WALKING HIGHLAND PERTHSHIRE (CICERONE)

The hills of highland Perthshire are spacious and soothing, a place to relax after the rigours of Scotland’s rocky north and west. They are jolly green giants and, from Schiehallion to Atholl, from Rannoch to Ben Vrackie, there are a lot of them.

The long grass slopes and peaty cols provide a wealth of walking opportunitites, the nature of the landscape resulting in heather and pebble-strewn plateaus and rounded ridges, with a break from the scrambling other Scottish ranges require.

The guide describes 80 challenging and mostly non-standard routes, grouped into 10 areas across Perthshire, including all the Munros, many of the Corbetts and several smaller hills from Shee of Ardtalnaig to Birnam Hill. With PVC cover, detailed route descriptions, clear maps, photography and invaluable advice, the guide is the perfect companion to explore Perthshire's hills.

clusters of ascents described for some key summits: Ben Dorain, Ben Lawers, Beinn a’ Ghlo and Ben Alder
ascents of 42 Munros and 22 Corbetts as well as a selection of low-level routes
all illustrated with 1:50K and 1:100K mapping

Seasons
April to August for all routes, with April and May the best of all; autumn is great under the trees, but not necessarily on the hills with gales and rain fairly common, and some stalking season restrictions mid-August to 21 October; winter is good for the low level routes, and can also be magnificent on the high mountains for those suitably experienced and equipped
Centres
Comrie, Crieff, Aberfeldy, Killin, Dunkeld, Pitlochry, Blair Atholl
Difficulty
Routes are graded low/medium/mountain, and for difficulty from 1: clear smooth paths, with no steep sections to 5: featureless plateau requiring compass bearings in mist or pathless forest; heather tramping; remote high ground; long steep rough ascents and descents; rocky ground and easy scrambling. No serious scrambling
Must See
Ben Lawers, Schiehallion, Beinn a' Ghlo; historic passes through the wilds of Atholl; Perthshire's 'big tree country' at Birnam Wood, under the Birks of Aberfeldy, at Fortingall's ancient yew tree; the great rivers Garry and Tay