The Central Highlands - The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands - page 137

On the road to the Monachyle Mhor hotel is the unexpected sight of the Dhanakosa
Buddhist retreat centre ( T 01877 384213, W dhanakosa.com) - they run weekend or
week-long retreats here, with courses ranging from t'ai chi to hillwalking.

ACCOMMODATION AND EATING BALQUHIDDER

MHOR 84 Balquhidder Lochearnhead T 01877 384622,
W mhor.net. An agreeable and stylish addition to the
MHOR empire, this is a seven-room motel (with one family
room and two dog-friendly ones). Their super-cool restau-
rant serves excellent seafood dishes (five-cour se d inner
£55, two-course lunch £24). Daily noon-11pm. £80
Ì Monachyle MHOR Loch Voil T 01877 384622,

W mhor.net. Drive 6 miles beyond the village to this much-
acclaimed hotel/restaurant, set in an eighteenth-century
farmhouse. It features chic modern rooms and a terrific
restaurant (open to non-residents, but book ahead; set
dinner £47). They specialize in locally sourced food, much of
it from the family's farm and bakery, and there are views over
Loch Voil. Food served noon-1.45pm & 7-9pm. £195

2

Perthshire
Genteel Perthshire is, in many ways, the epitome of well-groomed rural Scotland. First
settled over eight thousand years ago, it was occupied by the Romans and then the
Picts before Celtic missionaries established themselves, enjoying the amenable climate,
fertile soil and ideal location for defence and trade. North and west of the county town
of Perth, there are some magnificent landscapes to be discovered - snow-capped peaks
falling away to forested slopes and long, deep lochs - topography that inevitably
controls transport routes, influences the weather and tolerates little development.
The various mountains, woods and lochs provide terrific walking and watersports,
particularly through the Strath Tay area, dominated by Scotland's longest river, the Tay ,
which flows from Loch Tay past the attractive towns of Dunkeld and Aberfeldy . Further
north, the countryside of Highland Perthshire becomes more sparsely populated and
more spectacular, especially around the towns of Pitlochry and Blair Atholl and the wild
expanses of Rannoch Moor to the west.

Dunkeld
DUNKELD , twelve miles north of Perth on the A9, was proclaimed Scotland's
ecclesiastical capital by Kenneth MacAlpine in 850. Its position at the southern
boundary of the Grampian Mountains made it a favoured meeting place for
Highland and Lowland cultures, and the town is one of the area's most pleasant
communities, with handsome whitewashed houses, appealing arts and crafts shops, and
a charming cathedral.

Dunkeld cathedral
Cathedral St • Daily: April-Sept Mon-Sat 9.30am-6.30pm, Sun 2-4pm; Oct-March Mon-Sat 9.30am-4pm, Sun 2-4pm • Free •
W dunkeldcathedral.org.uk
Dunkeld's partly ruined cathedral is on the northern side of town, in an idyllic setting
amid lawns and trees on the east bank of the Tay. Construction began in the early
twelfth century and continued throughout the next two hundred years, but the
building was more or less ruined at the time of the Reformation. The present structure
consists of the fourteenth-century choir and the fifteenth-century nave; the choir,
restored in 1600 (and several times since), now serves as the parish church, while the
nave remains roofless apart from the clock tower. Inside, note the leper's peep near the
pulpit in the north wall, through which lepers could receive the sacrament without
coming into contact with the congregation. Also look out for the effigy of the Wolf of
Badenoch , Robert II's son, born in 1343. The Wolf acquired his name and notoriety
when, after being excommunicated for leaving his wife, he took his revenge by burning
the towns of Forres and Elgin and sacking the latter's cathedral.