Blairgowrie

Blairgowrie sits either side of the River Ericht in eastern Perthshire, where the fertile Strathmore lowlands begin to give way to the Grampian foothills. The town grew up around the river's power: mill lades once drove flax and jute spinning works, and the fast water still tumbles through a rocky gorge right in the town centre, a genuinely dramatic feature to stumble on between the shops. Twinned with its smaller neighbour Rattray across the water, Blairgowrie has long been Scotland's unofficial raspberry capital, with the surrounding fields having supplied jam factories and canneries across Britain since the early twentieth century.

What makes Blairgowrie worth a detour is its position as a genuine gateway town. It is the southern start and finish point of the Cateran Trail, a 64-mile waymarked circular walk through the glens once raided by cattle-thieving caterans, and it is the main service town for the Glenshee Ski Centre 24 miles north on the road to Braemar. That combination of lowland market town and access point to proper Highland scenery gives it a useful, unpretentious character rather than a chocolate-box one.

Top things to do in Blairgowrie

The town itself is compact, but it opens onto some of Perthshire's best walking, cycling and heritage sites within a short drive.

• The Cateran Trail — the full circuit is a serious 5-day undertaking, but the riverside stretch out of Blairgowrie along the Ericht past old mill buildings makes a fine half-day walk without committing to the whole route.
• Cargill's Leap and the River Ericht gorge — a short, dramatic walk through the wooded gorge that cuts right through town, named after a Covenanter who is said to have leapt the chasm to escape dragoons.
• Meikleour Beech Hedge — around 6 miles south of Blairgowrie, this Guinness World Record holder is roughly 30 metres high and 530 metres long, planted in 1745 and now a genuine botanical curiosity rather than a mere hedgerow.
• Glenshee Ski Centre — 24 miles north on the A93, the UK's largest ski area by number of runs, and increasingly used for hillwalking, mountain biking and chairlift-assisted days out once the snow has gone.
• Golf at Blairgowrie Golf Club — a well-regarded parkland course (the Rosemount) that regularly hosts Open Qualifying, one of several courses in a county that also boasts Gleneagles.
• Cateran Ecomuseum — a scattered, open-air network of historic and archaeological sites across the surrounding glens, from standing stones to old mill lades, that can be explored via a self-guided trail.
• Dunkeld Cathedral — around 12 miles west, a part-ruined, part-working cathedral with roots to the 9th century and the present building dating largely from 1318, set beside the Tay in one of Perthshire's prettiest small towns.

Getting to Blairgowrie

Blairgowrie has no railway station of its own; the line closed to passengers in the 1960s. The nearest mainline stations are at Perth and Dundee, both around 20 miles away, with Dunkeld & Birnam and Pitlochry also within reach for those approaching from the Highland line. Stagecoach bus route 57 runs regularly between Perth city centre and Blairgowrie (Wellmeadow and Emma Street stops), taking under 45 minutes, making it easily doable without a car. By road, Blairgowrie sits just off the A93, reached via the A9 from Perth (around 40 minutes) or from Dundee via the A923 (around 45 minutes). The A93 continues north through Blairgowrie towards Braemar and Glenshee, making the town a natural stopping point for anyone heading into the eastern Cairngorms. The nearest airports are Dundee, Edinburgh and Perth, with Edinburgh offering by far the widest range of flights.

Best time to visit Blairgowrie

Late spring and summer (May to August) bring the longest days and the best chance of good weather for walking the Cateran Trail or exploring the Ericht gorge, and it is also raspberry season in the surrounding fields. Early autumn is quieter and often mild, with the turning colours along the river especially good around Dunkeld and Meikleour. Winter draws a different crowd: Glenshee typically operates from December to April depending on snowfall, and Blairgowrie becomes a convenient, cheaper base than staying up at the resort itself. Whatever the season, Perthshire weather is changeable, so it pays to pack for rain regardless of the forecast.

Where to stay in Blairgowrie

Accommodation in and around Blairgowrie ranges from town-centre guest houses and pubs with rooms to country house hotels and self-catering cottages scattered through the surrounding farmland. Given the town's role as a base for both the Cateran Trail and Glenshee, many properties are used to walkers and skiers alike, and some offer packed lunches or drying rooms for wet gear. Staying centrally near Wellmeadow puts you within walking distance of the shops, the river gorge and the bus stop for Perth, while properties out towards Rattray or along the Ericht tend to be quieter with better river views.

Food and drink in Blairgowrie

Blairgowrie's food scene is modest but solid rather than a destination in itself. The town has a handful of independent cafés around Wellmeadow and the High Street, along with the usual mix of pubs, a chip shop and Indian and Chinese takeaways that serve a working market town well. In season, look out for local raspberries and other soft fruit sold directly from farm shops on the roads out of town, a direct link to the industry that built Blairgowrie. For a more considered meal, several country house hotels in the surrounding countryside offer restaurants open to non-residents, and the wider Perthshire area, including Dunkeld and Pitlochry, is within easy reach for a bigger night out.