Everything that is beautiful in Scotland – lochs, rivers, high hills and glens – can be found in just one place.

This is the Highland Perthshire, one of the most picturesque places in Scotland.

The majestic landscape of this region, particularly the bottoms of its narrow glens, is rich and fertile, and full of greenery, trees and farmland. There are rugged hills covered in heather, colorful wild flowers, and lovely wildlife too including grouse, red deer, and golden eagle.

In contrast, the highlands in the far north are more rocky and less fertile, but they have a stark beauty of their own as well.

Pitlochry is at the very heart of the Highland Perthshire and has interesting places and activities for day trips. If you are passing through here on your way north or south, it is worth stopping for a day to check out some lovely stops.

We took a day out from Aviemore in the north to explore this region and found some interesting places to enjoy.

BEST STOPS FOR A DAY IN PITLOCHRY

River Garry Waterfall

This is rather a low profile but interesting stop with not much of a signboard.

Garry Bridge
Linn of Tummel
Walk through the arch

River Garry is a major tributary of the River Tummel, which goes on to merge into River Tay. The Linn of Tummel is where River Garry meets River Tummel, and flows down in a lovely series of waterfalls.

Park on a side road B8019 next to the Garry bridge, walk towards the bridge and find the gap with an arch to get to the river and falls. There is a woodland with dried leaves on one side and the falls on another side. It is a lovely walk along the river towards the falls. There is a point where you can get down to the water if you want to.

It is a very peaceful and quiet place – the only sounds we could hear were from the falls and flowing water. There were a couple of squirrels for company!

The Queen’s View

A popular stop for tourists, the Queen’s view is also known as a lookout point and has some woodland trails to explore.

Queen's View Lookout point
Queen's view landscape and greenery
Queen's Viewpoint

The name Queens View comes probably from Queen Victoria’s frequent visits to this place. It is also widely believed that it refers to Isabella of Mar, wife of the King of Scots, Robert the Bruce. Not sure which one it is, maybe both!

The Queen’s view is best accessed by a car, but can also be reached using a bus service from Pitlochry centre.

This popular vantage point gives sweeping panoramic views along Loch Tummel and the mountains surrounding Glencoe by the west coast.

There is an excellent gift shop and tea room next to the car park.

In addition to the viewpoint, there are plenty of beautiful forest walk opportunities in the surrounding area of Strathtummel. We took in some more magnificent views over Loch Tummel during our walk and came upon the remains of an 8th century ring fort and an ancient farmstead.

The visitor centre provided by the Forestry Commission has an interesting video corner showing the local history and wildlife and has bookshelves full of guide books and maps.

The Birks of Aberfeldy and the Falls of Moness

Here’s a great place with a 1.5 mile walk through woodland along Moness Glen just outside the Aberfeldy town.

The circular walk might take about 2 hours due to the steep uneven path, or even 3 hours if you want to take breaks and enjoy the walk and views.

The waterfalls reached at the end of the walk are a feature of the hanging glen that is made popular by Robert Burns through his poem ‘The Birks o’Aberfeldie’ in 1787. The word ‘birks’ (Scottish) comes from Birch trees or just trees.

Falls at Aberfeldy
View of the falls and bridge

The waterfalls you reach finally to are a series of hanging waterfalls through mixed woodland on the western outskirts of Aberfeldy.

Which direction should you walk?

This is a rather strange but important question. After coming out of the parking lot and just beyond the upper section, you will find that there are two options, paths on the left and right with a river flowing in between.

Both left and right paths finally reach a bridge which gives a great view of the waterfalls. Throughout the walking path, you get awesome views of the river as it flows to the gorge.

The right path is rather steep and uncomfortable initially with less view of the little falls along the path. The left, on the contrary, is less steep and easier to manage with pleasant views of little waterfalls all along the path to the bridge. But, at the bridge, the left path gets to be quite arduous, because you have to clamber up many really steep steps (about 12-16 inches high) to climb to the bridge.

We took the right path, and then after seeing the falls, took the left and enjoyed the little falls along the way back to the car park.

We came across some unusual mushrooms (they looked like seashells) on some trees in the wooded slopes. We thought they were some man-made things, before we realised they were actually mushrooms!

Unique mushrooms on trees
Woodland route en route to the falls
The path to the falls

Along the left path before hitting the bridge, there is a statue of Robert Burns seated on a bench with a notepad in hand. The spot is referred to as Burn’s Cave.

The Upper falls of Moness are a series of beautiful cascading 3-tier falls.

Overall, the Birks of Aberfeldy walk and the views are very rewarding, but you need good shoes and a fair level of fitness. We found it best to take it slow and enjoy the views.

Pitlochry Boating Station & Café

A rather unusual place we came across in our drive through Pitlochry, but a great place to relax and enjoy some boating, and perhaps fishing and some walks too.

Boats, ducks and loch view
View of loch and boats at Pitlochry boating Station

It also has a lovely café with good choices for breakfast and lunch with home cooked meals. The café has both inside and outside seating. We enjoyed a small meal seated outside watching the ducks and boats while great loch views adorned the far horizon.

In addition, there are some gorgeous strolls along the woodland and the loch – a popular loop-walk in particular.

Finally, Pitlochry is a great place to stop when you are driving to the northern highlands to Inverness, Aviemore or beyond. You could stop for a day or even part of the day and enjoy some walks or views.

Images of Pitlochry
Pitlochry pin

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Leisurely Drives
Pitlochry queens view
Garry Bridge
Linn of Tummel
Walk through the arch
Queen's View Lookout point
Queen's view landscape and greenery
Queen's Viewpoint
Falls at Aberfeldy
View of the falls and bridge
Unique mushrooms on trees
Woodland route en route to the falls
The path to the falls
Boats, ducks and loch view
View of loch and boats at Pitlochry boating Station
Images of Pitlochry
Pitlochry pin
Poolewe and Surrounds – Scotland
Day Trips from Bettyhill – Scotland
Skye – Scotland’s Enchanting Island
The Magical Cave & Waterfall – Scotland
The Best Sights on the NC500 Route – Scotland
Day Trips from Aviemore – Scotland
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