf, or do a spot of fishing. You could,
however, choose something more energetic like sailing, skiing or off road driving.
For those of you who would like to try their hand at something slightly different, there
is pony trekking and horse riding as well as the ancient sport of falconry. Perthshire, at the geographical heart of Scotland, has also been at the
centre of the nations history on countless occasions. Kings and queens, armies and
generals, poets and artists - all have passed this way, leaving behind a rich legacy of
castles, churches, battlefields and other historical sites. Today's visitors will discover
countless mementos of Perthshire's past as they travel through the area.
Pitlochry
is a delightful Victorian town nestling in the Perthshire Highlands amidst some of the
most beautiful scenery in Europe. Perth
- the "Fair City" - lies at the heart of Scotland. Here, at the nation's
crossroads and on the banks of the great River Tay, has grown an attractive, compact and
prosperous city; a city that has welcomed visitors for centuries. Just three and half
miles north is the Pass of Killiecrankie.
Few, if any small towns have held such a significant place in
Scottish history as Dunkeld.
The little, whitewashed, town is one of the gems of Perthshire. Visitors cannot fail to be
impressed by its charm and peaceful character, and its magnificent setting amidst wooded
crags on the River Tay is unmatched in Scotland. Dunkeld first rose to prominence as a
Pictish stronghold in pre-Christian times, and received a further boost when it was
proclaimed the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland by the country's first king, Kenneth MacAlpin, in the year 850 AD.
Blairgowrie
is one of Scotland's finest holiday centres. Ideally placed at the junction of five
important routes through Perthshire, the town is an excellent touring base for all the
scenic features for which Scotland is famous - mountains, glens, lochs and rivers. Its
surrounding villages each have their own charm, and there is an outstanding variety of
places to visit.
The town of Auchterarder
itself bustles with activity during its summer highland games and Gala Week and, with Glen
Eagles Hotel close by, golf also attracts many visitors. Balloonists, antique hunters and
history lovers are also drawn here. Razed to the ground by the retreating Jacobites
after their defeat at Sherrifmuir in 1715, Auchterarder's architecture dates from the 18th
century but, at nearby Dunning, you can see a 12th century Norman Tower of St. Serf's
Church, a standing stone that commemorates the battle of Duncrub in 964 AD, and Maggie
Wall's Monument - testiment to the unfortunate victim of a witch hunt.
Dunning is
steeped in history from the earliest times; there is an iron-age fort on
the Dun Knock and a 1st century AD Roman camp at Kincladie and is
nine miles south of Perth, just off the A9 to Stirling.
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