We are in Pitlochry in Perthshire, which is in the middle of Scotland. We caught the train from Aberdeen yesterday and plan to spend two nights here. We thought about booking one of the Co-wheels cars but it actually worked out to be the same price, if not cheaper, to catch the train. That’s including the fact that we had to buy four tickets. We have one of those family and friends railcards which makes it very economical. If the choice of car versus train works out to be the same price, we’ll always choose the train because it’s so pleasant and enjoyable.
When the train first leaves Aberdeen it travels right along the coast which makes for some lovely views of plunging cliffs and ocean to the horizon. We usually book our seats and reserve a table seat so we can eat our lunch or work on laptops or maybe just read a book. There isn’t a mode of transportation I enjoy more, other than cycling, I guess.
Train stations are also fascinating places. We changed trains in Perth and the station there is a lovely old Victorian building. I love the iron and brick-work and the lack of concrete. Concrete is, to my mind, the bane of modern architecture.
Pitlochry train station was also beautiful:
We also saw some wind farms from the train and they were not at all the blight on the landscape that others seem to think they are.
Pitlochry is a very cute village. The main street is lined with lovely old Victorian buildings and lots of inviting cafes and shops. This next photo is of part of the main street. The only thing spoiling it are the cars. If I ruled the world I’d ban cars from the main streets of villages and cities. They shouldn’t be there. These are places for people, not ugly chunks of metal. I guess most people would disagree with me.
There are some splendid views here:
And giant pine cones:
We are told there are lots of red squirrels around so the plan today is to go and find some.
Visit the fist ladder on the other side of the dam, with luck you’ll see the salmon running through. The Moulin Inn up the hill east of the village has a good atmosphere as well. When the local Sportive is on, no cars just 5,000 cyclists & closed roads – fabulous.
Yes, we plan to go and have a look there this afternoon. I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for salmon.
Yes, the salmon ladder…one of the downsides of having dams built for hydroelectricity means it makes it tricky for salmon to do their traditional upward journey, and for bears to catch them too (not an issue in UK, more so in US or Canada…so applause for the foresight to have wind generated power! they have great theatre in Pitlochry too! Perth is a lovely town- about 18miles or so (?) away there is Dundee- which I know I shouldn’t say, is a veritable dump in comparison! Still, there are some nice sides to the Fife area and Arbroath and the coastal towns are nice-St Andrews was a pleasant day away too!
Yes, there are lots of lovely places to visit in this area. I think we’ll be sticking to Pitlochry for this trip though. I’ve heard Dundee has improved considerably in recent years.
That’s lovely. Thanks.
Dundee has some great bits though, just need to look around.
Beautiful photos, Rachel. I totally side with you. Cars destroy the view.
Good! Nice to know I’m not alone. It’s not just that they spoil the view but they also produce noise pollution and exhaust fumes. Walking along the side of the road in a lovely old Victorian village is spoilt by the smell and sound of cars whizzing by. It would be a huge improvement if they just weren’t there.
I feel the same when walking along the narrow canals of Amsterdam.
The authorities make parking a very expensive experience but this isn’t enough to stop them.
I know that it’s difficult to transport goods and people in out the area, but there should be a restriction of some sort.
It’s interesting that even in Amsterdam, where bicycles rule (or so I thought), that cars are still an irritating presence.
Bikes rule indeed but still…cars are not forgotten. People start to use the shared system with electric cars but it’s not as much as I had expected. Convenience.
You should see the traffic jams we have in such a small country! One person per car.
Hey, a love of trains too? I’m so there! My ambition is to travel everywhere by train but especially the most iconic journeys. Wherever we travel I look to see what the train journeys look like. So we’ve done a few in Canada, NZ and Oz as well as all over the UK and the continent. French trains take some beating but generally in Europe they are easily the best way to get about without the hassle of strange motorways and airports.
I totally agree. Train travel is just the best. We’ve never done any of those sleeper train trips but we’ve considered doing the overnight one from Scotland to the south of England. Maybe one day.
We did the Ghan in Oz with the kids years back Just fantastic,
I’ve heard that’s a great trip but I’ve never done it.
Hope you found your red squirrels 🙂
I did! I saw two this morning. I’ll blog about it later 🙂
Oh wow! Can’t wait…and I read again in the paper yesterday that they are definitely being seen more often, especially in the Aberdeen area. The experts thing that they have grown resistant to the pox that almost killed them off! Yay 😀
Everything looked so clean and neat. 🙂
You’re right – trains are the most civilised way to travel.
I hope you get to see your red squirrels 🙂
When I read giant pine cones, I thought, yes, my children have picked some from trees, and we kept them as nice souvenirs, and then I scrolled down and my jaw dropped. I will show it to them when I get home!
It is a very cool pine cone. Not real of course. Just a lovely work of art 🙂
I would be all dreamy and stuff if the weather in these images was cloudy. 😀
Beautiful pictures. I couldn’t agree with you more about the cars. Noisy polluters. I don’t travel by train often – twice in my life and only in Canada – but love the experience and understand train travel in GB is fast, clean and relaxing. Have a nice trip.