Trails through time

The history of Highland Perthshire is written across the woodlands of Tay Forest Park. You’ll find ancient hilltop forts, ruined farmsteads, military bridges and Victorian follies – and you can trace the fascinating story of the birth of Scottish forestry here.

Our trees tell a story

A ‘model forest’ was planted in the 19th century at Faskally and young foresters learnt their craft at the Wood School there a century later, planting a wonderful array of species around Loch Dunmore. The Dukes of Atholl planted the great trees at Craigvinean in Victorian times, and you can stroll amongst magnificent exotic species at Weem, brought to Scotland by some of this country’s greatest plant collectors. Step back even further in time at Drummond Hill, where Black Duncan of Breadalbane planted the hill with what is probably Scotland’s first managed forest.

Staking your claim

The hilltop strongholds at Grandtully, Drummond Hill and Allean all provided their inhabitants with spectacular vantage points over the surrounding hills and lochs. Centuries later, Queen Victoria enjoyed the spectacular vista over Loch Tummel, noting in her journal in 1866 that the Queen’s View was named after her. However, the name is said to have been inspired by Isabella, wife of Richard the Bruce, over 500 years earlier!

Weighing the view

The hill route to the much-loved conical mountain of Schiehallion begins at Braes of Foss. Its slopes were first inhabited and cultivated around 3,000 years ago and it has been attracting walkers to its summit for centuries. The mountain is also unique for its part in a remarkable mathematic experiment in the 18th century to estimate the mass of the Earth.