A Micro-Guide to Pitlochry and Around

The hills of Pitlochry descend down a series of terraces into a forested vale. Orange balls of light, their posts lost in the fading day, seem to perch on the peaks of slate gray roofs. The clock stretches toward 11pm, and yet a soft dusky light fills the night sky above the ridgelines that border the town of Pitlochry. Such whisky-headed visions are a common product of the dram honor system in place at many of the B&Bs in town.

It was difficult to stop staring across this silent expanse; people had made inroads – a simple wooden table and chairs, a low stone wall, a cement walking path – but they looked like flourishes of respect for the region’s natural beauty. The town of Pitlochry is a tidy place with Victorian roots that receives both high praise as a tourist destination and derision because it’s a tourist destination. I had passed through on the train to Inverness nine years earlier and made a mental note to return.

Pitlochry is technically a Highland town, but it resides in the liminal terrain where the Highlands and the Lowlands meet. It’s a special blend of wooded vales and hills shot through with clear streams and some large rivers like the Tay. It’s also the last stop before entering the Cairngorm Mountains along the A9 north to Inverness. Dunkeld, one of my favorite places in all of Scotland, stands not far to the south, but I prefer Pitlochry as a base when exploring this region’s wealth of sites and activities.

Moulin

Fifteen strenuous minutes walk up the foothills of Ben Vrackie lies the village of Moulin. Moulin’s complicated history stretches deep into the Pictish past, and, given the ancient forts that encircle the town, it likely served as an important capital some 2,000 years ago. In the 16th century Moulin became an official burgh of barony, but the village lost importance once the north road was built through Pitlochry a couple hundred years later.

My reason for visiting Moulin was simple: I was hungry. At the top of the A924 stands the Moulin Inn, a great white-washed building straight out of the 17th-century, renowned in the region for its food and ales. The interior of the inn is dark, warm, and inviting. A low ceiling, bare stone walls, and rich, exposed wood evoke ages past. I liked its rustic charm immediately. There were no waiters or waitresses; all food and drink were ordered (and picked up) at an open bar front with the menu scratched out in chalk above. The food was filling, the house ales were delicious, and the centuries of shared camaraderie steeped in the walls of this place brightened my night.

The Pass of Killiecrankie and the Queen’s View

Three miles north of Pitlochry on the A9 lies the pretty gorge known as the Pass of Killiecrankie. The River Garry cuts between Ben Vrackie and Tenandry Hill here, and it was the site of a battle between Highland clans supporting King James VII (aka Jacobites) and government soldiers supporting King William of Orange. It was here that the leader of the first Jacobite Rebellion, John Graham of Claverhouse, the so-called Viscount Dundee, was killed even though the battle was ultimately a victory for the Jacobites. The history of the Jacobite uprisings is engrossing, and the Pass of Killiecrankie has become an important stop for those looking to retrace the events of history.

Trails snake down the hillside from the visitor center to the riverbed, and you can walk for awhile in the shadow of the elevated railroad.  I enjoyed a brief stop and continued on a very small and winding B road to the Queen’s View.

The Queen’s View is a little bump-out on the road along Loch Tummel where Queen Victoria is said to have admired the scenery. The view is truly stunning and it’s said that the hills of Glen Coe, on the other side of Scotland, can be seen on a clear day. My trek up Craigower Hill can vouch for this. This is definitely the spot to bust out the camera and capture a view to hang on your wall.

Blair Castle

Four miles north from Killiecrankie stands the magnificent white bastion that is Blair Castle. Though I prefer ruined castles, I was impressed by the scale and grandeur of Blair. When it comes to castles, it’s always the history that separates the men from the boys and, thanks to its location at the gates of the Highlands, Blair Castle stands firmly in the “man” category.

Home to Clan Murray, Blair Castle is believed to have been built in the latter part of the 13th century. During the second Jacobite uprising, Jacobite forces besieged the castle and nearly starved out the castle’s defenders. Today, Blair Castle is garrison to the United Kingdom’s only private army, the Atholl Highlanders. They report directly to the Duke of Atholl, but, since they’re a ceremonial regiment and the current duke lives in South Africa, the Prime Minister can breathe a sigh of relief.

Half the fun of visiting a castle is checking out the usually-immaculate grounds. The garden and grounds at Blair Castle contained a field of fenced in deer with enormous racks, and the wooded Diana’s Grove contains the UK’s second tallest tree. The valiant Viscount Dundee was also buried here after the Battle of Killiecrankie.

Edradour Distillery

It’s no secret that I take fiendish delight in sampling whisky, and it did not escape me that the Edradour Distillery is situated a mere five-minute drive from Pitlochry. The distillery was established in 1825 and originally run by three men. Today, it takes only two men to produce the spirit. In fact, they probably have more tour guides than all other employees combined. With only two stills the production is very low – about 90,000 liters per year – and I believe they’re still the smallest distillery in Scotland. And, what’s nice in this age of corporate ownership of Scottish distilleries, Edradour is independently owned – you won’t find Diageo or Pernod Ricard here.

A kilted and loquacious old rogue led our tour through the small buildings and 19th-century-style equipment to the tasting room. For such a small distillery Edradour has a huge range of expressions! What’s an expression? It’s a way of changing the core flavor of whisky. Since whisky gets most of its flavor from wood, expressions often key off barrels that have previously been used to age different types of liquors (for example, a Port wood finish versus a Madeira cask finish). My favorite, the 13 Year cask strength, captivated me such that I ordered a bottle of it when I returned home.

Pitlochry is an excellent base for ranging further afield as well. The Aberlemno Stone near Forfar, Aberfeldy, Perth, and the eastern reaches of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs national park are all within easy – and beautiful – drives of Pitlochry.

Have you traipsed around Perthshire? What spots did you enjoy?