Big Five Nature & Wildlife in Pitlochry

Ben-y-Vrackie

Ben-y-Vrackie (Speckled Mountain) is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) offering woodland, open moorland and the picturesque Loch a' Choire. A path from the car park leads you past a mixed Conifers Wood to the open hillside. Heather surrounds marshy streams, a beautifully carved seat is a welcomed resting place, maybe a view of Lochnagar from the top, but that's not all, the flora & fauna is outstanding...

Ben-y-Vrackie reaches 841m (2759 feet) high at its summit and commands views of Pitlochry and the surrounding glens.

Plants are in abundance on and around Ben Vrackie including Pignut, Cow Parsley, Ground Elder, Wood Forget-me-not, Wood Avens, Common Wintergreen, Yellow Pimpernel, Dog's Mercury, Foxglove, Blaeberry, Bog Stitchwort, Lesser Stitchwort, Pink Purslane, Red Campion, Wild Strawberry, Bitter Vetch, Herb Robert, Wood Cranesbill, Common Dog Violet, Goosegrass, Alkanet, Bugle, Lady Fern, Broad Buckler Fern, Hard Fern, Alpine Lady's Mantle, Bell Heather, Heather, Bog Myrtle, insectivorous Butterwort, Purple Oxytropis and Scottish Asphodel, to name a few.

Birds you may see on your travels include Chaffinch, Willow Warbler, Blue Tit, Dunnock, Tree Pipit, Ptarmigan, Cuckoo, Whitethroat, Buzzard, Kestrel, Raven, Grasshopper Warbler, Common Sandpiper, Red Grouse, Meadow Pipet, Dunnock, Wheatear, Ring Ouzel, and many more.

Image Gallery: © Copyright Richard Webb, Eileen Henderson, Russel Wills, Lis Burke, Alan O'Dowd and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Brerachan Meadows

Lonely Glen Brerachan rests between Pitlochry and the lush Highland Glen Strathardle.

The flat floor of the valley was a proglacial loch, melt-waters from a glacier in the Tummel and Garry valleys to the West was dammed by a rock and moraine barrier, in due course the loch overflowed and the melt-water stream became the present River Brerachan. From the car park on the main road you can spot some of the resident wildlife, especially Ptarmigan, but remember the quieter you are the more likely you are to see or hear something!

The Brerachan Meadows are a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) with Scottish Natural Heritage. The upland hay meadow is rich in plant species, we have listed below a small selection from the 500+ varieties found at Brerachan Meadows:
Acer pseudoplatanus - sycamore maple, Agrostis stolonifera - Creeping bentgrass, Alchemilla - wide selection of Lady's Mantle, Alnus glutinosa - European Alder, Alopecurus - selections of Foxtail grass, Anthriscus sylvestris - Wild Chervil, Brachypodium sylvaticum - False Brome, Callitriche - selection of Pond Water-Starwort, Campanula - Bellflower, Cardamine - Cutleaf Toothwort, Carex - wide selection of Cyperaceae, Cerastium - selection of Caryophyllaceae, Cirsium - wide selection of Thistles, Dactylorhiza - wide selection of Orchids, Epilobium - selection of Willowherb, Festuca - members of the Poaceae family, Geranium - wide selection, Hedera helix - Common Ivy, Hieracium - wide selection of Hawkweed, Hypericum - selection of St. Johnswort, Iris pseudacorus, Juncus - wode selection of Common Rush, Lamium purpureum - Purple Deadnettle, Lolium perenne - Perennial Ryegrass, Luzula - selection of Woodrush, Matricaria discoidea - Disc Mayweed, Mercurialis perennis - Dog's Mercury, Montia fontana - Montiaceae, Myosotis - varieties of Forget-Me-Not, Persicaria - Knotweed, Pilosella - Hawksweed, Poa - Bluegrass, Potamogeton - Pondweed, Primula - wide selection, Ranunculus - selection of Buttercups, Rosa - wide variety, Sagina - selection of Mosses, Trifolium - selection of Clover, Veronica - selection of Speedwell, Vicia - varieties of Vetch, Viola - wide variety

Glen Brerachan is rich in bird life such as Grey Heron, Curlew, Cuckoo, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Skylark, Sand Martin, Tree Pipet, Meadow Pipet, Whinchat, Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat, Spotted Flycatcher, Linnet & Red Bunting. You are almost guaranteed to see a deer or two in the Glen!

If you visit Brerachan Meadows, please respect this fragile landscape.

Image gallery © Copyright Russel Wills and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Linn of Tummel

The Linn of Tummel is a stunning sight to behold, striking rocky rapids give off a roar when the River Tummel is in spate.

Loch Faskally is a man-made reservoir stretching for approximately 2 miles, retained by Pitlochry Dam, constructed between 1947 -1950. Before 1950 the River Tummel made a plunge fall to join the River Garry, now the two rivers meet in a pool (Gaelic - Linne, a pool). Prior to the construction of Pitlochry Dam the waterfall was more magnificent, Queen Victoria visited the Linn of Tummel in 1844 to see the splendour of the falls, an Obelisk stands on the spot today.

The woodland surrounding The Linn of Tummel is worth discovering, below is a small insight to the seasons:

Spring
Beneath the Oak trees the spring flowers emerge carpeting the ground in a flurry of colours, including Dog's Mercury, Wood Anemone & Lesser Celandine. The white flowers of the Blackthorns burst into flower. Later we see the robust flowers of the Wild & Bird Cherries blossom.

Migrant birds return including the Wood Warbler, Willow Warbler & Redstarts, hear them singing in the trees above. The Gooseanders can be seen by the river in courtship displays. On the River Tummel tadpoles can be seen grazing on the algae coated rocks.

Summer
Meadows are awash with wildflowers, species include Meadow Cranes-Bills, Yarrow, Field Scabious, Knapweed & Ox-Eye Daisy. An abundance of insects can be seen due to the high levels of nectar. Butterflies such as Orange Tips & Scotch Argus are commonly seen fluttering about the meadows.

Kingfishers dive for fish, whilst Buzzards are circling above for looking for prey & the Swallows are swooping in on the insects.

Autumn
The mighty Atlantic Salmon are often seen battling upstream through the rapids at this time of year. The golden colours surrounding The Linn of Tummel are awe-inspiring, trees such as Beech, Larch, Rowan & Oak contribute to this remarkable golden glow. Listen hard, you may hear the roar of the Red Deer on the hilltops or skein of geese above.

Winter
The Linn of Tummel can be a serene place in the depths of winter, you may see a Goldeneye or a Mallard. The River Garry can often be a frozen sheet of ice in the harshness of winter.

National Trust of Scotland Managed.
Image Gallery: © Copyright Andy Waddington, Russel Wills, Lis Burke & Gordon Hatton and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Pitlochry Dam & Salmon Ladder

Pitlochry Dam was built between 1947 and 1951 as part of a networks of dams in the Highlands to generate electricity. The River Tummel was dammed, flooding the old Pitlochry Highland Games field, today known as Loch Faskally. Pitlochry Dam & Fish ladder is one of the town's more famous attractions, anyone who has visited Pitlochry has visited the Dam.

The Fish Ladder was built as part of Pitlochry Dam to allow the annual migration of thousands of Atlantic Salmon to pass through the dam wall. The Fish Ladder has a total of 34 chambers or small artificial pools, each one with a water level slightly higher than the one below, a series of steps, gradually taking the fish in to Loch Faskally. The fish swim from one chamber to the next via small circular entrances, which restrict the amount of water flowing from one chamber to the next. There is a viewing room where, if they're lucky, visitors can watch the mighty salmon. The viewing room is in one of the three resting chambers that allow the fish to catch their breath before the swim through the next set of chambers. The fish counter records how many fish have passed through each season.

When the water level in Loch Faskally rises due to heavy rainfall or fast snowmelt the dam gates are opened to allow water to pour into the River Tummel below the dam, the roar of Pitlochry Dam in full-spate is a sound to behold.

Tummel Shingle Island Nature Reserve

Tummel Shingle Island is one of the rarest habitats to be found in the United Kingdom, the freshwater shingle provides an ever-changing environment in which over 400 species of plants thrive, including meadow-rue, globeflower, meadow saxifrage, cowslip and buttercupas. Seeds washed down from different habitats upstream are able to germinate and survive, particularly on the bare shingle.

Ringed plover and common tern breed here, other birds include the common sandpiper, common gull, redshank, oystercatcher and the lapwing. Scotch Angus and common blue butterflies are present along with craneflies and a rare 5 spot ladybird, not normally found on a river habitat.

There is a footpath on Ballinluig Island starting near the Joiners Yard just off the A827. There are no footpaths on Tomdachoille Island.

Below is an idea of what wildlife you may see:
Oystercatchers, Northern Brown Argus, Bullfinch, Willow Warbler, Red Squirrel, Otters & Salmon