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A walk up the Knock of Crieff
A walk · Crieff

The Knock of Crieff – Where the Lowlands Meet the Highlands

The Knock car parkStartKnock of Crieff, 279 mThe top

The Knock of Crieff is the small wooded hill above the town, 279 metres high, with a view indicator on top naming the mountains near and far.

From there the flat, fertile farmland of Strathearn runs up against the first of the Highland hills. It's a short climb from the car park through mixed woods where red squirrels live, or a longer loop for a fuller morning.

Time
Half an hour for the short walk of about a kilometre; about two hours for the council's longer Knock Path of about 6 km. The top is 279 m. A stroll, or a walk with a steep climb.
The path
Mixed woodland paths, muddy in places, with a steep climb on the longer walk.
Where to start
The Knock car park, signed from Ferntower Road.
When to go
All year in daylight.
Dogs
Under close control: horse riders and cyclists share the paths.
Children
The short walk is fine for school-age children.
Toilets
Public toilets in James Square and MacRosty Park in Crieff.

The walk

The walk starts at the Knock car park, signed from Ferntower Road on the north side of Crieff. Perth and Kinross Council's Knock Path has a short walk of about a kilometre, half an hour, and a longer one of about 6 km, two hours, with a steep climb; you can also walk up from the town centre. The paths run through mixed woodland where red squirrels live, and horse riders and cyclists use them too.

The top of the hill, 279 metres, has a view indicator that names the mountains, and the view sets the farmland of Strathearn against the rugged Highland hills to the north. The Knock takes its name from the old Scots word for a hillock. The longer walk comes down by a conifer wood to Highlandman Loan, the lane the drovers used to dodge Crieff's tolls.

Paths can be muddy after rain. The nearest public toilets are in James Square and MacRosty Park in the town.

If it rains

Under the trees most of the way, though the view from the top goes in low cloud; the paths get muddy.

Before you go

  1. Book accommodation nearby

    If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.

    The nearest of ours is The Old Farmhouse, 8 miles away. Sleeps 8.

    Then Cromlix, 11 miles away.

Find out more

For further reading, before you go.

Photograph by Joyce Grieves via Google