Scottish Vacations And A Selection Of Captivating Places to Visit Close To Pitlochry

Scottish vacations are incredibly popular today due, possibly, to the strength of the US dollar against the pound making vacations to the U.K. extremely good value, especially if visiting from from America. In the following article we introduce you to three magnificent places to visit in Pitlochry, Blair Castle, the Killiecrankie Visitor Centre and the Scottish Hydro Electric Visitor Centre.

Scottish Hydro Electric Visitor Centre

A power station is a bizarre site for a tourist attraction, however this is precisely where you can discover the Scottish Hydro Electric Visitor Center. The hydro center can be found within the splendid Pitlochry Power Station, and includes interactive displays describing the development of hydro power in Scotland, from the 1940’s right up to the present day. The Pitlochry Dam(constructed 1947-1951) gives visitors the interesting opportunity to watch the famous salmon ladder via three observation chambers. Once inside the center, you will also discover interactive and audio-visual presentations explaining this naturally occurring display. The turbine hall of Pitlochry Power Station can also be viewed from within the Visitor Center.

Blair Castle

Dating back to the thirteenth century, Blair Castle is the ancestral seat of the Dukes and Earls of Atholl. The building of Blair Castle started in 1269, under the command of John I Comyn, the Lord of Badenoch, a nearby neighbor of the Earl of Atholl. The Earl was away, fighting in the Crusade’s, when his neighbor began construction of his castle on his land. As soon as the Earl returned home he bitterly complained to the king of Scotland, Alexander III about the interloper, and his lands were returned. Rather than demolishing the tower than John I Comyn had constructed, the Earl decided to incorporate the tower into his own castle. A Great Hall and a number of vaulted chambers were incorporated into the castle over the centuries, by  subsequent Earls. It was the second Duke of Atholl who, in 1740, decided to restore the castle as a Georgian Mansion.

Killiecrankie Visitor Centre

During the period of the Jacobites Killiecrankie, not a great distance from Pitlochry, was full of the noise of battle. The government soldiers were utterly destroyed by the rebel soldiers of the Jacobites, under the the direction of Bonnie Dundee. During the bloodthirsty battle one of the soldiers evaded capture by leaping across the River Garry, which gained the name, Soldier’s Leap. The area around the Pass and gorge were a popular place of Queen Victoria.

To learn concerning the famous battle you can pay a visit to the Killiecrankie Visitor Centre. The Visitor Centre has a collection of otherpresentations and services, which include; ranger service’s, a natural history of the area and guided walks and much more.

If you are thinking about taking a vacation in Scotland based in Pitlochry then you will discover Pitlochry hotels online by using the search term “Pitlochry hotel accommodation” in your favorite search engine.