Hidden Scotland
Sign in
Escape Route Café's circular sign is mounted on the gable end of a white and stone building in Pitlochry.
Perthshire

Escape Route

A bike shop, bike hire and cafe on Atholl Road in Pitlochry, with a workshop, e-bikes to hire for the trails, and coffee and cakes under the bikes on the walls.

Visit websiteCall
Welcome

On Atholl Road in Pitlochry, Escape Route is two things at once: a bike shop and a cafe.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

Through the door, racks of mountain bikes and e-bikes stand beside a busy counter of cakes and soup, and old bikes hang on the walls above the tables.

The shop sells and services bikes, with a workshop for repairs, and hires out mountain bikes and electric bikes by the day for the trails around the town: round Loch Faskally, out to Killiecrankie and the Linn of Tummel, or further into the hills. Riders come back in muddy for coffee and a slice of cake, and walkers and families stop in for lunch.

Escape Route opens from Tuesday to Saturday, and hire bikes are best booked ahead in summer.

The Daily

Arrives at 5am every day.

A free morning email to see what’s on this week, catch up on what’s happening in Scotland and find somewhere new to go.

The Daily for 2 November, from Scotland with love. Cloud shadows cross a sunlit mountain above a loch, rust-coloured moorland stretching below
Before you go

Open Tuesday to Saturday from nine until five, closed Sunday and Monday.

Bikes can be hired by the day.

Where
3 Atholl Road, Pitlochry.
Telephone
01796 473859.

Opening hours

Their website
Monday
Closed
Tuesday
9am–5pm
Wednesday
9am–5pm
Thursday
9am–5pm
Friday
9am–5pm
Saturday
9am–5pm
Sunday
Closed

Eaten here? Tell others what to order and when to go, and the best go on this page with your name.

Add your tip

Did you know

Old bicycles hung on the wall above the tables at Escape Route.
Did you know

Bikes on the walls.

Old bikes hang on the cafe walls above the tables.

Escape Route's stone building carries a large cycling sign, with mountain bikes and a vintage Mini parked outside.
Did you know

Hire for the day.

Mountain bikes and e-bikes can be hired by the day for the trails around Pitlochry.

What is on

What is new across Perthshire, day by day.

New places, news and stories, as we find them.

What is on in Perthshire
01 / 03
Where it is

On Atholl Road in the middle of Pitlochry.

Close byPitlochry.
  1. Victoria'sVictoria'sUnder a mile 1 min by road
  2. The Perthshire Gallery, PerthshireThe Perthshire GalleryUnder a mile 1 min by road
  3. Cafe CallunaCafe CallunaA friendly cafe on Atholl Road, with cocktails late in the week.Under a mile 1 min by road
  4. The Old Mill InnThe Old Mill InnA family-run inn in a former corn mill off Atholl Road in Pitlochry, with a bistro and bar of local food, a courtyard, live music and rooms.Under a mile 1 min by road
  5. Quiet high street with canopied shopfronts and a red telephone box in the distancePitlochryA Victorian resort town on the Tummel.Under a mile 2 min by road
  6. Loch FaskallyLoch FaskallyThe loch made by the Pitlochry dam, ringed by woodland paths.2 miles 4 min by road
Directions
Turquoise-fronted Hetties tearoom, offering "Great Food, Cakery, Takeaway" and ice creamCafeHettie's Tea Rooms0.3 miles
John Muir Trust's Wild Space gallery, with hanging sign, on a Pitlochry street cornerShoppingJohn Muir Trust Centre0.4 miles
Loch Tummel viewed through autumn trees from Queen's View, PerthshireAttractionsQueen's View0.4 miles
Highland Soap Co shopfront with bay window on a stone corner buildingShoppingThe Highland Soap Company0.4 miles
Ivy-covered Blair Athol Distillery building with red doors and a curved wooden sculpture in the courtyardToursBlair Athol Distillery0.5 miles
Wooden hut with stag emblem beside a picnic bench and lawnAttractionsPitlochry Putting Green0.5 miles
Stone facade of the Atholl Arms Hotel with flags and flower basketsRestaurantsAtholl Palace Hotel0.6 miles
Pitlochry dam and hydroelectric power station beside the fish ladderAttractionsPitlochry Dam Visitor Centre0.8 miles
Whitewashed Moulin Hotel with green parasols and hanging flower baskets on a village streetRestaurantsMoulin Hotel and Brewery1.0 miles

Recommend to a friend

Stay nearby

Places to stay near Escape Route, and when each is next free.

A stone cottage with a gabled dormer window catches evening light among autumn trees, a bench and picnic table on the gravel outside.Charlottefield
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Tulliemet
  • 4 miles from Escape Route
Check datesAn aerial view shows a stone and timber cottage with a round hot tub in the garden, hills rising behind a dry stone wall.Pheasant Cottage
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Kincraigie
  • 6 miles from Escape Route
Check datesLittle Pheasant, PerthshireLittle Pheasant
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Perthshire
  • 6 miles from Escape Route
Check datesA stone farmhouse with dormer windows sits behind a timber post and rail fence, trees and hills visible beyond.Milton of Kincraigie
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Blair Atholl
  • 7 miles from Escape Route
Check datesPlaces to stayEvery stay in PerthshireAll our places to stay nearby, to search by date and by who is coming.See them all
Hidden Scotland, the magazine

Scotland, in print.

We want to show you the best that Scotland has to offer. The makers and the creatives, the enduring experiences, the evocative tales, the concealed corners. The roads less travelled that take you to places that matter. The adventures that gather you up and sweep you away. The blend of the wild and the artistic that makes Scotland what it is. We’d love for you to join us.

Get Issue 13Read it here
Find out more

For further reading, before you go. The details on this page were checked on .