Huntingtower Castle – Two Towers, a Leap and a Village Inn
A few hours.
The route
Huntingtower is a castle on Perth's doorstep, two tower houses joined into one, with a painted ceiling inside and a legend about a daughter who leapt across the gap between them.
Lunch is a few miles on at the Pitcairngreen Inn, an old coaching inn on a village green with a fire in the snug.
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, 6 miles away.
Book lunch at the Pitcairngreen Inn
Book a table inside the Pitcairngreen Inn by phone on 01738 583022 or by email at least 48 hours ahead, for about noon, on a Wednesday, Saturday or Sunday from October to March (Huntingtower shuts on Thursdays and Fridays then, and the inn on Mondays and Tuesdays): its kitchen serves from 12pm to 8pm.
The day
Huntingtower
A castle in the morning and a long lunch in the country, all within a few miles of the city. Take your time in the towers, then follow the lanes out to a village green and a warm inn.
About three hours
Huntingtower Castle
An attraction
Huntingtower is off the A85 on the western edge of Perth, with parking beside the castle. It began as two separate tower houses built a few metres apart by the Ruthven family, later joined into one house. The story goes that a daughter of the house leapt the gap between the two roofs to avoid being found in her lover's room, and the gap is still called the Maiden's Leap. James VI was held here for ten months in 1582. Inside, look up in the eastern tower for a rare painted ceiling. The rooms are reached by stairs, so it isn't suited to a wheelchair. From April to September it opens every day; from October to March it opens Saturday to Wednesday only, from 10am, so go in the morning. There's an entry charge, and members of Historic Environment Scotland go free.
7 min by car
The Pitcairngreen Inn
Lunch
It's 7 minutes' drive on through Almondbank to Pitcairngreen, where the inn stands on the village green. It opens Wednesday to Sunday with its kitchen serving from noon, so in winter come on a Wednesday, Saturday or Sunday, when the castle is open too. Children are welcome with an adult, and well-behaved dogs in the bar and beer garden. Book a table inside by phone on 01738 583022. If it's full, the Tickled Trout Café in Almondbank does soups and sandwiches from Wednesday to Sunday.
If it rains
The castle's rooms are indoors and the inn has a fire in the snug, so a wet morning changes little: only the walk from the car to the door is out in it.
The Pitcairngreen Inn, a restaurant in Pitcairngreen.
Tickled Trout Café, a café in Almondbank.