Pitlochry

The mountains of the mounth with Blair atholl in the foreground

The Walks
As Pitlochry is right on the edge of the highlands, the amount of walking available is somewhat less than in other areas. However, it's easy to get to from Manchester and there are still quite a few hills to climb that are somewhat spread out. As such it makes a good weekend destination.

The first hills the mention are the Drumochter Hills. These are a long distance away from Pitlochry (about 30miles) but the fast A9 road means that they are only half an hour away from the town. They are characterized by rounded and higher heathery hills to the west of the A9 and high plateaux to the east. Both groups of hills are easy to get to from the road and there is the advantage of starting at 450m. They have wild views out to the Ben Alder and Loch Ericht wilderness and nice views down the Spey Valley.

The Mounth which includes Beinn Dearg, Beinn Mheadhonach and Carn a'Chlamain all lie north of Blair Atholl which is itself 10 minutes drive up the A9. These demand long day hikes from the nearest public road and are generally quite remote. They overlook the vast wilderness of the Mounth to their north.

Beinn A' Ghlo is a high and bulky three summitted massif. The highest summit rises above 1100m and subsequently has extensive views all round. It provides a fine walk where the going is very easy high up. However, despite this, the highest summit demands a walk that will take up all the daylight hours of winter.

Shiehallion is one that can be climbed very quickly and easily. It is famed for one the first measurements of the gravitational constant G. From a hillwalking point of view, it offers fine views out to the west towards Glen Coe and Lochaber and the north towards Ben Alder.

Ben Vrackie is an easy Sunday Corbett. It's noted for its very fine views and some very aggressive goats that live up there. One goat will chase you while the other dives into your rucksack apparently!

Apart from that there are some nice low level walks to do all round the area.

Accommodation



 * http://www.syha.org.uk/SYHA/Web/Site/Hostels/Pitlochry.asp Pitlochry Youth Hostel, £9 per person per night

This is quite a nice youth hostel. The dorms have en suite bathrooms and there is a very hot fire in the common room. It generally felt nice with a good kitchen and dining area. It was warm in the evening but alas full winter gear was needed in the morning, Typical! The drying room was noted to be tiny!

There are no other affordable places that are known of.

Eating and Drinking
The pub with the water mill on it is very nice and has an open fire (though it is a gas fire). It was generally roomy and very comfy inside. It has been reported that the interior has now been changed to a weird pseudo-Oriental style. The other pubs were wanting two valid pieces of I.D. from us so they can't be commented on.

Travel
Scottish Citylink provide roughly hourly daytime services from Glasgow and Edinburgh to Pitlochry.

Check out this Map

Trip Report

 * Pitlochry 1999 Trip_Report