With your back to the Fortingall Hotel, turn right to walk along the road, passing several pretty thatched cottages (an unusual sight in Scotland) on the right-hand side. Follow the road over a burn and then walk past the entrance to Glen Lyon farm. Continue on this road, and eventually reach a fork in the road.
Ignore the right-hand fork and maintain direction. The road will soon leads over a bridge that crosses the River Lyon.
Cross the bridge and continue along the road (it's tarmacked but very quiet), and walk past some little cottages on the right-hand side. Continue until you reach the sign for Duneaves.
Turn left and follow the road – the river is on your left-hand side. You feel as if you're in a secret valley as you walk along here, and in late summer you can stop to pick the wild raspberries that grow by the roadside. Continue past an area of woodland, after which you get views across the valley to Fortingall.
Continue to follow the road until you see a white house on the right-hand side. Leave the metalled track and turn left 50yds (46m) before the house, down a track signposted to Duneaves farmhouse – the views of the surrounding hills are superb.
Follow the wide, stony track as it leads down to Duneaves. Just before the farmhouse, go through the gate in the wall on the right-hand side. Then turn left, following the path around the fields and along the river bank to a rather bouncy footbridge. Bear right after crossing the bridge, then continue through the gate and join the road.
Turn left and walk back along the road towards the village. Soon pass two sets of standing stones in the field on the left – six stones in a ring near the road, and three further away. Walk back into Fortingall to reach your starting place.
Take a good look at the yew tree in the churchyard at the start of this walk. It is the oldest living thing in Europe – possibly even the world. No one knows exactly how old it is, as yews are notoriously difficult to date (their heartwood dies and they become hollow after around 500 years).... However, it is generally reckoned to be around 3,000 years old. Some people think it could even be older – up to 9,000 years. In 1769 the tree's girth was measured and found to be 56ft (17m). A special tree Long before Christianity, yew trees were held sacred by the Druids and the Celts. This must surely be because of the tree's extraordinary powers of regeneration; they can enter long periods of 'hibernation' when they hardly grow at all – and then suddenly sprout new leaves. Some believe yews were planted over graves to protect and purify the dead, while others think that sacred sites and burial grounds grew up beside existing yew trees. What is certain is that they have a special place in our culture. Like many pagan symbols, the significance of yew trees was retained and sanctified by the early Christian Church, and you will often see yew trees in churchyards today. There are at least 500 churchyards in England and Wales that have yews as old as the church itself, and many of the trees are undoubtedly much older than the building. Rock a Bye Baby During medieval times, yews were often placed in churchyards alongside the route that coffins would take. Some think trees were also planted here to provide wood for longbows, while keeping their poisonous branches out of the reach of cattle. The branches of yew trees were also used as church decoration. One famous yew tree in Derbyshire is said to have provided the inspiration for the nursery rhyme 'Rock a Bye Baby'. It's known as the Betty Kenny tree and was once the home of a local family. A child's cradle was created in one of the boughs. Yew trees were also sometimes planted beside inns as a sign to travellers. Two yews were said to indicate that accommodation was available. Three yews meant that the inn was able to make provision for the travellers' animals as well. Pilate was here? Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, published in 1577, is the source of a plethora of apocrypha, including the legend that Pontius Pilate was born in Fortingall. Holinshed never visited this part of the world, but the Romans did – as evidenced by a string of forts that marked the northernmost limits of Roman power. The most impressive is at Ardoch, near Braco in Perthshire. So it’s not totally impossible that Pilate was a local lad.
Perth and Kinross, sheltered by the Grampian Mountains, is often regarded as the Heart of Scotland, and its mountains, lochs and glens yearn to be explored. Just outside the ancient city of Perth is Scone Palace, home of the mystical Stone of Destiny, on which 42 Scottish Kings were crowned.
With your back to the Fortingall Hotel, turn right to walk along the road, passing several pretty thatched cottages (an unusual sight in Scotland) on the right-hand side. Follow the road over a burn and then walk past the entrance to Glen Lyon farm. Continue on this road, and eventually reach a fork in the road.
1 of 7
Ignore the right-hand fork and maintain direction. The road will soon leads over a bridge that crosses the River Lyon.
2 of 7
Cross the bridge and continue along the road (it's tarmacked but very quiet), and walk past some little cottages on the right-hand side. Continue until you reach the sign for Duneaves.
3 of 7
Turn left and follow the road – the river is on your left-hand side. You feel as if you're in a secret valley as you walk along here, and in late summer you can stop to pick the wild raspberries that grow by the roadside. Continue past an area of woodland, after which you get views across the valley to Fortingall.
4 of 7
Continue to follow the road until you see a white house on the right-hand side. Leave the metalled track and turn left 50yds (46m) before the house, down a track signposted to Duneaves farmhouse – the views of the surrounding hills are superb.
5 of 7
Follow the wide, stony track as it leads down to Duneaves. Just before the farmhouse, go through the gate in the wall on the right-hand side. Then turn left, following the path around the fields and along the river bank to a rather bouncy footbridge. Bear right after crossing the bridge, then continue through the gate and join the road.
6 of 7
Turn left and walk back along the road towards the village. Soon pass two sets of standing stones in the field on the left – six stones in a ring near the road, and three further away. Walk back into Fortingall to reach your starting place.
Take a good look at the yew tree in the churchyard at the start of this walk. It is the oldest living thing in Europe – possibly even the world. No one knows exactly how old it is, as yews are notoriously difficult to date (their heartwood dies and they become hollow after around 500 years).... However, it is generally reckoned to be around 3,000 years old. Some people think it could even be older – up to 9,000 years. In 1769 the tree's girth was measured and found to be 56ft (17m). A special tree Long before Christianity, yew trees were held sacred by the Druids and the Celts. This must surely be because of the tree's extraordinary powers of regeneration; they can enter long periods of 'hibernation' when they hardly grow at all – and then suddenly sprout new leaves. Some believe yews were planted over graves to protect and purify the dead, while others think that sacred sites and burial grounds grew up beside existing yew trees. What is certain is that they have a special place in our culture. Like many pagan symbols, the significance of yew trees was retained and sanctified by the early Christian Church, and you will often see yew trees in churchyards today. There are at least 500 churchyards in England and Wales that have yews as old as the church itself, and many of the trees are undoubtedly much older than the building. Rock a Bye Baby During medieval times, yews were often placed in churchyards alongside the route that coffins would take. Some think trees were also planted here to provide wood for longbows, while keeping their poisonous branches out of the reach of cattle. The branches of yew trees were also used as church decoration. One famous yew tree in Derbyshire is said to have provided the inspiration for the nursery rhyme 'Rock a Bye Baby'. It's known as the Betty Kenny tree and was once the home of a local family. A child's cradle was created in one of the boughs. Yew trees were also sometimes planted beside inns as a sign to travellers. Two yews were said to indicate that accommodation was available. Three yews meant that the inn was able to make provision for the travellers' animals as well. Pilate was here? Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, published in 1577, is the source of a plethora of apocrypha, including the legend that Pontius Pilate was born in Fortingall. Holinshed never visited this part of the world, but the Romans did – as evidenced by a string of forts that marked the northernmost limits of Roman power. The most impressive is at Ardoch, near Braco in Perthshire. So it’s not totally impossible that Pilate was a local lad.
Perth and Kinross, sheltered by the Grampian Mountains, is often regarded as the Heart of Scotland, and its mountains, lochs and glens yearn to be explored. Just outside the ancient city of Perth is Scone Palace, home of the mystical Stone of Destiny, on which 42 Scottish Kings were crowned.
