Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
9
By bus
Direct services to Inverness leave from opposite the
Birnam Hotel
on Perth Rd.
Destinations
Inverness (5 daily; 2hr 30min); Perth (every
30min; 40min).
ACCOMMODATION
Ì
Merryburn Hotel
Station Road
T
01350 727216,
W
merryburn.co.uk.
An old ironmonger's shop converted
into a small and inviting hotel, just across from the Birnam
Institute. Man
y of
the building's original Victorian features
are still intact.
£80
Aberfeldy and around
From Dunkeld the A9 runs north alongside the Tay for eight miles to Ballinluig, a
tiny village marking the turn-off along the A827 to
ABERFELDY
, a prosperous
settlement of large stone houses that acts as a service centre for the wider Loch Tay
area. Aberfeldy sits at the point where the Urlar Burn - lined by the silver birch
trees celebrated by Robert Burns in his poem
he Birks of Aberfeldy -
flows into the
River Tay.
Wade's Bridge
In Aberfeldy the Tay is spanned by the humpbacked, four-arch
Wade's Bridge
, built by
General Wade in 1733 during his efforts to control the unrest in the Highlands, and
one of the general's more impressive pieces of work. Overlooking the bridge from the
south end is the
Black Watch Monument
, depicting a pensive, kilted soldier; it was
erected in 1887 to commemorate the first muster of the Highland regiment gathered as
a peacekeeping force by Wade in 1740.
Dewar's World of Whisky
Half a mile east of Aberfeldy, just off the A827 • April-Oct Mon-Sat 10am-6pm, Sun noon-4pm; Nov-March Mon-Sat 10am-4pm • £7;
Cask Tasting Tour £18; Connoisseur Tour £25 •
W
dewarswow.com
he main set-piece attraction in Aberfeldy is
Dewar's World of Whisky
, at the Aberfeldy
Distillery, which puts on an impressive show of describing the process of making
whisky. A
Cask Tasting Tour
and
Connoisseur Tour
are available for real aficionados,
giving a more in-depth look around the distillery and a chance to taste (or “nose”) the
whisky at different stages in its life.
Castle Menzies
One mile west of Aberfeldy, across Wade's bridge • Easter to late Oct Mon-Sat 10.30am-5pm, Sun 2-5pm • £6 •
W
castlemenzies.co.uk
One mile west of Aberfeldy,
Castle Menzies
is an imposing, Z-shaped, sixteenth-
century tower house, which until the middle of the last century was the chief
seat of the Clan Menzies (pronouced “Ming-iss''). With the demise of the line, the
castle was taken over by the Menzies Clan Society, which since 1971 has been
involved in the process of restoring it. Much of the interior is on view, and most of
it is refreshingly free of fixtures and fittings, displaying an austerity that is much
more true to medieval life than many grander castles elsewhere in the country.
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION
ABERFELDY
By bus
Buses stop on Chapel Street in Aberfeldy, near the
junction with Dunkeld Street (the A827), with regular
services to Perth (up to 12 daily; 1hr 25min).
Tourist information
The Square in the town centre
(April-June, Sept & Oct Mon-Sat 10am-5pm, Sun
10.30am-3.30pm; July & Aug Mon-Sat 9.30am-5pm,
Sun 10.30am-3.30pm; Nov-March Mon-Wed
10am-4pm;
T
01887 820276). Good for advice on local
accommodation and details of nearby walking trails.
ACTIVITIES
Highland Safaris
Two miles west of Castle Menzies,
off the B846
T
01887 820071,
W
highlandsafaris.net.
Near the hamlet with the unfortunate name of Dull
(twinned with Boring, Oregon, USA), this adventure
