Perth & Kinross
Highland Perthshire and the Blairgowrie berry country - Pitlochry and its Festival Theatre, Blair Castle at Blair Atholl, Aberfeldy and Dewar's distillery, Dunkeld's cathedral, Loch Tay and Schiehallion, with the Glenshee road climbing north from Blairgowrie.
Plan your visit
Perth & Kinross is the big county at the geographic heart of Scotland, and its northern half - Highland Perthshire - is where the Lowlands visibly give way to the Highlands. Pitlochry, Dunkeld, Aberfeldy and Blair Atholl string along the A9 and the Tay valley under some of the tallest trees in Britain. Blairgowrie sits to the east among the soft-fruit fields of Strathmore, at the foot of the Glenshee road.
Getting there
The A9 from Perth carries you to Dunkeld, Pitlochry and Blair Atholl, all three of which also have stations on the Highland Main Line between Perth and Inverness. Blairgowrie is 15 miles north of Perth on the A93, which continues over the Cairnwell pass at Glenshee - the highest main road in Britain - toward Braemar and Deeside. Aberfeldy sits off the A9 on the A827 up the Tay.
When to go
Year-round. Autumn is the signature season - Perthshire trades as Big Tree Country and the beech and larch colour around Dunkeld, the Hermitage and Faskally is the best in Scotland, with Pitlochry's Enchanted Forest light festival running through October. Summer brings the berry harvest around Blairgowrie and long days on Loch Tay. Winter brings snowsports at Glenshee.
Plan your trip
Take the printed map with you.
Full-colour, OS-grade fold-out maps cover Scotland region by region — free where you travel, the same ones you've found at ferry ports and visitor centres for over 20 years.
Pitlochry is the hub - a Victorian resort town that grew up with the Highland railway, holding the Festival Theatre on the far bank of the Tummel, the dam and salmon ladder on Loch Faskally, and Bell’s Blair Athol distillery at the south end of the main street. North again, Blair Atholl is estate country: Blair Castle, white against Glen Garry, is the seat of the Dukes of Atholl and home of the Atholl Highlanders, Europe’s only legal private army.
Dunkeld, half an hour south, is the prettiest town in the strath - the half-ruined medieval cathedral on the Tay, the little square of Georgian streets rebuilt after the 1689 battle, and the Hermitage woodland walk under Douglas firs that count among the tallest trees in Britain. Aberfeldy sits west up the Tay with Dewar’s distillery, Wade’s bridge and the Birks. Kenmore closes the strath at the foot of Loch Tay, with Schiehallion (1,083 m), the “fairy hill of the Caledonians”, standing alone to the north-west.
Blairgowrie anchors the eastern half of the region among the berry fields of Strathmore, twinned across the Ericht gorge with Rattray. The A93 runs north from the town through Glenshee to the Cairnwell pass and the Glenshee ski centre, Britain’s largest snowsports area, before dropping over into Deeside.
Frequently asked questions
What is there to do in Pitlochry?
Pitlochry Festival Theatre plays a summer repertoire, the dam and salmon ladder on Loch Faskally have a free visitor centre, and Blair Castle, the Queen's View over Loch Tummel and the Falls of Bruar are all a short drive away. The town has been a resort since Victorian times and keeps a full run of hotels, cafes and outfitters.
Why is Blairgowrie famous for berries?
The sheltered fields of Strathmore around Blairgowrie and Alyth grow a large share of Britain's raspberries and strawberries, and the town grew up on the trade. Summer roadside stalls and pick-your-own farms carry on the tradition, and the A93 north climbs straight from the town to the ski slopes of Glenshee.
Is Aberfeldy worth a visit?
Yes - Dewar's Aberfeldy distillery runs tours and tastings, General Wade's 1733 bridge crosses the Tay beside the town, and the Birks of Aberfeldy gorge walk that Burns wrote about starts from the main street. Kenmore and the Loch Tay crannog centre are a few miles further up the strath.