We were picked up at the train in Pitlochry by a porter from our lodging, The Fonab Castle Hotel, said porter wearing a proper kilt. Very posh hotel, but not our favorite on the trip. Situated on the bank of the Tummel River, the hotel is conveniently located close to town, and just up the road from the Pitlochry Festival Theatre. After checking in we had a beer, nap, then dinner in the casual restaurant. Then we went to the Theatre for a performance by the Rachel Newton Trio. Rachel, the lead singer, played the harp as you can see below. Very good show.
Our driver for the day, Ronnie Owens picked us up at the civilized hour of 10:00 AM for a tour of Perthshire. Ronnie is a retired Detective Inspector from the Met in London, I believe he said. Could not have found a better tour driver. If you want a tour of the Pertshire area, use Ronnie. rowens55@rocketmail.com Bespoke Highland Car Tours.
Boats on Loch Tummel, a loch formed by dam across the River Tummel at the location of our hotel.
One of our first stops was at the Dunkeld Cathedral which has been holy ground at least since the 8th century. http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/dunkeld/cathedral/index.html
The Wolf of Badenoch’s final resting place is in the cathedral. http://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usbiography/s/alexanderstewartbuchan.html
We next drove the little village of Fortingall, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortingall the home of a very early Christian site, and the oldest living thing in Europe, an ancient yew tree, believed to be over 5000 years old. Here is an old font from the church yard.
We next visited Croft Moraig http://www.britainexpress.com/scotland/Tayside/ancient/croft-moraig.htm a religious or ceremonial stone circle dating back to maybe 4000 BC.
And now I will bore you with some of the prettiest scenery in Scotland. I think of all the Highlands we saw, Perthshire is my favorite. Not dramatic scenery, but beautiful.
The road less traveled, or maybe the road we traveled.
After a great day touring Perthshire, we returned to the Fonab Castle Hotel, grabbed a quick meal and went down to the Theatre for another night of music, this time a Scottish folk group, North Sea Gas. Truly one of the best groups I have heard in a long while.
The next morning, we wandered around Pitlochry for awhile.
We then caught our train to Edinburgh.
