Hit the road, Jock

YOUR GUIDE TO SOME SPECTACULAR SCOTTISH DRIVES, WITH PLENTY OF INTERESTING PIT STOPS, BY ANTHONY TROON

So you're here in Scotland, recently certified as one of the world's most romantic destinations. You've come by car, or you plan to hire one. You are independent travellers, ready to explore. But where to start? This series offers some ideas of short, half-day routes you might like to take from several starting points, listing features worth visiting and worthwhile eating places. So get into gear and go.

FROM PERTH

This 100-mile drive takes you from a one-time capital of Scotland into the spectacular scenery of Highland Perthshire, where the mountainous north begins. Perth itself, sliced through by the River Tay, has many attractions, including the Black Watch Regimental Museum and a working oatmeal mill which once produced the porridge for the nation's prisons: hence the term ‘doing porridge', which means serving your time.

Take the Old Bridge across the river, turn left through Bridgend and find the left fork for the A93. After a couple of miles you could call in at Scone Palace in its lush parkland, a stately home full of art treasures and seat of the Earls of Mansfield (open until October). Heading north again, you pass between raspberry fields, a notable Perthshire crop, cross the River Isla and find the massive, 100-foot-high beech hedge at Meikleour, planted in 1746 and carefully tended ever since. After this, take a left turn on the A984 and follow signs for Dunkeld. This village, with its air of antiquity, is actually newer than you might think. It was burned to...

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• By : Anthony Troon
• In : Travel
• Issue : 8
• Page : 55
• Words : 1,145