From the Market Square, cross the burn, then turn left along Commercial Street, so that the river is on your left. Turn right up Toutie Street, right again up Hill Street, then left on Loyal Road. Continue walking uphill to reach a sign for the Cateran Trail.
Walk uphill now, go through a gate and continue in the same direction, walking past a wood on the right-hand side. Go through a kissing gate, passing an area that in summer is a mass of purple foxgloves. Eventually the path levels out and then starts to bear downhill. Maintain direction to go through a kissing gate and over a burn.
From this point the path becomes narrower and bears uphill again, becoming muddier and more overgrown. Walk under trees and through a gate, then leave the birch and oak woodland. Keep an eye out for deer here, as you might spot one bounding into the trees. Maintain direction through the grass, then go through a kissing gate to reach the road.
Turn left and walk along the road, following the signs to the Hill of Alyth Walk. It's pretty quiet along here, so you should meet few cars. The road leads past a conifer plantation, past a house on the right-hand side and over a cattle grid. Soon after this, turn left and follow the signs for the Cateran Trail.
Walk uphill and, at a crossing of tracks, turn to the right. Then, within 50yds (46m), turn left uphill. When you reach another crossing of paths, turn right. There are lots of paths traversing the hill, so choose your own route at this point – essentially, keep the ponds on your left and don't walk as far as the beacon. At the pond, bear right at a waymark sign, aiming for a small copse, and go through a gate.
Walk downhill along the enclosed track – you'll see the spire of the church below you. When you reach another track turn left and then right to continue walking downhill on a metalled track. Walk under a line of pylons and past a farm to eventually reach the village.
The route now bears left along a residential road and leads downhill. Turn right and retrace your steps along the side of the burn to the start of the walk in the Market Square.
If you do this walk in the summer or early autumn, put some plastic bowls in the car before you go. That's because Alyth is close to Blairgowrie, and is surrounded by the soft fruit fields of Strathmore. Although you don't pass any strawberry fields on the walk, there are many just a short drive... away and you'll see 'Pick your own' signs everywhere. Fabulous fruits This part of Scotland has long been famed for the quality of its soft fruit, particularly its strawberries and raspberries. The land is fertile and the climate mild – perfect for raising sweet, juicy berries. You will see many fields covered in a layer of fine fleece, placed there to protect the strawberry plants, particularly from birds. Fruits from the fields used to be picked to serve the jam-making industry of nearby Dundee. The area's importance for fruit growing is reflected in the names of many varieties of berry. There's the Tayberry (a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry), which refers to the nearby Tay, as well as varieties of raspberry such as Glen Clova and Glen Prosen (both glens being just a short distance from Alyth). These soft fruits have played an important part in the British diet for a long time, providing valuable vitamin C. Wild strawberries and raspberries are both native to Britain. Strawberries were cultivated in Elizabethan times, although the cultivated ones you buy today are more likely to come from non-native stock: a Chilean species, for example, was introduced in the 1800s and produced larger, more brightly coloured fruits. Today we tend to use soft fruits for jam or simply eat them fresh or with cream as a treat. However, they were once used in much more complicated recipes. An Elizabethan book, first printed in 1596 and entitled The Good Houswifes Jewell, describes a recipe for Tarte of Strawberries that begins: 'Take strawberries and washe them in claret wine, thicke and temper them with rose-water, and season them with cinamon, sugar, and ginger…' Not only were soft fruits eaten, they were once used to make medicines. Nicholas Culpeper, the famous 17th-century physician and herbalist, described the versatile healing properties of strawberries in some detail, declaring that the plants were ruled by the planet Venus and that the berries were 'excellent good to cool the liver, the blood, and the spleen, or an hot choleric stomach'. He declared that lotions made from the leaves and roots of strawberries could help ulcers in the 'privy parts' and were also good 'to fasten loose teeth, and to heal spungy foul gums'. Even today, raspberry leaf tea is recommended as a drink for women in the final stages of pregnancy and during labour, while raspberry vinegar makes an excellent gargle for soothing sore throats.
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.
From the Market Square, cross the burn, then turn left along Commercial Street, so that the river is on your left. Turn right up Toutie Street, right again up Hill Street, then left on Loyal Road. Continue walking uphill to reach a sign for the Cateran Trail.
1 of 7
Walk uphill now, go through a gate and continue in the same direction, walking past a wood on the right-hand side. Go through a kissing gate, passing an area that in summer is a mass of purple foxgloves. Eventually the path levels out and then starts to bear downhill. Maintain direction to go through a kissing gate and over a burn.
2 of 7
From this point the path becomes narrower and bears uphill again, becoming muddier and more overgrown. Walk under trees and through a gate, then leave the birch and oak woodland. Keep an eye out for deer here, as you might spot one bounding into the trees. Maintain direction through the grass, then go through a kissing gate to reach the road.
3 of 7
Turn left and walk along the road, following the signs to the Hill of Alyth Walk. It's pretty quiet along here, so you should meet few cars. The road leads past a conifer plantation, past a house on the right-hand side and over a cattle grid. Soon after this, turn left and follow the signs for the Cateran Trail.
4 of 7
Walk uphill and, at a crossing of tracks, turn to the right. Then, within 50yds (46m), turn left uphill. When you reach another crossing of paths, turn right. There are lots of paths traversing the hill, so choose your own route at this point – essentially, keep the ponds on your left and don't walk as far as the beacon. At the pond, bear right at a waymark sign, aiming for a small copse, and go through a gate.
5 of 7
Walk downhill along the enclosed track – you'll see the spire of the church below you. When you reach another track turn left and then right to continue walking downhill on a metalled track. Walk under a line of pylons and past a farm to eventually reach the village.
6 of 7
The route now bears left along a residential road and leads downhill. Turn right and retrace your steps along the side of the burn to the start of the walk in the Market Square.
If you do this walk in the summer or early autumn, put some plastic bowls in the car before you go. That's because Alyth is close to Blairgowrie, and is surrounded by the soft fruit fields of Strathmore. Although you don't pass any strawberry fields on the walk, there are many just a short drive... away and you'll see 'Pick your own' signs everywhere. Fabulous fruits This part of Scotland has long been famed for the quality of its soft fruit, particularly its strawberries and raspberries. The land is fertile and the climate mild – perfect for raising sweet, juicy berries. You will see many fields covered in a layer of fine fleece, placed there to protect the strawberry plants, particularly from birds. Fruits from the fields used to be picked to serve the jam-making industry of nearby Dundee. The area's importance for fruit growing is reflected in the names of many varieties of berry. There's the Tayberry (a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry), which refers to the nearby Tay, as well as varieties of raspberry such as Glen Clova and Glen Prosen (both glens being just a short distance from Alyth). These soft fruits have played an important part in the British diet for a long time, providing valuable vitamin C. Wild strawberries and raspberries are both native to Britain. Strawberries were cultivated in Elizabethan times, although the cultivated ones you buy today are more likely to come from non-native stock: a Chilean species, for example, was introduced in the 1800s and produced larger, more brightly coloured fruits. Today we tend to use soft fruits for jam or simply eat them fresh or with cream as a treat. However, they were once used in much more complicated recipes. An Elizabethan book, first printed in 1596 and entitled The Good Houswifes Jewell, describes a recipe for Tarte of Strawberries that begins: 'Take strawberries and washe them in claret wine, thicke and temper them with rose-water, and season them with cinamon, sugar, and ginger…' Not only were soft fruits eaten, they were once used to make medicines. Nicholas Culpeper, the famous 17th-century physician and herbalist, described the versatile healing properties of strawberries in some detail, declaring that the plants were ruled by the planet Venus and that the berries were 'excellent good to cool the liver, the blood, and the spleen, or an hot choleric stomach'. He declared that lotions made from the leaves and roots of strawberries could help ulcers in the 'privy parts' and were also good 'to fasten loose teeth, and to heal spungy foul gums'. Even today, raspberry leaf tea is recommended as a drink for women in the final stages of pregnancy and during labour, while raspberry vinegar makes an excellent gargle for soothing sore throats.
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.
