Pitlochry History & Culture

Pitlochry Dam Visitors Centre

SSE's Pitlochry Dam Visitor Centre showcases the rich history of hydro electricity in the north of Scotland and how it transformed lives. On display are a number of fascinating artefacts that show how generations of homes have been transformed by electrical appliances.

Visitors will meet the visionaries, such as Tom Johnston, who saw the untapped potential of hydro power in Scotland as well as hear the stories of the Hydro Boys and Tunnel Tigers who lived - and sadly in some cases died - building the schemes.

Pitlochry’s ‘fish ladder’ was integral to the design for the hydro electricity scheme in the early 1950’s. Thousands visit the Dam to see the salmon swim to their breeding grounds up river and now everyone can learn the secrets of that incredible journey.

Opening Hours: Open 7 days from 9:30am to 5:30pm (last entry at 5pm)

Entry: FREE ENTRY

The Atholl Palace Hotel Museum

The museum charts the history of the hotel from when it opened as a Hydropathic establishment in 1878 through to its reopening after World War II and beyond. There are tales of bankruptcy, colourful entrepreneurs, unusual and torturous spatreatments, and evacuees turning hotel to school. The Atholl Palace museum also delves behind the scenes of life for Victorian hotel servants including maids, porters, chauffeurs and gardeners, many of whom lived in the servants’ quarters where the museum stands.

Play and explore the Atholl Palace Hotel in the immersive world of Minecraft, with the creators of our virtual Victorian hotel. Learn how they built and landscaped the estate and hunt for clues both inside and outside this popular game.

Open 7 days a week from 10.00am to 5.00pm to hotel guests and the general public, with free admission

Reception will give you directions to the museum entrance, located within the hotel beside the Lavender Spa.

NTS Killiecrankie

On 27 July 1689 the peace and tranquility of this beautiful gorge was shattered when the first shots in the Jacobite cause were fired.

One soldier escaped by making a spectacular jump across the River Garry at the spot now known as Soldier's Leap.

The Visitor Centre features 'hands-on' natural history exhibits, models and maps of the battle. Also, see nesting birds at close range.A starting point for walks through the Pass, the Centre features a souvenir book shop, historical and natural history exhibitions and a Ranger Service.

Take a short stroll through attractive woodland, with stunning views of the Pass, down to the historic Soldier's Leap. Enjoy a longer walk along the river through the magnificent wooded gorge of the Pass of Killiecrankie.

Killiecrankie through the seasons...
Spring generates a floral extravaganza at Killiecrankie. The plants on the woodland floor feast on the sunlight to grow and flower before the blue sky is replaced by the chlorophyll green canopy of tree leaves. White wood anemones carpet the woods on the way down to the Soldier's Leap, interspersed with primroses and violets. The air resonates with bird song as the season progresses, with males showing off and establishing breeding territories. Most notable are the resident tits, finches, blackbirds, wrens and robins.

Summer sees migrant birds such as pied and spotted flycatchers, wood and willow wablers arriving to join the residents. In the evenings both pipistrelle and Daubenton's bats are on the wing, each bat munching its way through 3,000 midges a night! While the best of the woodland flowers are over, the verges beside the Visitor Centre come alive with grassland flowers, bees and butterflies. The bird feeding station helps bring the woodland birds close to the Visitor Centre's balcony, where red squirrels are also regular visitors.

During Autumn the Pass of Killiecrankie is renowned for its splendid autumn colours, each tree species makes its own particular contribution to a mesmerising blend of gold, burgundy, saffron, amber, russet, umber and many other colours. It's a good time to spot red squirrels as they search for nuts and seeds to store away for the winter - they regularly come to the feeding station below the Visitor Centre. During periods of rain you can look for the spectacular sight of leaping salmon at the falls in the River Garry beneath the famous Soldier's Leap.

Often the overwhelming sensation of winter in the Pass is that of silence and solitude. Trees stand tall, no longer burdened by their life-giving foliage, bare spars of branches supporting an ever-interlocking network of naked twigs.
Robins and wrens may be heard singing, but the undoubted star performer of winter is the dumpy, brown, white-bibbed dipper. Its beautiful long warble of liquid and grating notes can be heard above the rushing River Garry. Snow may be deep at the Pass of Killiecrankie in a hard winter. Tracks from deer or squirrels and the runs of small mammals are common, but perhaps the most exciting discovery is the five-toed webbed print of the secretive otter.

Pitlochry and Moulin Heritage Centre

Moulin Kirk is situated in the centre of the conservation village of Moulin , near Pitlochry.

The present Kirk was rebuilt in 1875 after a devastating fire. Its main features were an aisle which approached the Pulpit and Communion table from both sides, plus a superb area of galleried pews accessed from staircases by each of the two side entrances. The Pulpit area of the Kirk has been retained and restored to its original layout using old photographs. It is hoped this will become a 'quiet' area for people to reflect on the past populations, and their lives.

Since 2006 the Kirk has been used as a Heritage Centre/Museum worthy of its history and surroundings.

EXHIBITIONS INCLUDE:
History of Pitlochry Highland Games Development of Pitlochry from 3 hamlets into a tourist town. Clearancess and Emigration, Croftinloan School memorabilia. The Butters family of Faskally - a fascinating insight into one of Pitlochry's oldest families. The Fergusson of Dunfallandy Travelling people of Perthshire' and 'Aldour Special School' - material kindly supplied by Jess Smith.

Edradour Distillery

Edradour is a unique, single Highland malt whisky, produced in Scotland's smallest distillery and hand made today as it was over 150 years ago by just three men who are devoted to the time-honoured methods of whisky making.

The equipment used at the distillery has remained unchanged since the day the distillery opened and is only just capable of producing commercial quantities. Only 12 casks of whisky are produced a week, making Edradour single malt a rare pleasure for a fortunate few.

Tours of Edradour cost only £7.50 and include a "wee dram" of Edradour in the Malt Barn where visitors are introduced to the history of Edradour and the whisky maker's art before a tour of the distillery enables them to see the traditional methods of whisky making.

Distillery Opening Hours:
November, December, January & February: Monday to Saturday 10am - 4pm
March & April: Monday to Saturday 10am - 4pm & Sunday 12noon - 4pm
May, June, July, August, September & October: Monday to Saturday 10am - 5pm & Sunday 12noon - 5pm