Pitlochry is an ideal place to either stop overnight on your tour of Scotland or as a base for exploring the surrounding area. Pitlochry itself is a small town with a theatre where there is a summer festival each year. There is a dam with splendid views from the top and a visitor’s centre, which gives an insight into how the whole thing works. There is also a viewing chamber where you can watch salmon make their way up the fish ladder to spawn in Loch Faskally. A fish ladder, for those of you who don’t know, is a series of chambers full of water set side by side with each higher than the preceding one. Each chamber is linked with those either side by a narrow gap in the chamber wall so that the salmon can swim up through each chamber in turn and out at the top, thus climbing up past the dam. To the east of Pitlochry is Queens View. This is basically a viewpoint reached by a relatively easy climb from the car park below to a platform looking out over Loch Tummel. It was named Queen’s View after Queen Victoria’s visit in 1866. The view is that of the wooded valley of Loch Tummel with Schiehallion’s Peak in the distance. Words cannot easily portray the full beauty of that particular spot and it is easy to see why it was a favourite of Queen Victoria and has remained a favourite with visitors ever since. To the north of Pitlochry is Blair Atholl which stands at the meeting point of several highland glens. It has a mill dating from the 17th century, which is still in operation on the River Garry, and the produce made is for sale in the mill shop. The flour they produce here is lovely. Blair Castle, the turreted baronial home of the Dukes of Atholl stands just to the north of Blair Atholl. It was restored to its Gothic style in 1868. Rooms filled with furniture, paintings, tapestries, arms and clothing tell the story of Highland life from 1500. There are peacocks roaming freely in the grounds.
One final point - if you go in Autumn take anti midge cream with you -they are a menace!
More details
Family Friendly
Evaluate this review
How helpful would this review be to someone making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
