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Villages
in Perthshire.

It’s 20:57 in Perthshire.
Perthshire

Villages by the loch and the river.

Perthshire's villages each have their own charm. There's a white-harled planned village where the River Tay leaves Loch Tay, a Victorian village on the riverbank opposite Dunkeld, and a Highland village at the end of Loch Rannoch, settled by soldiers after the last Jacobite rising. They make perfect bases for walks along the water and up into the hills, and most have a café, an inn or a good shop to stop in. Wander slowly, and leave time for the riverbanks.

Kenmore→
Birnam→
Kinloch Rannoch→
Village of the day19 hours ago

Kenmore.

A white-harled planned village where the Tay leaves Loch Tay, built by the Earl of Breadalbane after 1755, with an inn dated 1572 and a bridge of 1774.

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Did you know18 hours ago

Kinloch Rannoch, in Perthshire, was settled with old soldiers after 1745.

Discharged soldiers were brought to the village to build roads, bridges and schools.

See Kinloch Rannoch · Perthshire
From our guide16 hours ago

Pitlochry.

The River Tummel is the lifeblood of the town of Pitlochry, a popular stop-off for those travelling north to the Highlands. Among its attractions, the Pitlochry Dam Visitor Centre is far more interesting than it sounds, and has a fish ladder to allow salmon to migrate upstream.

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Stay13 hours agoPerthshireJuniper1.4 milesPerthshireLittle Pheasant5.3 milesPerthshirePheasant Cottage5.3 miles

Stay near Birnam.

The three good places closest to it: Juniper, Little Pheasant and Pheasant Cottage.

See Birnam
Did you know12 hours ago

Stanley Mills, on the River Tay near Perth, built in 1786, is the best preserved of all the mills the mill builder Richard Arkwright had a hand in.

A group of Perth merchants, eager to start a cotton industry on the Tay, persuaded Arkwright to put his money and expertise into the mill, built at a hairpin bend in the river. It used the river's water power to make textiles for 200 years, until it closed for good in 1989. Its workers were mostly women and children, and lived in Stanley village, first built in the 1780s. Historic Environment Scotland now looks after it, and its Bell Mill, largely unchanged, is one of the world's oldest surviving factories. Visitors can walk the lades, the channels that carried the power of the Tay to the mill.

Read about it
From the magazine10 hours agoThe printed copy of Issue 11Issue 11Autumn / Winter 2025–26

On a Friday afternoon in Aberfeldy, Highland Perthshire, the artist Zanna Wilson walks by the River Tay to Weem, crossing Wade's Bridge or looping back past Castle Menzies.

Zanna, who has lived in Aberfeldy since 2008 and runs the Watermill Gallery there, gives two ways to go. You can walk directly to Weem via Wade's Bridge and the avenue, or follow the river towards Kenmore, looping back through Weem meadow, past Castle Menzies and through the village. Pick up a picnic in town and enjoy it on the way. For a shorter option, wander through Aberfeldy Golf Course to Victoria Park, which also has a bowling green and tennis courts. For a fresh perspective on the river, she also suggests trying something on the water, and she is especially fond of kayaking and swimming.

Read the full story in Issue 11
Just opened9 hours ago

There is a crannog on Loch Tay again, five years after fire destroyed the last one.

The new Iron Age-style house stands off the shore at Dalerb, near Kenmore. The Scottish Crannog Centre takes visitors out to it on guided tours from its new museum and Iron Age village.

Photograph: VAREILLES Family on Google MapsSee The Scottish Crannog Centre · Perthshire
Perthshire7 hours ago

The huts at Cultybraggan, by Comrie, held the prisoners Britain judged the most committed Nazis, and now the village owns them.

Cultybraggan Camp, beside the village of Comrie in Perthshire, was built in 1941 and became Prisoner of War Camp 21, holding men the British judged the most committed Nazis. Its rows of curved huts still stand. A Cold War bunker was finished here in 1990, and in 2007 the Comrie Development Trust bought the site for the village.

Find out more about Cultybraggan Camp
From our guide4 hours ago

Alyth.

Not far from Blairgowrie, Alyth is a village with roots stretching back to the 11th century, resulting in plenty of historic charm, from a 500-year-old packhorse bridge to the remains of an even older church.

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From our guide3 hours ago

Crieff.

Traditions run deep in Crieff, a lively market town brimming with family-run businesses and seriously good dining options. The Glenturret Distillery (home to a Michelin-starred restaurant) and the Caithness Glass visitor centre are among the top draws, and special mention also goes to Gordon & Durward, a sweet shop in place since 1925.

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Did you know25 minutes ago

Divers in Loch Tay, Perthshire, found a 2,500-year-old house built out over the water, and among its finds was butter made from cow's milk.

A house like this is called a crannog. Oakbank Crannog was found near Fearnan in 1979 and dug until 2005, and its finds date to around 450 to 500 BC, the early Iron Age. The cold loch silt kept wood and cloth that would normally rot away, including the oldest known twill woollen cloth in Britain and a wooden whistle. The finds are now a Nationally Significant Collection. They helped rebuild a crannog and its village at the Scottish Crannog Centre on Loch Tay, where they are shown close to where the people lived.

See The Scottish Crannog Centre · Perthshire

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