Rosamunde Pilcher's Perthshire and Kinross

BEST-SELLING NOVELIST ROSAMUNDE PILCHER HAS LIVED AND WORKED IN PERTHSHIRE & KINROSS FOR 57 YEARS, AND GIVES HER IMPRESSIONS OF THE REGION

Q: How long have you lived and worked in Perthshire?

A: I have lived in Perthshire for nearly 57 years, and been working writing and selling fiction for just about as long a time.

Q: Describe the region to someone who has never visited it.

A: Between Dundee and Perth lie the rich arable farmlands of this district. To the south the River Tay flows east towards the sea. Wild geese feed on the marshy foreshores and, at morning and evening, skeins of these lovely birds fly overhead, travelling from the remote lochs hidden in the Sidlaw Hills.

Q: What are the area's main attractions?

A: The ease with which one can leave the city behind, and be in deep countryside in no time; and the many championship golf courses that
are close at hand.

Q: What are the area's strongest points, and its weakest points?

A: The area's strongest point is the location. Near the sea, so that there are always fresh winds, and not far from leisure locations – hills to walk, rivers to fish, golf courses and skiing in the winter months. A huge minus is the lack of good restaurants, hotels and pubs. If we have friends staying we never eat out but always at home.

Q: Describe an ideal day out spent in Perthshire.

A: I would go up to Glenmarkie, where, in l900, my husband's grandfather built a shooting lodge. The house has been sold on, two or three times, but it lies at the head of a seven-mile glen, surrounded by quiet hills which used to ring to the ‘go-back, go-back' of grouse. In the neighbouri...

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• By : Dominic Roskrow
• In : Interview
• Issue : 7
• Page : 56
• Words : 517