Dunkeld Walks - HERITAGE TRAIL

Scottish

Towns

Dunkeld Heritage Trail

Length: 2 miles
Height climbed: Negligible
Grade: C
Parking: North end of Atholl Street
Toilet facilities: The Cross; Atholl Street car park

Few places have played as large a part in the history of Scotland as has the small whitewashed town of Dunkeld, situated on the banks of the River Tay.
It first rose to prominence as a stronghold of the Picts in pre-Christian times and received a further boost when it was proclaimed the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland by the country's first king, Kenneth McAlpin, in the year 850. This religious importance was consolidated in 1318 when work began on Dunkeld Catherdral.
Dunkeld was burnt to the ground by the Cameronians - fighting for William of Orange - in 1689, in order to flush out an invading army which supported James VII.

This walk, which starts beside the Visitor Centre in the High Street, is a tour of the new town - built to replace it after the burning. It passes by many places and objects of interest, including the oddly shaped Stanley Hill, which was possibly the site of the original dun (or fort) which gave Dunkeld its name. Also on the route are the Dunkeld Larches, including one of the earliest specimens of this tree to be planted in Scotland - being brought from the Tyrol in a portmanteau and planted in 1738.

Among other points of interest on this route are the Dunkeld Bridge (designed by Telford and opened in 1801), the catherdral and the "Little Houses" - a row of buildings lining Catherdral Street which have been restored by the National Trust for Scotland.