Pitlochry
For a long time I drove past Pitlochry, viewing it as merely a tourist trap of a town with nothing worth my seeing. Seeing it through visitors eyes gave it a fresh look, whilst there are the usual Scottish cliches within the town, there are a few things worth visiting, including distilleries.
Edradour lays claim to Scotland’s smallest distillery, but from my experience it lays claim to Scotland’s most dour! We were there at 3.15pm and the sign stated it closed at 4pm, so we just wanted to take a stroll up to see the quaint buildings and maybe check out the shop, possibly buy a whisky. A stocky, kilted man greeted us and informed us we would be charged £5 for the privilege of just having a look at the shop!!! “AYE, RIGHT” was the response to that! There are other, friendlier, distilleries to visit so focus on these, please!
We actually headed north to Speyside so made our distillery visit plans for there instead of unfriendly Edradour.
River Tummel
Walk out of the town centre to the foot suspension bridge and take a walk along the River Tummel, passing the pretty hamlet of Port na Craig on the way to the Fish Ladder and the dam. There are lots of pleasant walks to do around the area, details can be easily found on the website or at the vistors centre.
Aberfeldy
Watermill
We visited Aberfeldy on a more dreich (old scots word for miserable day) day and headed straight for the WaterMill and cafe. There you will find a fabulous bookshop, in fact is has won an award for UK Independent Bookshop of the Year and deservedly so. Book purchased we sat comfortably downstairs in the lovely cafe and I ate the most fabulous flapjack ever!
Queens View
The popular Queens View gives stunning views, on a clear day, over Loch Tummel and the surrounding mountains and on a very clear day you may even see through the glen to the Mountains in Glencoe.
Queens View
Kenmore is a pretty village also worth a visit in part to the lovely 16th century streets it is home to, now a conservation area, but also for its location on the shores of Loch Tay. Again, plenty to do here, including a visit to the Crannog Centre, a reconstruction of how life was lived on the Lochs of Scotland.
