Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(
www.pkc.gov.uk
;
cnr George & Charlotte Sts; 10am-5pm Mon-Sat)
The city's main
museum is worth wandering through for the elegant neoclassical interior alone. There's a
varied shower of exhibits, ranging from portraits of dour lairds to interesting local social
history. A geological room provides more entertainment for the young, while there are of-
ten excellent temporary exhibitions.
Black Watch Museum
(
www.theblackwatch.co.uk
;
Hay St; adult/child £5/2.50; 9.30am-5pm Mon-Sat, also
10am-4pm Sun Apr-Oct)
Housed in a mansion on the edge of North Inch, this museum
honours what was once Scotland's foremost regiment. Formed in 1725 to combat rural
banditry, the Black Watch fought in numerous campaigns, re-created here with paintings,
memorabilia and anecdotes. Little attempt at perspective is evident: there's justifiable
pride in the regiment's role in the gruelling trench warfare of WWI, where it suffered
nearly 30,000 casualties, but no sheepishness about less glorious colonial engagements,
such as against the 'Fuzzy Wuzzies' of Sudan. In 2006 the Black Watch was subsumed in-
to the new Royal Regiment of Scotland. There should be a cafe here by the time you read
this.
MUSEUM
PERTH FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS
If you're in Perth in the last two weeks of May, you'll come across this low-profile but high-quality
arts festival
(
01738-621031;
www.perthfestival.co.uk
)
. Various venues around town host a diverse range of cultural events;
don't be surprised to see some big-name band of yesteryear or quality ballet troupe appearing at very reasonable
prices.
Sleeping
Parklands££
(
01738-622451;
www.theparklandshotel.com
;
2 St Leonard's Bank; s/d £93/123;
)
Tucked away near the train station, this relaxing, recently renovated hotel sits amidst
a lush hillside garden overlooking the parklands of South Inch. While the rooms - which
vary in size and shape - conserve the character of this beautiful building, formerly the res-
HOTEL
