Stride out into the green and open space
Ten spots to stretch your legs in the countryside
Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust has flagged up 10 summer suggestions for the best places to take a walk.
PKCT is an independent charity that promotes access to land for walkers, cyclists and horse riders, builds footpaths, helps care for the countryside and undertakes conservation projects.
The leading location recommended to get some fresh air is Birnam Riverside Path, coming in first place on PKCT’s ‘Top 10 Summer Walks in Perthshire 2017’.
Walks include stages of the Cateran Trail, sites in Perthshire Big Tree Country and routes within local path networks.
In Birnam the entry for the Riverside Path is described as a “peaceful, ambling” waterside route. “Take in the sights and sounds of summer that inspired those well-loved tales. You’ll also take in the 500-year-old Birnam Oak of MacBeth fame and Thomas Telford’s Dunkeld Bridge.”
The Deil’s Cauldron at Glen Lednock, a hollow in a gorge overhung by trees is a sight to discover, then there’s Pitcarmick Loop, a stunning 3.5 mile route which meanders through woodlands and heather moorland, with links to Bronze Age farming and round houses.
Waterfall lovers get their fix at the Falls of Bruar, with beautiful woodlands flanking the cascades seen from a circular wooded walk.
Stage three of the Cateran Trail between Spittal of Glenshee and Kirkton of Glenisla follows the Shee Water south past the scenic Dalnaglar and Forter Castles into the fertile farmlands of Glenisla.
Also featured are Loch Leven Heritage Trail and the Knockie Walk following the River Ericht – which offers beautiful views over Blairgowrie and the Sidlaw Hills. Walkers on the Cateran Trail
And a stroll in Crieff ’s MacRosty Park features a range of natural and man-made features.
More river views come from the Buchanan Path and stage two of the Cateran Trail takes in the designed landscape of Dirnanean Gardens in Enochdhu, visited by Queen Victoria in 1865.