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Thatched Iron Age roundhouses at the Scottish Crannog Centre at Dalerb, woods behind.
Perthshire

The Scottish Crannog Centre

A living museum of the Iron Age on the north shore of Loch Tay at Dalerb, with a rebuilt crannog, roundhouses and ancient crafts shown by hand.

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Welcome

Two and a half thousand years ago, people on Loch Tay built their homes out on the water: great round houses of timber and thatch raised on piles driven into the loch bed, reached by a walkway from the shore.

These are crannogs, and the loch holds the remains of many of them.

The Scottish Crannog Centre tells their story as a living museum. Since 2024 it has stood at Dalerb on the north shore, on a site many times larger than its old home, with a village of thatched roundhouses where guides show the crafts of the Iron Age by hand: spinning and weaving, dyeing wool with plants, turning wood on a pole lathe, grinding grain, and cooking over the fire. A museum holds finds from the crannogs, and a newly built crannog stands out on the water.

Guided tours run through the day, and there is a cafe, a playpark and access to the loch. The centre opens every day.

Before you go

Open every day from ten until six, with the last guided tour at four; the cafe opens from half past nine.

Where
Dalerb, Kenmore PH15 2NX, on the A827 on the north shore of Loch Tay.
Tickets
Adults £16.50, children £11, under-fives free.

Opening hours

Monday
10am–6pm
Tuesday
10am–6pm
Wednesday
10am–6pm
Thursday
10am–6pm
Friday
10am–6pm
Saturday
10am–6pm
Sunday
10am–6pm

Did you know

A woven wooden shelter holds coiled ropes and canvas bundles beside a riverbank.
Did you know

Homes on the water.

Iron Age people on Loch Tay built their houses out on the water, on timber piles.

Stone paving and planting by Loch Tay at the new Crannog Centre, the loch and hills beyond.
Did you know

A new home.

The centre moved to its new site on the north shore of Loch Tay in April 2024.

Foraged chestnuts, herbs and berries fill baskets and bowls on a wooden table.
Did you know

Colour from plants.

Guides show how Iron Age people dyed wool with plants.

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Where it is

On the north shore of Loch Tay at Dalerb, west of Kenmore.

Close byLoch Tay.
  1. Timber-clad Courtyard Lounge Bar with picnic tables set against autumn woodlandThe Courtyard Brasserie & BarUnder a mile 1 min by road
  2. KenmoreKenmoreThe estate village at the east end of Loch Tay.1 mile 3 min by road
  3. Sauna on a boat, PerthshireHotBoat Sauna, Taymouth MarinaScotland's first floating sauna, a wood-fired sauna on a boat at Taymouth Marina on Loch Tay, with sauna cruises and a jump into the loch.2 miles 5 min by road
  4. Falls of AcharnFalls of AcharnTwo waterfalls above Loch Tay, seen from the Hermit's Cave.3 miles 8 min by road
  5. Glen Lyon5 miles 10 min by road
  6. Gravestones and stone wall beside a church with arched windows and tall yew treesFortingall Yew TreeOne of the oldest living things in Europe, at Fortingall.5 miles 11 min by road
Directions
Turreted stone castle among trees, overlooking a barley fieldAttractionsCastle Menzies6.9 miles
A red sandstone and grey stone Victorian house stands wreathed in morning mist, a shrub with orange autumn leaves in the foreground.AberfeldyThe House at Dun AluinnSleeps 18 · 7.0 miles
Moss-covered rock face carved into a profile among woodland foliageAttractionsSt David's Well7.2 miles
Aberfeldy Gallery shopfront with framed paintings displayed in the windowAttractionsAberfeldy Gallery7.2 miles
Aberfeldy Watermill Bookshop & Cafe, AberfeldyCafeAberfeldy Watermill Bookshop & Cafe7.2 miles
The Tay Cafe & Takeaway shopfront with framed pictures and a chalkboard menu outsideRestaurantsThe Tay7.4 miles
AttractionsThe Birks of Aberfeldy7.5 miles
Timber-clad Glen Lyon Coffee Roasters building with picnic benches outsideCafeGlen Lyon Coffee Roastery and Cafe7.7 miles
Dewar's Aberfeldy Distillery sign in front of the ivy-covered stone buildingAttractionsDewar's Distillery8.0 miles
The Daily for 17 October, from Scotland with love. A wide waterfall churns over rock ledges, autumn trees lining the gorge.

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Stay nearby

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

A red sandstone and grey stone Victorian house stands wreathed in morning mist, a shrub with orange autumn leaves in the foreground.The House at Dun Aluinn
  • Sleeps 18
  • In Aberfeldy
  • 6 miles from the Crannog Centre
Check datesA sign reading "Garden Cottage" hangs on a white gate before a gravel drive, the white cottage and hills visible beyond.Garden Cottage
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Perthshire
  • 9 miles from the Crannog Centre
Free 14–16 NovA small stone bothy joined to a stone steading, seen across long grass under a Scots pine bough, a corrugated shed to the right.Lassintullich Bothy
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Perthshire
  • 9 miles from the Crannog Centre
Check datesA stone steading with a slated roof and an arched green door stands beside a gravel courtyard, daffodils growing at its base.West Tempar Bothy
  • Sleeps 2
  • In Perthshire
  • 9 miles from the Crannog Centre
Free 4–6 NovPlaces 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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