Birnam and Dunkeld

5½ miles

Ten and a half miles from the Inveralmond roundabout in Perth turn right onto the A923 which was the Old A9 and into Birnam. The village itself dates back to Victorian times although Birnam Wood is mentioned in Shakespeare’s Scottish play- MacBeth. Here we find the Beatrix Potter Exhibition and Garden. The author spent many holidays in the area and her tales of Peter Rabbit and Mr Jeremy Fisher the frog were written while she was staying at the house called Eastwood across the Tay from Birnam’s riverbank Terrace Walk.
Before we cross the River Tay the Royal School of Dunkeld stands on our right. Behind the school is the kirk of Little Dunkeld and in the churchyard is the grave of Niel Gow, the famous fiddler who was born at nearby Inver.
We then enter Dunkeld, with its dramatic riverside setting linked to Birnam by Telford’s bridge over the River Tay, which was opened in 1809. Above the river stands the ruined medieval cathedral, sacked by the Reformers in 1560 but partly restored. In 1689 most of the tower was burned to the ground during the Battle of Dunkeld. Many of the replacement houses of that period have now been restored by the National Trust for Scotland.
Proceeding through Dunkeld we reach a junction signposted A923 to Blairgowrie and the Loch of the Lowes RSPB nature reserve. Here we bear left and travel on a delightful road with lovely views through the trees over Strath Tay before again joining the new road.