North Perthshire

North Perthshire covers the area from Pitlochry north on the A9 and the area west of Pitlochry following the B8019 past Loch Tummel and Loch Rannoch. 

Pitlochry
Pitlochry has two distilleries which attract many visitors: Bell's Blair Atholl Distillery and Edradour Distillery, Scotland's smallest distillery.  The Pitlochry Festival Theatre presents a wide range of plays and musical events and next door is the Scottish Plant Collector's Garden which was opened in 2003 and displays plants collected over 300 years by Scottish explorers - it also has an amphitheatre and forest area within the 2.5 acre site.  Nearby is the Pitlochry Power Station and Dam where you can see fish attempting to leap over the salmon ladder. 

Trains from Perth and Inverness stop at Pitlochry and there are buses from Perth.  The tourist office is in Atholl Road.  There are many hotels in Pitlochry as this is a popular tourist venue - examples include the Moulin Hotel, the upmarket Knockendarroch Hotel, the luxurious Pitlochry Hydro Hotel and the Killiecrankie Hotel just north of the town.  In addition to these hotels, good meals can be found at Port-na-craig Inn, The Old Mill, the Festival Restaurant and McKay's Hotel.

North of Pitlochry
An interesting stop just 4 miles north of Pitlochry, is the Pass of Killiecrankie where a soldier escaped his enemies at the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689 by jumping over an 18-foot gorge (the Soldier's Leap).  The visitor centre provides information on the Jacobite Rebellion and local flora and fauna, and there are attractive walks through the woods.  Blair Atholl is a good centre for walks and cycle routes, but its most popular attraction is the 13th century Blair Castle, seat of the Duke of Atholl, part of which is open to the public, including a splendid ballroom.  A few miles north is the House of Bruar, a modern complex containing many shops selling Scottish produce and a large restaurant.  Hotels include the Atholl Arms Hotel.

Loch Tummel & Loch Rannoch
This is a beautiful area - the two lochs surrounded by the deeply wooded Tay Forest Park.  The Queen's View Visitor Centre at the eastern end of Loch Tummel provides magnificent views across the area to the 1083-metre Schiehallon and has interesting audiovisual presentations.  Kinloch Rannoch, at the eastern tip of Loch Rannoch is a popular centre for walking and cycling.  Beyond the western end of Loch Rannoch is the bleak Rannoch Moor.  Hotels and restaurants in the area include Bunrannoch House, Dunalastair Hotel, Loch Tummel Hotel and Moor of Rannoch Hotel.