Blairgowrie and Rattray and the River Ericht

The walk begins in Blairgowrie, a pleasant market town retaining much of its agricultural character. You walk through ornamental gardens to follow a path upstream beside the river, which has carved a deep gorge through old red sandstone. Banks bordered with broadleaved woodland overlook waters where salmon leap, dippers run into shallows, and grey wagtails chase across exposed sandstone.

The Falls of Keith drop 16 feet through a narrow cleft into a deep pool known as Donald Cargill's Leap, named after a local opponent of the 1660 Restoration who leapt the chasm to escape arrest (commemorated by a nearby stone cairn). Above the falls stand the remains of a defunct jute mill with a splendid waterwheel hidden in vegetation (once one of twelve mills powering Blairgowrie's prosperity before cheap imports closed them).

Today, fruit rather than jute supports the town, with great areas of lush raspberries and blackcurrants thriving in the fertile south-facing loam above the river.

The route leads back over The Knockie, where a seat at the top offers lovely views over Blairgowrie and the Strathmore valley. Walking back into town, you pass the 16th-century white-painted Newton Castle with its dramatic turrets before returning to the start.

Acknowledgment: Text derived from the Out and Out Series; Discovering the Countryside on Foot. Pictures courtesy of Wikipedia.