Moncreiffe Hill – Carved Animals, Two Hill Forts and a View
About 5.2 miles on foot.
Moncreiffe Hill is the wooded hill between the Tay and the Earn on the south-east edge of Perth.
Its trails pass wooden sculptures and the grassy banks of two hill forts, and the top looks south over Strathearn to the Ochils and the Lomond Hills. The full round is a little over 5 miles and takes two to three hours.
- Time
- Two to three hours' walking: 8.3 km (5.2 miles) round the hill with 330 m of climb. The sculpture trail alone takes at least an hour and a half.
- The path
- Stone-surfaced forest tracks and narrower firm paths, muddy at times. Moderate slopes, steep in places, most of all up to the rim of the Moredun fort.
- Where to start
- The Tay Car Park on the Rhynd Road, about a mile east of the A912 Edinburgh Road.
- When to go
- All year in daylight, and best on a clear day for the view south. From November to January set off by noon.
- Children
- The wooden sculptures are beside the trail. The full round is long for small children.
- Toilets
- None on the hill. The nearest public toilets are in Perth.
The walk
Park in the Tay Car Park on the Rhynd Road, about a mile east of the A912 Edinburgh Road. Moncreiffe Hill is a wooded hill owned by the Woodland Trust, and its waymarked trails start from here. Wooden sculptures stand beside the green and white routes in the north-west part of the wood, with a deer, a dragonfly and a slug among them. The council says to allow at least an hour and a half for a round of the sculpture trail, and more if you can.
The same routes pass close to two hill forts. The summit is 223 m high and ringed by the grassy bank of one of them, and Moredun Top has the other. From the crest the view runs south over Strathearn to the Ochils and the Lomond Hills. Walkhighlands measures the full round of the hill at 8.3 km, a little over 5 miles, with 330 m of climb, and gives it two to three hours.
Most of the main trails are stone-surfaced forest tracks or narrower firm paths, which can be muddy at times. The slopes are moderate for the most part but steep in places, most of all up to the rim of the Moredun fort. There are no toilets on the hill, and the nearest are in Perth. From November to January, set off by noon.
If it rains
The trees give some shelter, but the tracks turn muddy and the view goes. On a wet day keep to the sculpture trail in the lower wood, about an hour and a half.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
The nearest of ours is Murrayshall, 3 miles away.
For further reading, before you go.
Photograph by Mechelle Mulligan via Google