Located in the heart of Big Tree Country, Dunkeld is a small Scottish town on the north bank of the River Tay. It’s a beautifully preserved example of an 18th-century Scottish burgh, with many of its buildings restored by the National Trust for Scotland.
Stroll through Dunkeld to admire its 18th and 19th-century monuments, which include the Neo-Gothic Atholl Memorial Fountain dedicated to the Scottish Freemason, George Murray. Take note of the iron weaver’s measure on the 18th-century Ell Shop and visit the Duchess of Atholl Girls’ School, which was designed by the architect brothers, Richard and Robert Dickson.
On the opposite side of the River Tay is the Birnam Oak, which is believed to be the only tree remaining from the Birnam Wood mentioned in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”. A short drive west lies the National Trust-run Hermitage, a protected tract of woodland home to the Georgian folly of Ossian's Hall of Mirrors.
Getting there
Dunkeld is around 25 minutes’ drive from Perth and an hour from Dundee while Edinburgh Airport is just over an hour away. Trains stop at the Dunkeld & Birnam railway station and the village is compact enough to explore on foot.