Perthshire, Part One

I’ve wanted to visit Perthshire ever since I saw a particularly eye-catching front cover on BBC Countryfile Magazine in November 2019. The cover showed the Pass of Killiecrankie in the throes of Autumn and I made up my mind that one day I’d go and admire this view in person. Fast forward three years and we finally made it: and we just about missed the autumnal boat! Nevertheless, Perthshire is an incredibly beautiful place full of wooded glens and tumbling waterfalls, and we had an amazing week exploring all over the area (mainly dictated by where there was the least amount of rain forecast). In fact, we managed to squeeze so much into our week that I’ve decided to split this blog into two separate posts – there’s simply too much to fit into one!

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Loch Faskally and the Salmon Ladder

After a drive up on the Friday afternoon that felt longer than it actually was due to the torrential rain, which started when we drove past Stirling and then didn’t stop until the middle of the night, we wanted a fairly easy walk which wasn’t going to be completely saturated underfoot! I picked a mostly flat circular walk from our Pocket Mountains guide (a compulsory purchase for me before any trip), which started from the parking area by Pitlochry dam and circumnavigated Loch Faskally, returning via the famous salmon ladder towards the end. There’s a very similar route available on Walkhighlands.

This was a lovely walk with no steep sections (only a short flight of steps), and I was sorry that we didn’t get to see the trees bordering the loch in their autumn glory. The views were still very nice though, and we even saw a red squirrel five minutes after we got out of the car! The salmon ladder, while not a natural beauty, is also very impressive. When SSE built the dam they were told to find ways to avoid a negative impact on the fish living in the loch, and so they built the salmon ladder alongside the dam, which ensures that salmon are still able to travel upstream during the breeding season.

Dog friendly rating – 4/5. We chose to keep our dogs on the lead for all of this walk as Merry can’t be trusted around squirrels, but there were plenty of dog walkers enjoying a nice walk around the loch (especially the wooded areas) with their dogs off the lead. There is a short section of road walking (with pavement) and no stiles or livestock, but keep your eyes peeled for red squirrels and ducks! We kept ours out of the water as there were a few ducks swimming around, but there are places where your dog could access the water for a splash if they are a water loving pup.

Killiecrankie and the Soldier’s Leap

Once we’d finished our walk around Loch Faskally, it was less than 10 minutes in the car to the Killiecrankie Visitor Centre, where we headed to see ‘that view’ from the Countryfile cover. Parking is pay and display, or free for National Trust/National Trust for Scotland members (just leave your membership card on your dashboard).

Alas, it seemed that autumn was pretty much finished by the time we arrived (3rd week of November), but the view was still fantastic and easily gained on the signposted trail from the visitor centre. We walked on a little further to visit the Solider’s Leap – the point where a red coat solider jumped eighteen feet across the river when fleeing from highland clansmen after the battle of Killiecrankie in 1689.

From the Solider’s Leap we turned around and retraced our steps steadily uphill to the visitor centre, where we stopped in the dog friendly Jaco-bite cafe (I see what they did there). The best part about a cold autumn/winter walk is warming up with a hot chocolate (including whipped cream and marshmallows!) at the end. All in all we were out for less than half an hour, but it’s possible to walk further down to the Pass of Killiecrankie and beyond.

Dog friendly rating – 4/5. The woods here offer plenty of opportunities for sniffing and exploring, and we again saw plenty of local dog walkers with their dogs off lead. There are no stiles or road walking, and the dogs were very welcome in the quiet cafe by the car park (although I can imagine this gets busier at peak times).

The Falls of Acharn

Is there anything more beautiful than a waterfall tumbling through a wooded gorge? You might think the answer is no, but actually, what we learned in Perthshire was that if you add a tunnel before the waterfall, the sight is even more impressive. The Falls of Acharn are accessed via a ‘hermit’s cave’, a man made passageway which plunges you momentarily into darkness before you emerge blinking back into the light on the viewing platform opposite the falls.

This was another route from our Pocket Mountains guide, although the route is also detailed on Walkhighlands. Parking is free but limited in the village of Acharn, and the walk is clearly way marked with a series of finger posts. Setting off uphill out of the village is surprisingly steep for a short walk, but the view of the falls more than rewards your effort.

Continue on from the falls to cross the gorge further on – take a moment on the wooden viewing platform to appreciate the upper falls, which twist and tumble into a series of plunge pools beneath the bridge. The path on the other side of the gorge is still clearly visible, but less well surfaced than the path we set out on and I nearly ended up on the floor a few times! Given how impressive both the falls were (especially after the heavy rain of the days before) I thought we’d see more people, but it was actually pretty quiet.

Dog friendly rating – 3/5. The steep sides of the gorge and the speed the water was flowing ensured we kept our dogs on the leads – it’s always better to be safe than sorry. There are no stiles to worry about though and only a very short section on the quiet village road at the very end to return to the car.

Kenmore Hill

One of the best things about having a guide book when you go away is that it helps you come across places you’d never find on your own. A great example of this is the circuit of Kenmore Hill (included both in the Pocket Mountains guide and the Walkhighlands website), a three mile route which offers outrageously good views for such a short walk.

The free estate car park is a short drive from the falls of Acharn, so with half a day left we headed up here for the second half of our day. The road to get up here is described as ‘slightly hair raising’ in the Pocket Mountains guide and this is a fairly accurate description – it’s extremely steep with at least four hairpin bends, and should be avoided in winter conditions as it’s not on any gritting routes. Nevertheless if you can get up here it’s worth the drive – look out for the ‘woodland walks’ signpost which marks the location of the car park.

Considering this walk takes you to the summit of the hill, it’s remarkably easy going. The walk begins across heathery moor, and finishes off along a more wooded path – look out for the rare black grouse who can be spotted here. The real crowning glory though is the view from the large cairn most of the way up the hill, looking down over Kenmore and Loch Tay. As we climbed up the cloud came down and I was worried we weren’t going to get to see the view – but the fog serendipitously lifted as we arrived at the cairn, and what a view!

Navigation is pretty easy thanks to a series of way markers which direct you around the route – there is a choice of three way marked trails, of which this is the longest. I’d definitely be tempted to return and explore the other two trails.

Dog friendly rating – 3/5. There are signs up asking for dogs to be kept on leads due to ground nesting birds, however, there are no stiles and this was a wonderfully quiet walk – we didn’t see a single other person. The way markers take you along the road for a short way at the end, but you can avoid this by making use of the path network to get back to the car park – note this is not way marked and you will need a map and navigation skills to detour away from the marked route.

Pinecone Point

Pinecone Point is one of the places I’d picked out to visit even before I’d actually booked the trip – and the views didn’t disappoint. We followed a slightly longer route from Walkhighlands (in reverse), walking for a way along the river Tay after parking at the National Trust for Scotland’s pay & display Hermitage car park. From the river, you cross the A9 using an underpass to pick up a woodland walk which eventually leads you up to Pine Cone point – a steady uphill climb to a pinecone shaped folly, with a wonderful view over the Tay and the surrounding woodland.

After a stop at the top to admire the view, we walked back down the hill and continued on to Ossian’s Hall. It doesn’t look like anything special from the outside (or maybe I’m just a philistine), but head inside for an amazing view over the Falls of Braan. While you can see the falls from outside the hall, the viewing balcony here is almost directly over the top of the water and is an incredible perspective – lean over the railings and you’ll be finely misted with the spray from the water.

From here it’s a short walk back to the car – keep your eyes peeled for red squirrels which we spotted right next to the path. As soon as we got to Pinecone Point and the Hermitage we did start to see a few more people but that didn’t seem to put the squirrels off!

Dog friendly rating – 5/5. While there are places where it’s sensible to pop your dog on a lead on this walk, such as when you pass through the A9 underpass, there are also plenty of opportunities for your dog to have a run off the lead. This is another walk with no stiles to navigate, and is mostly on forest paths where you don’t need to worry about traffic (although you may come across other dog walkers).

I’ll stop there for this week – but make sure to come back next week for part 2! To make sure you don’t miss it you can subscribe below: