Around the area
The fertile, easily worked soils of Lowland Perthshire and
Kinross-shire are ideal for growing cereals, potatoes and other
vegetables. These gentle southern areas are also home to dairy and
poultry farms.
In Highland Perthshire, grassy hill slopes provide perfect
conditions for rearing livestock, which are finished on lush
pastures in the valleys. Moorlands and woods are a rich source of
game, while beehives in these uplands produce the most wonderful
heather honey.
Perthshire's rivers, especially the mighty Tay, are famous for
their salmon and trout. Clear, pure water flowing from the hills
feeds these rivers and is bottled at source as spring water and
used by distilleries in whisky production.
This part of the world is perhaps best known for its berries,
which make up a large proportion of the UK's soft fruit production.
Fruit and other crops do so well here because of the favourable
climate: cool winters and warm summers, with enough but not too
much rain and plenty of sunshine.
Perthshire regularly comes out as one of the top places in the
UK in quality of life surveys. The friendly locals are happy to
share its natural assets with visitors. Because the emphasis is on
enjoying the area in a sustainable way, many accommodation
providers and tourist attractions are part of the Green Tourism
Business Scheme.
The vibrant and stylish city of Perth - the cultural centre of
Perthshire - and the attractive towns and villages that
surround it have enjoyed considerable success in the Britain in
Bloom and Beautiful Scotland in Bloom competitions.
The country towns are important centres in their own right.
Blairgowrie is the raspberry capital of the world, while Aberfeldy
was Scotland's first Fair Trade Town. Pitlochry, at the foot of Ben
Vrackie, is the gateway to the Highlands.
In the south, Kinross - in a stunning setting on the shores
of Loch Leven - is the hub of Kinross-shire. And
Auchterarder - location of the famous Gleneagles Hotel -
lies at the agricultural heart of Strathearn.
Further west, Crieff and Comrie nestle in the upper reaches of
Strathearn, where oak woods rise up to rugged hills. Dunkeld and
Birnam, to the north of Perth, have a similar situation. They
straddle the tree-fringed River Tay on the boundary between Lowland
and Highland.
