Blair Atholl
Blair Atholl is a village in Perth and Kinross in the Scottish Highlands, notable for its castle, and with a population of about 500. Ringed by the Cairngorm mountains and within Cairngorms National Park, it's on the main route from Perth to Inverness. The village is at the confluence of the rivers Tilt and Garry, amidst the last large patch of farmland in the valley (Gaelic: blàr, a field or plain). Further north, the route rises through Calvine and over bleak Drumochter Pass, before descending into the Spey Valley. So if you led an invading army of Jacobites, or a vengeful loyalist army in pursuit, you'd have to march this way.
Atholl Glens is the Visitor Centre, just west of the Tilt river bridge and open daily 9AM-4:45PM.
Get in
By train
Blair Atholl has trains every hour or two from Edinburgh and Glasgow via Perth, Birnam and Pitlochry, which continue north to Newtonmore, Kingussie, Aviemore and Inverness. Getting here from England means changing in Edinburgh or Perth; the direct daytime train from London Kings Cross to Inverness doesn't stop here.
Nightly except Saturday, the Caledonian Highland Sleeper leaves London Euston around 9PM to reach Blair Atholl by 6:30AM on its way to Inverness. The southbound sleeper picks up around 10:30PM, reaching Euston by 8AM. You might prefer to take the Lowland Sleeper from Euston towards midnight, and change in Edinburgh for a daytime train. Returning south, you need to leave Blair Atholl not much after 8PM to join the Lowland Sleeper from Edinburgh around 11:30PM.
🌍 Blair Atholl railway station is west end of the village. It has a ticket office but no machines. There's a waiting room but no toilets or cafe. Both platforms have step-free access.
By bus
Most inter-city buses rush past on A9. Citylink M91 runs once daily from Edinburgh via Halbeath (for Fife), Kinross, Broxden P&R, Perth, Birnam and Pitlochry, taking 2 hr 30 min to Blair Atholl, and continuing to Newtonmore, Kingussie, Aviemore and Inverness. From Glasgow, Stirling or Dundee, change at Broxden P&R.
Elizabeth Yule Bus 87 runs from Pitlochry M-Sa every couple of hours, taking 30 min via Faskally and Killicrankie. It stops in Blair Atholl by the castle and at Atholl Arms (for railway station) and continues to House of Bruar and Calvine.
By road
Follow A9 north from Perth or south from Inverness and Aviemore to the loop road B8079, the former main road through town.
Get around
The village is small but you need wheels to reach Falls of Bruar. The nearest taxi firms are in Pitlochry.
See
- 🌍 Blair Castle, PH18 5TL, ☏ +44 1796 481207. Apr-Oct daily 10AM-5PM. Ancestral home of Clan Murray; parts of Comyn's Tower may date to the 13th century, but the castle was mostly built in the 15th and 16th. It had a big Baronial makeover in the 19th century and the contents and fittings are Georgian / Victoriana. The Dukes of Atholl no longer live here - Bruce Murray the 12th Duke lives in South Africa - but they continue to maintain the Atholl Highlanders, Europe's only private army. Adult £18.50, conc £17, child £12.50.
- 🌍 St Bride's Kirk is a ruin at the north end of the castle gardens, but also accessible by a public lane. Several Dukes of Atholl are buried here. It was the village church until abandoned in 1823.
- Glen Tilt ascends north of the village. The lane up it is paved but narrow with no turning or passing places, use the car park by the turn-off for St Bride's.
- Atholl Country Life Museum, Old School PH18 5SP (by Visitor Centre and castle gates). Apr-Oct daily 10AM-4PM. Small museum of local history.
- 🌍 Falls of Bruar are at Pitagowan behind House of Bruar shopping centre. It's a spectacular series of pools, waterfalls and natural arch, as the Bruar Water cuts a gorge through the rugged landscape. Best viewed in full spate after heavy rain, and in autumn with the colours of the leaves. In the 18th century the poet Robert Burns was one of many visitors who found the setting barren, so he wrote a poem to the Duke of Atholl, as if from the river, begging for some trees to adorn it. The Duke set about planting the area and laid out the present path; William Wordsworth complained it was too neat.
Do
- Golf: Blair Atholl Golf is nine holes. It's at the foot of Invertilt Rd, east of the river.
- Atholl Highland Gathering is held at the castle in late May, with the next on Sa 26 May 2024.
- Jamborette is for Scouts, Explorers and Sea Scouts worldwide aged 14-17. It's similar to the world Scout Jamboree but smaller, with numbers capped at 1000. It's held in the castle grounds in the summer of even years, with the next on 15-26 July 2024.
Buy
- 🌍 House of Bruar, Pitagowan PH18 5TW (on A9 three miles north of Blair Atholl), ☏ +44 1796 483236. Daily 9:30AM-5:30PM. Tweeds, knitwear and gourmet food. Cafe, no fuel, but it is the closest thing to a service area on this long long road. Parking and toilets free, since they know you'll remember that your Auntie Morag has a big birthday coming up, and you'll buy her some tartan knickknack.
Eat
- 🌍 The Loft Restaurant, Invertilt Road PH18 5TE, ☏ +44 1796 481377. W-F 5-10PM, Sa Su noon-3PM, 5-10PM. Central in village with good grub.
- Food in the Park, Museum Car Park PH18 5SP (by Museum and Visitor Centre), ☏ +44 1796 481484. Apr-Oct W-Su 4-8PM. Fish & Chips takeaway with outdoor seating. It began life as a pop-up for events in the castle park.
- Blair Atholl Watermill is a working mill and bakery with tea room and shop. It's behind Atholl Arms and open April-Oct daily 9:30AM-3:30PM.
Drink
- Blair Atholl is too small for a stand-alone pub, try the Atholl Arms Hotel or The Loft restaurant.
- Sorry, but Blair Athol (one "L") whisky distillery isn't here, it's in Pitlochry; it's still worth sampling. There's another in Dalwhinnie, then more than you can imagine on Speyside.
Sleep
- Blair Castle Caravan Park, PH18 5SGR (by castle), ☏ +44 1796 481263. Open March-Nov for camping and touring caravans, and has fixed caravans and pods. "Woodland lodges" are available all year. Hook-up £33.
- Atholl Arms Hotel, PH18 5SG (by railway station), ☏ +44 1796 481205. Traditional Highland hotel full of tartan, roaring fires and stags' heads (mainly for the benefit of the coach parties, but you can enjoy them ironically). Has a restaurant and cosy pub serving good food. B&B double £150.
- 🌍 The Firs, St Andrew's Cres PH18 5TA, ☏ +44 1796 481548. Clean welcoming B&B in village centre. Two nights minimum at weekend. B&B double £120.
- 🌍 Ptarmigan House, The Terrace PH18 5SZ, ☏ +44 1796 481269. Charming stylish B&B open April-Oct. No pets. B&B double £125.
- Parc Royale on the river bank opposite the castle is long-stay self-catering lodges, they don't offer short-stay.
- 🌍 Old Manse of Blair, PH18 5TN, ☏ +44 1796 483344. Rave reviews for this gorgeous upscale hotel two miles west of village. B&B double £380.
- 🌍 The Inn at Loch Tummel, Queens View, Strathtummel PH16 5RP, ☏ +44 1882 634317. You can stop by for a drink at this old coaching inn, but you'll surely want to stay. Great comfort, decor and dining. Dog friendly. B&B double £150.
Connect
Blair Atholl and the A9 have 4G from all UK carriers. As of March 2024, 5G has not reached this area.
Go next
- The valley of Strath Tummel leads west up to lonely Rannoch Moor, where the road dead-ends.
- North you climb over Drumochter Pass to Dalwhinnie: either stay on A9 to descend into Spey Valley and Aviemore, or go west on A86 across the hills to Fort William, Ben Nevis, and routes to Skye.
- It's a twisty slow road to go east across the hills, but you can go via Pitlochry and A924 to Kirkmichael and Glenshee; thence over the pass to Braemar and the Dee valley.
- Or head south on A9 to return to the lowlands and Perth.
| Routes through Blair Atholl |
| Inverness ← Kingussie ← | N SE | → Pitlochry → Perth |