Road Trip Day 1: Perth, Dunkeld, and Birnam

My mom, Aunt Kathleen, and Charlotte left Edinburgh on Monday morning to go to Stirling. They spent nearly two days there, seeing the castle, the old town, and the Wallace monument. On Tuesday evening, I took a train from Waverly and met them in Perth. It was my first time taking ScotRail and it was fairly pleasant, except for the few moments where I accidently got on a train to Glasgow. Fortunately, I was able to get on the train to Perth before it left.


We stayed in a very pleasant B&B in Dunkeld, but it was definitely out in the boonies. The next morning, we went straight to the wildlife preserve. Scotland was very progressive when it came to wildlife preserves and national parks. One of the pioneers of the American National Park system was John Muir, a Scottish immigrant. The highlight of the preserve was the osprey nest, but it wasn't the right season to actually see ospreys.

Next, we headed down the road to the Dunkeld Golf Course. It was the first Scottish golf course I'd seen up close and it was very, very hilly.

The main attraction in the actual town of Dunkeld is the cathedral. It is on a riverbank and took over 200 years to complete, from 1260 to 1501.

It was very chilly, but luckily the sun was out. 

We walked across the bridge to Birnam and found a path by the river. Perth is Big Tree County because of the primeval trees you can find there. The most impressive one is the Birnam Oak, which has wood slats supporting its branches so it doesn't collapse. It is also known as MacBeth's Oak because it inspired the line:

"Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until / Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill / Shall come against him."

Birnam was a childhood vacation spot for Beatrix Potter, and is said to have inspired many of her stories.

The garden animals were adorable. We got lunch inside the Beatrix Potter Museum/Community Center before starting the drive to Findhorn. Findhorn is past Inverness and Nairn. The drive up is beautiful and goes through the Cairngorns. Unfortunately, I can't stay awake on road trips. I was passed out for the entire thing and missed my first chance to see the Highlands.