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The River Ericht running white through the rocky gorge at Cargill's Leap.
Perthshire

Cargill’s Leap

A narrow rocky gorge on the River Ericht just above Blairgowrie, where the Covenanter Donald Cargill is said to have leapt the river to escape the dragoons.

Welcome

A quarter of a mile up the River Ericht from the Brig o' Blair, at the northern edge of Blairgowrie, the river forces its way through a narrow gorge of tilted, water-worn rock.

The spot is known as the Keith, and one narrow point across it is called Cargill's Leap.

Donald Cargill was born at Rattray, across the river, around 1610, and became a minister and one of the most wanted of the Covenanters, who held to their own form of worship when the government had outlawed it. The story is that, with the King's dragoons close behind him, he jumped the river here and got away. His luck ran out in the end, and he was executed in Edinburgh in 1681.

A viewing platform now looks down on the torrent, with a board telling the tale, and the riverside path runs on past old mills in the gorge. It is a short walk from the town, and loveliest after rain, when the water runs white.

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The Daily for 10 November, from Scotland with love. Aerial view of a concrete road bridge with angled supports spanning a sea loch, twin cloud-wrapped mountain peaks rising behind autumn-coloured hills.
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Before you go

A short walk along the riverside path from the Brig o' Blair in Blairgowrie.

A viewing platform looks down on the gorge, with a board telling the story.

Where
The River Ericht, a quarter of a mile upstream from the Brig o' Blair, Blairgowrie.
To see
The gorge from the viewing platform, and the information board.

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Where it is

On the River Ericht, just above the Brig o' Blair at the north edge of Blairgowrie.

Close byBlairgowrie and Alyth.
  1. A young beaver swimming low in the water of a Perthshire river at dusk, under overhanging branches.Perthshire WildlifeUnder a mile as the crow flies
  2. Blairgowrie1 mile 3 min by road
  3. The private dining room at the Meikleour Arms, a long table laid for dinner under a chandelier, with a stone wall and red patterned curtains.The Meikleour Arms4 miles as the crow flies
  4. Meikleour Beech HedgeMeikleour Beech HedgeA beech hedge of 1745 by the A93, the tallest in the world.5 miles 10 min by road
  5. The Alyth Burn running through the town between stone walls.AlythAn old market town on the Alyth Burn, with a packhorse bridge of the 1500s.6 miles 10 min by road
  6. The Reekie Linn pouring white into its gorge among autumn trees.Reekie LinnA waterfall on the River Isla, where the spray rises like smoke.10 miles 17 min by road
Directions
A beaver dam of peeled sticks holding back a pond at Bamff in early spring, a ruined steading and a timber-clad barn beyond.WalksBamff Wildland4.3 miles
The Alyth Burn rushing over stones between autumn beeches in the Den o' Alyth.WalksDen o' Alyth5.5 miles
Persie Distillery's still behind glass: a brass pot with a round copper top beside a tall copper column with portholes, against an old stone wall.AttractionsPersie Distillery6.1 miles
A bowl of orange soup with a cheese scone and a cappuccino on a red-checked tablecloth at The Joinery in Meigle.CafeThe Joinery Coffee Shop6.8 miles
The round stone café and ice cream parlour at Stewart Tower Dairy on a sunny day, with farm fields and the Perthshire hills behind.ShoppingStewart Tower Dairy8.2 miles
Loch of Lintrathen from above in late summer, the water low along its shores, conifers on the points and the Angus hills beyond under a blue sky with cloud.AttractionsLoch of Lintrathen8.4 miles
The great carved cross-slab standing in the hall of the Meigle Sculptured Stone Museum.AttractionsMeigle Pictish Stones8.5 miles
Macbeth's Bothy, a white-harled cottage with a slate roof and a green porch, behind a fence and wildflowersCollaceMacbeth's BothySleeps 2 · 8.8 miles
The wooden pirate ship with its blue and green slides in the outdoor park at Active Kids, near Stanley.ActivityActive Kids Adventure Park9.3 miles

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Stay nearby

Places to stay near the Leap, and when each is next free.

A stone cottage with a green door and three chimneys sits behind a lawn bordered by shrubs and flowerbeds.Fairygreen Cottage
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Kinrossie
  • 8 miles from Cargill's Leap
Check datesAn aerial view shows a black timber cabin with a pitched roof set on a deck in an open field, a bath and seating area visible outside.The Cabin at Fairygreen
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Perthshire
  • 9 miles from Cargill's Leap
Check datesMacbeth's Bothy, a white-harled cottage with a slate roof and a green porch, behind a fence and wildflowersMacbeth's Bothy
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Collace
  • 9 miles from Cargill's Leap
Check datesA red timber cabin with a steep pitched roof stands on a hillside among pines, a covered deck and chairs to one side.Juniper
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Dunkeld
  • 10 miles from Cargill's Leap
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in PerthshireAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
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