Pitlochry and Perthshire

Pitlochry is perfectly located to be your Scottish holiday base. At he geographic centre of the country, it is the ideal springboard for exploration, far and near. The Perthshire mountains and glens are home to an astonishing range of scenic and wildlife attractions. For the more ambitious Edinburgh and Glasgow, parts of the West Coast, the Speyside whisky trail, Royal Deeside and Aberdeen are all possible day trips, your return journey the more enjoyable in anticipation of your welcome and the dinner awaiting you.

Highland Perthshire has much to divert you. Within a half-hour drive you can enjoy Loch Tummel and Loch Rannoch - you know, the opening line of The Road to the Isles. Loch Tummel has the stunning Queens View, while Loch Rannoch offers water sport, glorious vistas and wildlife heritage. Both are overlooked by the fairy mountain, Schiehallion, a readily accessible Munro (the name given to Scottish mountains over 3000 feet tall). Collectors of Munros can find an impressive number, in varying degrees of difficulty, within easy reach of the Birchwood. A little further along The Road to the Isles is the haunting, big-sky emptiness of Rannoch Moor where you can walk overlooking the breathtakingly dramatic mountains of Glencoe or take a refreshment in the oasis of the station tea room.

All over Perthshire you will discover little-used roads, unspoiled by coaches and commercial traffic, on which you can take your own time to absorb the tranquil majesty of the highlands.

Not for nothing Perthshire has become known as Big Tree Country. You can admire the tallest tree in Britain or ponder the 3000-year-old Fortingall Yew, thought to be the oldest living thing in Europe. Or if record breaking sounds too competitive, just take in the lush greenery of summer, the stunning reds, golds and browns of autumn, the hazy freshness of spring or the remnants of the ancient Caledonian forest,

While some are of the opinion that Pitlochry's main claim to fame is that it is home to the Birchwood, that is not a view with which we could feel completely comfortable. Indeed Pitlochry has much to divert you. The main street, Atholl Road, is where most of the shops, eateries and pubs are found. A little further is the dam and fish ladder and on the other side of the river the Festival Theatre. All repay exploration and combining them could surprisingly easily fill a day or two. The town, thanks to the efforts of a dedicated and fiercely competitive volunteer group, regularly receives Britain in Bloom awards for its splendid public and private gardens. There is a well planned network of way marked walks giving access to the best of the surrounding countryside and offering a choice between river and lochside, woodland, hills overlooking the Tummel Valley, moorland, a distillery or two or a mix-and-match combination to suit your mood.

The landscape of Perthshire was created by the last Ice Age which ended 10,000 years ago leaving flat-bottomed, steep sided, U-shaped glens (valleys). The glens of the major rivers like the Tay, Tummel and Garry were left deeper than their tributaries resulting in these side streams creating a multitude of scenic waterfalls. The Black Spout waterfall is part of a delightful walk from the Birchwood and Bruar falls and the Birks O' Aberfeldy are short drives away.

10 miles south of Pitlochry the royal town of Dunkeld with its ancient Cathedral, parts of which date from the 12th century, is picturesquly sited on the banks of the River Tay. On the opposite side of the river is the village of Birnam and the Birnam Oak. It is possible that this magnificent tree was alive when the witches in Shakespeare's MacBeth freaked out the Thane with their prediction about Birnam Wood marching to Dunsinane. Another Birnam attraction is the Beatrix Potter garden commemorating the time when the authoress spent her summers in nearby Dalguise where her countryside walks are said to have inspired her tales of Peter Rabbit.

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You can explore a wealth of images while browsing the Birchwood Hotel site. When viewing a page, a click on any bold text will connect you to a photo of the item, or you can follow the links below to four themed Picture Galleries:

Birchwood & Pitlochry
The House
Highland Perthshire
Wildlife
New Images 2007/8