Pitlochry
today is a thriving tourist town,
situated beside the A9, the main route to Inverness and Loch
Ness, from Central Scotland. The town works very hard at
promoting itself by making the many thousands of visitors who
stay in Pitlochry feel most welcome.
During the summer months visitors are inspired by the many
floral displays, gardens and hanging baskets organised by a very
active group of volunteers called Pitlochry in Bloom. The town
has won Scotland in Bloom, Britain in Bloom and many other
awards over the years.
Pitlochry is known for it’s dam and fish ladder, where
visitors can view, (via two observation windows), salmon
migrating up the ladder into Loch Faskally. Some 5,500 salmon
make this journey each year. The great thing about the dam and
fish ladder is that it is part of a short circular walk from
Pitlochry’s main street over a footbridge and dam wall along the
River Tummel. You can also visit the Hydro Electric Visitor
display within the dam, which explains how we get electricity,
from the many turbines at different points on our rivers and
dams.
The Pitlochry Theatre is another important part of the
rich jigsaw that makes up the town. Each summer a rolling
repertoire of six different plays, plus weekend events and
workshops run each week, and over the winter months the
Pitlochry Theatre has started to run winter shows, from
traditional Scottish music, Burns suppers, individual touring
shows and much more.
Bells Blair Athol Distillery is situated at the eastern
entry to the town, and is a short five-minute walk from
Pitlochry town Centre.
The Edradour Distillery, Scotland’s
smallest distillery is located in the hills to the north east
of the town. A short 10 minute car journey or 30 minutes walk
through a lovely ancient oak woodland past the falls of Black
Spout Wood, which is part of the Pitlochry walks system, a set
of inter-linked walks ranging from 1-11 miles high, medium and
low walks. Leaflets can be picked up at different locations
around the town for 50p. Both these distilleries are worth a
visit in their own right, to see the large modern distillery
versus an older more traditional one.
The Highland Nights run throughout the summer months, on
Monday evenings. The night starts with the Robert Wiseman
Dairies Vale of Atholl Pipe Band marching down Pitlochry’s main
street leading visitors to the sports ground, where if you are
in a car, you can just drive onto the field and watch from the
comfort of your own car, or there is seated terracing allowing
visitors, good views of the evenings performances,
of Scottish
dancers,
traditional Gaelic singers, pipers and much more. all
for a varied nights entertainment.
You will find an excellent range of restaurants to choose from,
a range of shops, the local butcher who sources all his meat
from local Highland farms, and makes all his produce on the
premises. You will find an excellent range of hotels, guest
houses, and bed and breakfasts in Pitlochry.
