"You would have to be half mad to dream me up." - Alice in…read moreWonderland. There's a very good reason I felt like a mischievous gal fallen down the rabbit hole - this place has a touch of wonderland about it. As you can tell from my photos, I was not at all intrigued and barely found a hint to take a picture of (they really should have a dedicated sarcasm font don't you think?). Just a few weeks after arriving in Scotland, I hopped on a train for an overnight adventure. I wouldn't attempt this in a day - it's well worth a night's stay and that gives you a bit of time to wander through Pitlochry afterwards/before unrushed. The Enchanted Forest is a beautiful exhibit of light and music. I would definitely suggest you take a week day jaunt through and try for the latest booking time possible - less kiddies colliding about. Not that they were a bother, the ones that were on my tour time, but it was nice to have a less hectic crowd to wander through the lights with. That being said, if you have wee ones - this is a perfect evening out, as they have story huts and lots to keep little minds entertained. Definitely grab yourself a mulled wine and though you'll want to snap every moment imaginable, do take some time to get out from behind the camera and just watch. I had hoped there would be more aerial artists. The two that were there, were wonderful and it only made me wish there were more artists roaming in, up and around the trees. It would add a completely new element to the experience that would be pretty darn special. But what they've done so far is top notch. The blend of music and lights is exceptionally done and the walk is both exciting and contemplative. Well done Enchanted Forest - it takes quite the force to make me wax poetic confusion. I would love to get a behind the scenes peek at this installation - because it has to take an army to get all those lights up (and some sneaky generator work?). But it's efficiency, right down to the well choreographed bus transfers just makes it easier to get yourself lost in pretty, pretty lights. Go be Alice for an evening. It's well worth the adventure.

A yearly outdoor art installation of light and sound. This is held in a forest near Pitlochry,…read morewhich is in the Lower Highlands. We went as group and got tickets about a month before. Which is recommended as the evening we went was sold out. The organisation was tight and very efficient, buses left from the Fisher's Hotel every 10-15 minutes. The installation / presentation is a 10 minutes drive away from Pitlochry. In the bus you get a 'safety instruction' which is easy to follow and funny for children. On arrival you are greeted by a dark forest with many coloured lights in the tree crowns. Many balloons with neon flashers stuck in trees.. poor kids. Let's get this clear beforehand, it was a very wet, damp evening. The Enchanted forest was drenched. Alright, for true West Coasters this was no more than a persistent heavy drizzle, but it was WET. The theme this year was called 'absORB' and the light themes where just like that. The pathways are lit by small coloured orbs. We also got ourselves a couple diode balloons, which added to the magic effects. The route took us past many sound and light shows that are difficult to describe. All equally mesmerising and pretty. The main focus was a massive moon-like orb at the entrance. This was visible from all over the site. My personal favourites was the 'evolution' 3D light show projected on a rock face. This was very fluid and pretty. The other was the lake orbs. With the music it was a special showpiece which is reflected into the water of the central loch (lake) creating a mirror effect doubling the experience.. that was truly magical. I could have watched just that all evening. Then there was the (as we dubbed it) 'Dr Who' bridge, that looked like an infinity light speed entrance to another time & dimension. And a great opportunity to take some pictures that don't require night vision camera features. There are several toilets, resting places dotted around. If you do get lost the many stewards are able to guide you on your way. After a few rounds we were a little too wet and the rain was getting heavier. We went back to the bus queue, again fast and efficient. It was a good show and a great experience.

This place has newly opened, and was previously known as 'The Moon and Sixpence'. I would highly…read morerecommend this place to have breakfast; the mini breakfast is excellent value and the staff are most friendly and helpful. Beautifully situated next to the Moness Burn, which flows from the Birks o' Aberfeldy down to the river Tay.

On a rainy day on our Perthshire holiday we decided to head to the Beatrix Potter Exhibition &…read moreGarden in Birnam for some indoor fun with our 1 year old. I have to be honest I wasn't expecting much, but I was proved wrong. This is a really lovely place that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to visitors with little ones. The exhibition is housed in Birnam's Arts & Conference Centre. Outside is a lovely garden with sculptures of the animals that Beatrix made famous through her books. Inside is a lovely gift shop with Beatrix Potter themed goods, and a great range of non-Potter related cards, books, gifts, toys, and trinkets... Downstairs is the exhibition area. This is relatively small compared to other exhibitions/museums, but it's appeal for us was the great range of play activities for the little ones. From drawing and colouring on blackboards and at old school desks, to playing shop, playing with puzzles, dressing up, and reading books - this was a great way to spend an afternoon with our little one. I feel this is really geared towards younger kids under 8, but was just perfect for our inquisitive 1 year old. Upstairs is the Foyer Cafe, where we enjoyed some lovely coffees. The staff here were really lovely too!

A lovely place to go adult and child alike! Personally, I love Peter Rabbit, Miss Tiggywinkle etc…read moreand this museum is a real tribute to 'Miss Potter', There is a large ish shop selling lovely books and other memorabilia. The 'museum' itself is quite small, yet informative and very hands on for the kids. There are also clothes for the kids to dress up in. Beatrix Potter took holidays in Dalguise in Perthshire (now a PGL centre) before her family changed their holiday destination to the Lakes.

The Pitlochry Highland Night is held on the recreation ground every Monday night at 7.45. If the…read moreevening is wet it moves to Pitlochry Town Hall. On the field you can view the show from the comfort of your car or wrap up and sit on the terrace. On Monday they celebrated 50 years of this fab night of music and dance. The Vale of Atholl pipers are great as are the Highland and Scortish Country dancers. Cars toot horns and flash their headlights to show appreciation as do the crowd with cheers and clapping. Food and refreshments are available from a mobile food van. Toilets in the club house on the field. All profits are donated to the Junior pipe band. This is a fab night out and well worth the trip. Tapping feet and joining in with many of the best loved Scots songs is a must. Xoxo

What a fabulous day! Our first adventure was to go in a 6-wheel drive Pingauzer. Our driver…read moreStewart knew the land very well and was able to tell us about the ecological and local aspects of the area. We stopped at a viewpoint with fantastic views to Loch Tay, Taymouth Castle and in the other direction to Aberfeldy. We then wound our way up the hill and in search of red deer. The kids loved driving through the river and had time to play around at the top of the hill whilst adults were talking about the red deer and searching the horizon with binoculars pretending we knew what we were doing. We went back to the highland safari centre for lunch at the wee cafe. The centre has some play activities for the kids with a focus on outdoor learning with a wee walk up behind the main building. In the afternoon we took part in the red deer experience. Our ranger, Colin, gave us an informative chat about red deer with some great props in a specially designed building next to the red deer field. He was great with the kids too. As we were learning about the red deer with our back to the windows, Rhua (the big stag) and his ladies had clocked that it was nearly feeding time and trotted up to the windows behind us. Each of us had a feeding cup and fed the deer. Afterwards Colin showed us an owl which was pretty cool because normally it's a pretty static affair but this one flew around inches away from us! All in all, a great day out.

An excellent experience with friendly people. We booked a mountainbike Tour, which started 9:30. As…read morewe were late, we phoned ahead. Not a problem. We we greeted by a guy in tradinional kilt and big smile. After some instructions and bike seat fitting we were taken on a Landrover up the mountain. There we we given some more instructions and off we went. The ride to a small Loch was beautiful and easy, but still sporty. After getting back to the trail, a tough climb and after that a bit boring downhill. The final part went through bush and was mtb ing like i know and love. All in all a wonderful experience with excellent guidance.

I lived near the predecessor of this glass art, craft and factory showroom in Perth which was…read morealways one of the pieces of local colour I took visitors by. Since this was the first trip back to the UK since meeting the wife it was time to go again. Their new place is only about 25 miles from the old one but is far smaller, maybe 1/3 the retail space. Even better though the access to the craftsfolk is no longer behind a wall, glass and almost totally insulated from the sound but occurs a foot or two away from behind the metal railing. If you are missing Phoenix heat at this time you will probably feel right at home:) There's a restaurant, gift shop and other crafts shops, like jewelry and ceramics nearby so it's easy to spend 1/2 a day here, I suggest spending the next half at that nearby Glen Turret distillery for another kind of glass appreciation:) There's a video presentation on glass making and the company history, kinda lo-tech. E.G., they have to come start the video :) There are hands on glass painting areas and what turned out to be a lot of fun for the wife the chance to make your own glass paperweight. (They may not be complete the same day so having it mailed on could be necessary ) I love their output and while I am not remotely a serious collector ( seriously don't have the serious money to keep up with it) these beat out any tourist trinket you can take back.

We brought our son (21) and daughter (16) to Caithness Glass Blowing to make their own…read morepaperweights. We weren't sure what to expect, but we were met by smiles and such sincere patience and guidance from Cullen, our glass-blowing master. He showed our son and daughter the ropes and helped them create masterpieces and memories they won't soon forget. Thank you to everyone at Caithness for making our visit an extra-special one!

The museum itself is not that special to see, local place to spend your lunch if you like with some…read morenice local landscape draws and paints. But the exposition of the work of Beatrix Potter is genius, there are actualy paintings/ fungi made by miss Potter!! I loved it! It is kids friendly so watch out, were you place your feet: there are some small persons playing around.