Places to visit in Dunkeld

The only way to truly appreciate Dunkeld and Birnam is on foot; it is so small and compact and extremely easily explored with something of interest around every corner. The Cross in Dunkeld is a good starting point. The Atholl Memorial fountain at The Cross was erected in 1866 in memory of the 6th Duke of Atholl. From here a walk down picturesque Cathedral Street leads you to Dunkeld Cathedral standing idyllically amidst wide lawns that sweep down to the River Tay. In one of those houses in Cathedral Street, number nine, a nineteenth century premier of Canada, Alexander Mackenzie, spent his early years.

The other end of the Cathedral Street opens out onto the High Street with the The Cross, dedicated to the memory of the 6th Duke of Atholl. There are many buildings of note in this area, including the Ell Shop ( so-called from the measuring gauge dated 1706 attached to the outside of the wall ), the Duchess Anne, a former girls school erected by the wife of the 6th Duke in 1851, and the now closed museum of the Scottish Horse Regiment which originally recruited amongst Scotsmen living in South Africa at the time of the Boer War. Having fought in that and in both World Wars, the regiment was amalgamated with the Fife and Forfar Yeomanry in 1956. A walk through the streets of Dunkeld will prove interesting, with its variety of shops, galleries and Tourist Information Centre.

As one of the most attractive towns in Scotland, Dunkeld gets visitors from all over the world. But it remains, as it always has been, a thriving, lived-in town, loved as much by its inhabitants as it is by those who visit it.