Walking In Highland Perthshire

Above The Soldiers Leap

One of our favourite walks in Highland Perthshire is from Blair Atholl to Pitlochry. It’s about 16km (about 10 miles in old money) in length with a total ascent of 600m (about 2,000 feet). It’s a very interesting walk and, with decent weather, offers some great views.

The walk starts by catching the train (or a bus) from Pitlochry to Blair Atholl. The journey is a scenic one, particularly when it goes through the Pass of Killiecrankie. When you leave the railway station, you walk past the Blair Athol Watermill. There has been a water mill on this site since the 1590s. Nowadays, if you have the time, you can look at the mill working and enjoy a delicious piece of cake and a coffee. 

From here, the route crosses over the River Garry and then across the A9 (take extra care here!). Once you’re over the A9, the route follows an old right of way which climbs through a lovely birch wood. As you leave the birch wood, the views open out, and you can see the high hills such as Beinn Dearg, Beinn a’Ghlo and Ben Vrackie. There are also some fantastic old Scots pines on the moor.

The path takes you through a gate and an area of old rhododendrons. From here, you can see the hills to the south and west, which includes Schiehallion and Ben Lawers. After a short distance, a faint path turns off to the left, we follow this over the high moor with great views in all directions. 

This stretch of moor is on a band of very old limestone which is between 500 and 1,000 million years old (best seen in the Shierglas quarry which is very visible from Blair Atholl and the A9). It’s a Special Area of Conservation for limestone-related features (such as dry grasslands, limestone outcrops, dry heaths) and some very rare snails! 

As you head down towards the farm at Ardtulichan, you’ll see the ruins of the deserted settlement of Baldornie. There is a Bronze Age stone circle nearby, as well as prehistoric cup-marked stones. After the farm, the path heads up to Craig Fonvuick. This hill might be only 413m high, but it has great views in all directions and is a super place for a late picnic lunch.

From here, the path descends past the atmospheric old farmstead at Corhulichan. There is a ruined lime kiln nearby. A narrow path takes you down through some lovely woodlands and out onto the Tenandry road.

Tenandry Kirk was built in 1836. It has a T-plan pattern common at the time, with a pulpit set midway along one wall. At the time, the owners of the Tenandry Estate (a Mr & Mrs Hay of Seggieden), approached the Scottish arm of the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge and offered land and an endowment to build a "Chapel of Ease" (provided to reduce the length of walk to church for some parishioners).

From here you follow the minor road to Garry Bridge and then down into the Pass of Killiecrankie. The name in Gaelic comes from Coille Chneagaidh (or Coille Chreithnich) which means “Wood of the Aspen”.

If you’re lucky (or not depending on your views!), you might see someone bungee-jumping from below the bridge or enjoying the new zipwire attraction.

Once you’ve walked over the bridge, the route follows the Bealach path back to Pitlochry. The path hugs the River Garry and Loch Faskally before reaching Loch Dunmore. This is a pretty spot, you can often get very good reflections in the calm water.

The Boating Station is a good place for refreshments and a well-deserved piece of cake or a snack!

The Visitor Centre at Pitlochry Dam provides a lot of interesting information about the dam and the development of hydroelectric schemes in Perthshire. The water here comes from beyond Dalwhinnie (collected to the north then by aqueduct into Loch Ericht and then another pipeline (12 miles long) to Loch Errochty and then into the Tummel! The café at the visitor centre is also a good stop for sandwiches, cakes and other treats.

The walk should take you between six and seven hours, including an hour or so for stops along the way.

The walk is one of our “guided walks in Highland Perthshire” and is available throughout much of the summer and autumn. Booking on one of our guided walks is easy through our website at www.perthshiretreks.scot. You can keep up-to-date with our walking adventures on Facebook or Instagram using @perthshiretreks.

Richard Davison & Brenda Clough

Perthshire Treks