Beeches

Road Signs - Some Help

by scotlandscotour

I took this picture of a typical road sign - to try and help any potential drivers / riders coming to Scotland.
A Ring Road bypasses the town centre - for traffic heading further on to avoid congestion, in theory.
H &AE is perhaps the most important to know. Hospital with Accident and Emergency facility - the sort you will be wanting I expect.
Train stations have their own peculiar sign, supposed to signify rail tracks I believe.
And the tourist information "i" is pretty well used everywhere, no matter what quality of info you find!!!
Best of luck.

whisky tasting

by iaint

A guided tour of the Blair Athol Distillery, followed by a taste of the real thing!

The distillery is part of the Diageo multinational, so don't go thinking this is some cute cottage industry. 98% of its production goes into the Bell's brand blended whisky and the rest is bottled and sold as a single malt (all these technicalities will be explained to you).

Check in advance for the guided tour timings. If it's important to you, ask if production will actually be taking place when you want to visit. It was not when we were there, due to Christmas holidays.

The tour takes 45 minutes and costs £5 per adult (December 08). However we were given vouchers to take £3 off the purchase of any single malt from the gift shop. At that time a bottle of Blair Athol cost about £30.

The distillery is at the south end of the town, and is well signposted in the town.

However, 2 points to remember to avoid confusion
- it is not in Blair Athol, which is a village to the north of Pitlochry
- the town has 2 other distilleries, so do not mix it up with (for example) the Edradour Distillery.

I've been on other distillery tours, and they are all pretty similar. The products are not, however! At one, we were able to sample 3 different single malts all from the same distillery but different ages. Blair Athol only has the one 12 year old malt.

Good value, I would say, especially if you can walk or take the train (or otherwise arrange to be able to enjoy the free dram).

Highland Perthshire - Getting Wild Quickly

by scotlandscotour

Most people forget or neglect that a huge chunk of Perth County (Perthshire) is north of the Highland Boundary Fault (geology) and is wild Highland scenery, of rough mountain, heather moor and brooding lochs.

This is most obvious driving north up the A9 road towards Pitlochry and Inverness. Just 8 miles out of Perth the countryside changes, quite dramatically, giving you one of the most beautiful, thrilling and special areas in all Scotland - and very near to the cities. (Aim for Dunkeld - a lovely town amidst this scenery).

The hills around Highland Perthshire are covered with Iron Age Forts, such as Dunsinane Hill (of Macbeth fame) but it is the scenery north that excels - head for Aberfeldy and Pitlochry.

Lochs to aim for are Tummel, Rannoch and Earn - some of the best views in all the land.

Lateral thinking backpackers could take the post bus to Rannoch Station, via Loch Rannoch, then join a train north west to Fort William. Few do it, but thats no reason why you shouldn't.

Write to me for more details.

Bicycling in Tayside

by taxing

"Beginning in Perth"

We booked our trip through Scottish Cycling Holidays at http://www.scotcycle.co.uk. They set up bed and breakfasts each night, provided bicycles and luggage transfer each day. All we had to do was get on the bikes and follow their excellent map. Our trip started in Perth, continued to Pitlochry, up a very steep and long mountain and over to Dundee and finally to St. Andrews. Except for the day out of Pitlochry, the riding was easy.