Pitlochry

Pitlochry owes its popularity to two things – one is the building of the military route to the north of the country organised by General Wade in the 1700’s, which opened up this part of Scotland, and the other is the visit made to the town by Queen Victoria, while she holidayed in Blair Castle. It was the many favourable remarks that she made about the town that lead to an increase in people wanting to come to the area. The arrival of the railway to the region in 1863 saw Pitlochry turn into the most popular mountain resort in the whole of Scotland. The town does have a substantial Victorian feel to it yet the town has a lightness to it that refuses to be dragged down by the heaviness of the Victorian architecture. One of the things that gives the town its wonderful atmosphere is the wonderful mountain scenery, though they may not be the highest mountains in Scotland they offer some spectacular vistas.

Enjoying the Region

While this is a mountain resort and attracts those people who love to be in the great outdoors either trekking, climbing or doing something else adrenalin fuelled, being the outwards bound type certainly isn’t a necessity. There are plenty of attractions and activities that don’t involve you wearing waterproof clothing. The town has a wonderful festival theatre where you can see a different play every night of the week if you wish. The theatre lies across river which is crossed on foot using a very unique suspension bridge. As in many parts of Scotland you will find a local distillery, in fact the distillery here is one of the oldest in the country, founded as it was in 1798. The town is also home to the smallest distillery too, both of them have visitor centres open to the public. If two distilleries were not enough, or whiskey is not your tipple of choice there is also a local brewery located at the Moulin Inn.

Leaping Salmon

There is a hydroelectric dam here which crosses the River Tummel and lead to the creation of Loch Faskally, the dam itself has become something of a tourist attraction. Built into the design of the dam is what is known as a fish ladder, which allows the river salmon to continue to make their arduous journey upstream to spawn, without being impeded by the dam. Visit during the right season and you can view the fish leaping up the ladder through the glass viewing windows. For those interested in the engineering of the dam there is also a visitor centre which provides information on how the glens are used to generate electricity. As you wander around the town you will be traversing the suspension bridge a fair bit, which when you have ticked off the two distilleries and the brewery from your list of things to visit can be a little disconcerting to say the least as you feel the construction swaying beneath your already unsteady feet!