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Perthshire

The Hermitage

A wooded gorge on the River Braan by Dunkeld, looked after by the National Trust for Scotland, with Ossian's Hall of 1757 above the Black Linn Falls and some of Britain's tallest trees.

Welcome

Just west of Dunkeld, the River Braan tumbles through a wooded gorge under some of the tallest trees in Britain.

Visited and photographed by Simon Hird

The paths of the Hermitage wind among giant Douglas firs, their trunks rising straight as masts, with the river loud below, and in autumn the beeches and larches glow copper and gold.

The walk leads to Ossian's Hall, a little round folly built in 1757 as the centrepiece of a designed landscape, and named for the legendary Gaelic bard. Its visitors were meant to step from a dark room into a sudden view, and still do: glass doors open onto a balcony hanging right over the Black Linn Falls, where the Braan crashes down into deep foaming pools.

The paths carry on upstream to a stone bridge and Ossian's Cave, and back through the woods. The Hermitage is looked after by the National Trust for Scotland, and its car park fills early on fine days.

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The Daily for 28 October, from Scotland with love. The same waterfall seen closer, its churning white water framed by orange and red autumn foliage.
Before you go

Free, at any time.

The paths from the car park lead along the Braan to Ossian's Hall and the Black Linn Falls, and on to Ossian's Cave.

Where
Off the A9 a mile west of Dunkeld.
Looked after by
The National Trust for Scotland.

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Did you know

A swollen river crashes over rocks in a misty autumn forest gorge.
Did you know

A room with a roar.

Ossian's Hall was built in 1757 to surprise its visitors with a sudden view of the falls.

Tall conifers and beech trees rise around a shaded woodland path in Perthshire.
Did you know

Giant firs.

The Douglas firs at the Hermitage are among the tallest trees in Britain.

the Deil's Cauldron waterfall crashing through a narrow rocky gorge in full spate, autumn trees crowding the banks
Did you know

Black Linn.

Below the hall, the Braan crashes down the Black Linn Falls into deep foaming pools.

Ben Lerwill

From our guide to Perthshire

Follow in the footprints of Queen Victoria, William Wordsworth and composer Felix Mendelssohn by stepping into this sylvan world of Douglas firs and chuckling rivers, a spread of forest created as the pleasure-ground by the 3rd Duke of Atholl – who allegedly used a cannon to scatter seeds into harder-to-reach areas. Don’t miss the Black Linn waterfall, or the manmade curiosity that is Ossian’s Hall of Mirrors.

Read more
Graeme Johncock

The out of reach slopes around the Hermitage at Dunkeld were allegedly planted by the Duke of Atholl firing seeds out of a cannon.

Read more
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Where it is

On the River Braan just west of Dunkeld, off the A9.

Close byDunkeld and Birnam.
  1. A marble table for two with bentwood chairs in front of a wall of wooden wine racks at Redwood Wines in Dunkeld.Redwood WinesUnder a mile as the crow flies
  2. Shelves of gifts, baskets and jars fill a small shop interiorLÒN Store1 mile 3 min by road
  3. ARAN BakeryARAN BakeryFlora Shedden's bakery on Atholl Street in Dunkeld, named from the Gaelic for bread, with sourdough loaves, pastries, cakes and lunches.1 mile 3 min by road
  4. Gothic arched windows line the sandstone cathedral beside a mossy treeDunkeld CathedralThe ruined medieval cathedral of Dunkeld, on the lawns by the Tay.2 miles 3 min by road
  5. Birnam OakBirnam OakAn ancient oak on the bank of the Tay at Birnam.2 miles 4 min by road
  6. Loch of the Lowes Wildlife ReserveLoch of the Lowes Wildlife ReserveOspreys nesting 150 metres from the hides.4 miles 7 min by road
Directions
Picnic tables on a lawn with a canopy, church spire and townhouses behindRestaurantsThe Taybank1.4 miles
ShoppingHairy Coo & Co, Dunkeld1.4 miles
Rabbit statues flank the metal archway reading "Beatrix Potter GardenAttractionsBeatrix Potter Garden1.4 miles
Birnam, PerthshireAttractionsBirnam1.5 miles
A red timber cabin with a steep pitched roof stands on a hillside among pines, a covered deck and chairs to one side.DunkeldJuniperSleeps 2 · 2.5 miles
Bronze stag statue on a flowerbed outside a white turreted country houseAttractionsDunkeld House Hotel2.9 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 Dairy5.9 miles
Little Pheasant, PerthshirePerthshireLittle PheasantSleeps 4 · 6.8 miles
An aerial view shows a stone and timber cottage with a round hot tub in the garden, hills rising behind a dry stone wall.KincraigiePheasant CottageSleeps 6 · 6.8 miles

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Stay nearby

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

A 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
  • 2 miles from the Hermitage
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
  • 5 miles from the Hermitage
Check datesLittle Pheasant, PerthshireLittle Pheasant
  • Sleeps 4
  • In Perthshire
  • 5 miles from the Hermitage
Check datesA 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
  • 7 miles from the Hermitage
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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What we have written about it and more in Perthshire.

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