Loch Tay
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Aberfeldy grew up around a crossing point on the River Tay, which leaves it slightly oddly six miles adrift of Loch Tay, a fourteen-mile-long stretch of fresh water which all but hooks together the western and eastern Highlands. Guarding over the northern end of the loch is KENMORE; the main attraction here is the Scottish Crannog Centre (April-Oct daily 10am-4.30pm; £3.50), one of the most effective reconstruction-style heritage museums in the country. Crannogs are houses on stilts built by Bronze Age inhabitants of Scotland a short distance from the shore of a freshwater loch, essentially as a defensive measure - the walkway leading to the house could be demolished at a moment's notice to defy an intruder. Following extensive underwater acheological excavations, the team here have reconstructed a crannog in the traditional fashion, and visitors can now walk out over the loch to the thatched wooden dwelling, complete with sheepskin rugs, wooden bowls and other evidence of the way life was lived 2500 years ago.
Dominating the northern side of Loch Tay is moody Ben Lawers (3984ft), Perthshire's highest mountain; from the top there are incredible views towards both the Atlantic and the North Sea. The ascent - which should not be tackled without all the right equipment - takes around three hours from the NTS visitor centre (mid-April to Sept daily 10am-5pm; tel 01567/820397), located at 1300ft and reached by a track off the A827.
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Near Aberfeldy, Perthshire
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Near Aberfeldy, Perthshire
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