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The round dry-stone shelter on the top of Mount Blair, a steel viewpoint indicator ringing its rim, with snow-streaked hills across the glens beyond.
Perthshire

Mount Blair

A 744-metre hill on the Perthshire and Angus boundary, between Glen Shee and Glen Isla, with a track to the top.

Welcome

There's a great feeling in reaching a summit with a view in every direction, and Mount Blair gives you one for a morning's effort.

Because the walk starts high, there and back takes only about an hour and a half. The track climbs steeply for a stretch, so take it at your own pace and stop now and then to enjoy the view behind you. At the top you'll find a trig point and a big cairn under a tall telecoms mast, and a ring of stone walling built as a shelter. Sit inside it out of the wind, and the metal indicator running round its top will tell you what you're looking at. On a clear day you can see Ben Lawers to the west, the Lomonds to the south and the Cairngorms to the north, with both glens spread out below. The top is exposed, so pack a warm layer even on a sunny day.

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The Daily for 31 October, from Scotland with love. A ring of standing stones set among mist and autumn birch
A little further outVictoria's32 min by roadSee itVictoria's
Before you go

Open hill.

Parking
The lay-by at the start; it gets full.
The walk
Leave the road by a metal gate about 500 metres east of the lay-by, follow the track to the top and come back the same way: about 5 km, with 400 metres of climb.
Underfoot
A track all the way, faint at first and steep in places, through sheep pasture and then heather.
Dogs
On a short lead or close at heel in fields with sheep or cattle, and on the moor from April to July.

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Where it is

The walk starts from a lay-by on the B951, a mile east of the A93 at Lair.

Close byGlenshee, Glen Isla and Blairgowrie.
  1. Glenshee Café & Gift ShopGlenshee Café & Gift ShopA café, gift shop and farm shop on the A93 through Glenshee, a warm stop for walkers and skiers on the road to Braemar, open every day.2 miles 4 min by road
  2. The Cockstane: Clan MacThomas' Ancient Gathering StoneThe Cockstane: Clan MacThomas' Ancient Gathering StoneClach na Coileach, the Cockstane, a great glacial boulder in Glenshee that has been the gathering place of Clan MacThomas since the 1400s.3 miles 4 min by road
  3. Glen Shee from the road, heather and hills under a wide sky.GlensheeThe A93 climbing to the Cairnwell Pass and Scotland's largest ski area, with a summer chairlift, a café and Munros from the car park.7 miles 10 min by road
  4. The Reekie Linn pouring white into its gorge among autumn trees.Reekie LinnA waterfall on the River Isla north of Alyth, the smoky linn, where the river drops into a deep gorge in two falls that join into one when in spate.11 miles 19 min by road
  5. Farm café with beamed ceiling, mismatched chairs and cakes under glass domesPeel FarmA working family farm near Lintrathen with a coffee shop, a farm shop of its own Highland beef and lamb, a gift and antiques barn, ice cream and a nature trail.11 miles 20 min by road
  6. Devil’s Elbow ViewpointDevil’s Elbow ViewpointA viewpoint on the Cairnwell road between Glenshee and Braemar above the Devil's Elbow, the old double hairpin that drivers once dreaded, now left to walkers.11 miles 15 min by road
  7. Cargill’s Leap, PerthshireCargill’s LeapA 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.15 miles 22 min by road
  8. BlairgowrieA market town on the River Ericht at the edge of the Highlands, with its twin Rattray across the water, once a town of flax and jute mills and now of berry fields.16 miles 25 min by road
Directions
The whole of Larch House across its meadow: the larch-clad gable and long roof with roof lights, the lower wing beside it, a ring of river stones in the grass and oaks behind.BlairgowrieLarch HouseSleeps 6 · 1.4 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 Distillery5.4 miles
Glenshee Kirk, a small rubble-stone church with a bellcote, behind a mossy kirkyard wall and old gravestones, a green hill rising behind it at the Spittal of Glenshee.AttractionsSpittal of Glenshee5.8 miles
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 Wildland7.9 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 Lintrathen8.5 miles
Glass cake stands display Crunchie Tiffin, Raspberry Brownie and Summer Berry Victoria Sponge on a farm shop counterCafeThe Wandering Bear Cafe12 miles
Nàdair, AngusKirriemuirNàdairSleeps 6 · 13 miles
The Alyth Burn rushing over stones between autumn beeches in the Den o' Alyth.WalksDen o' Alyth16 miles
A stone cottage with a gabled dormer window catches evening light among autumn trees, a bench and picnic table on the gravel outside.TulliemetCharlottefieldSleeps 4 · 26 miles

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Stay nearby

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

The whole of Larch House across its meadow: the larch-clad gable and long roof with roof lights, the lower wing beside it, a ring of river stones in the grass and oaks behind.Larch House
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Blairgowrie
  • A mile from Mount Blair
Check datesNàdair, AngusNàdair
  • Sleeps 6
  • In Kirriemuir
  • 11 miles from Mount Blair
Free 4–7 DecA 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
  • 13 miles from Mount Blair
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
  • 14 miles from Mount Blair
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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