Town in Perthshire, Scotland
Pitlochry
A Highlands town whose loch was made by engineers, whose famous theatre began life in a tent, and where salmon climb a staircase to get past a dam.
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Key information
- County
- Perthshire
- Nation
- Scotland
- Known for
- Whisky, a fish ladder, the Theatre in the Hills and Victorian holiday charm
- Famous people
- John Stewart, Robert Louis Stevenson, Viscount Dundee
About Pitlochry
The loch that was built on purpose
Pitlochry's most photographed stretch of water, Loch Faskally, is not natural. It appeared around 1950, when the dam at Pitlochry was completed as part of the Tummel hydro-electric scheme and the valley behind it slowly filled. The water now looks as though it has always been there, framed by birch and pine. Walkers loop around it, and kayakers and paddleboarders use it on calm days. The dam came with a problem, though. Salmon heading upstream to spawn would have hit a concrete wall.
A staircase for salmon
The answer was the Pitlochry fish ladder, a series of stepped pools joined by submerged openings. Salmon can swim their way past the dam without having to leap between the pools, and the fish passing through are counted. The public viewing chamber is closed, but the ladder can still be seen from outside. It remains one of the town's best-known sights. Salmon run mainly in spring and autumn, when the fish are on the move.
Why a tent became the Theatre in the Hills
In 1951 a theatre company led by John Stewart set up in a tent in Pitlochry and put on a season of plays. The idea was bold for a Highland town of this size, and it worked. The company stayed and grew. In 1981 it moved into a purpose-built home beside the Tummel, with big windows looking onto the hills. Pitlochry Festival Theatre is still known as the Theatre in the Hills, and it runs a programme of plays through much of the year, not just in summer. A town of a few thousand people with a full repertory theatre is unusual, and it explains much of Pitlochry's character.
Whisky at both ends of the scale
Blair Athol distillery in the town dates to 1798 and is best known as a principal malt in Bell's blended Scotch whisky. You can tour it a short walk from the main street. Edradour, founded in 1825 at Balnauld, roughly two miles east of the town centre, is one of the smallest distilleries in Scotland. Its tiny scale, with farm-style buildings and a hand-built feel, is part of the appeal. Between them, the two distilleries cover the story of Scotch from big blending names to the smallest craft production.
How a quiet village became a Victorian resort
Pitlochry's name comes from Pictish and Gaelic roots meaning a place of stones. The Dunfallandy Stone, an early medieval Pictish cross-slab, stands on a hillside nearby and shows how long people have lived here. The town took off after the railway arrived in 1863, bringing Victorians to the Highlands. In 1878 the Atholl Hydropathic opened above the town, a vast baronial building that promised cures from fresh air and cold water. Today it trades as the Atholl Palace. Robert Louis Stevenson spent the summer of 1881 at Moulin, close to Pitlochry, where he wrote the eerie tale Thrawn Janet.
Woods, hills and a battlefield on the doorstep
Ben Vrackie rises to 841 metres behind the town and gives walkers a proper summit within reach of the high street. The Black Spout waterfall tumbles through Edinburgh Cottage woods, a short stroll from the centre. In October, Faskally Wood is the setting for the Enchanted Forest, a light-and-sound show that has run since 2002 and draws crowds from across Scotland. A few miles north, the Pass of Killiecrankie saw the Jacobite victory of 27 July 1689, where Viscount Dundee, known as Bonnie Dundee, was killed. Pitlochry makes a handy base for all of it, which is why it has been welcoming visitors for well over a century.
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