Perthshire

If you want to get an idea of what Perthshire is like, then you should climb to the top of Knock Hill at Crieff, one of Perthshire's most attractive little towns. It's only a few minutes' climb through the old woodlands, above the streets and busy shops.

From this heathery Highland-edge viewpoint you can admire a tremendous panorama. Look to the south and east to view the broad lands of Strathearn as they roll out, the grain fields edged by tall trees - a rich and comfortable landscape. But west and north the prospect is very different. The hills beyond the Highland line - a natural fault line - loom on the horizon.

Perthshire embraces both Highland and Lowland. Close to where the two Scotlands meet, a cluster of little resort-towns have grown up: not just Crieff, but Comrie further up the strath, where the hills close in; Dunkeld, amongst the tall trees, where Beatrix Potter wove local characters into her tales for children; Aberfeldy with its watermill, handsome bridge and birchwoods praised in song by Robert Burns; then there is Pitlochry, set, some say, right in the very centre of Scotland.

It is from these places, that you can take advantage of another attractive feature of the area. This one came about a long, long time before the first tourists (in fact, long before the first people of any kind hereabouts).

Ancient glaciers grinding eastwards from an ice-sheet on Rannoch Moor scoured out many of today's glens and valleys. Perthshire touring is a special delight, as north-south hill roads drop into these long loch-filled glens - Loch Rannoch, Loch Tay or Loch Earn, for example.

All you have to do is study your road map and choose the number of loops you want to cover in a day's gentle touring! That way you can enjoy the Black Wood of Rannoch, a stretch of native pinewood on the south side of Loch Rannoch (and perhaps even see a capercaillie), or hire a boat at Kenmore at the east end of Loch Tay, or enjoy the peerless Queen's View above Loch Tummel.

The mountain called Schiehallion adds its shapely cone not just to the Queen's View but to many other picture-postcard compositions in the area. Perthshire does mountains rather well, providing big days out for fit and experienced walkers (and, in winter, cross-country skiers, too) especially on the ring of peaks around, for example, Glen Lyon - Scotland's longest cul-de-sac glen.

In turn, these high places are great for views of, say, the Ben Lawers massif, its vivid green slopes suggesting the fertile rock and soil which nurture a rich store of alpine plants. The impressive profile of the Lawers range is also well seen from the lonely road which climbs away from the hamlet of Amulree before spectacularly zig-zagging down through the woods to the shores of Loch Tay - another example of essential Perthshire touring!

If mountains, lochs and little upland roads off the beaten track are the backdrop for Highland Perthshire, then when you add on the sheer serendipity of other things to see, the area becomes especially attractive as a short-break destination. Because, no matter where you base yourself, from Kinross by Loch Leven to the south to Blairgowrie by the berry fields on the edge of Strathmore, you can be sure to find a string of interesting places on some easy-day circular journey.

These places might include castles and battlesites. Over the winter you can still visit the ancient fortress of Huntingtower Castle on the edge of Perth, while the battlesite at Killiecrankie makes for an interesting walk, down to the rushing river to see the famous Soldier's Leap, whatever the season.

As well as historic sites, you may find a sign for a distillery, so you can compare and contrast the product of the oldest Highland malt distillery at Glenturret, near Crieff (the Famous Grouse Experience), with, say, the equally fine single malt produced in Pitlochry by Edradour, the smallest distillery in Scotland. Dewar's World of Whisky at Aberfeldy is just one reason for visiting this attractive little Perthshire town.

If you enjoy the great outdoors, then Perthshire offers not only the delights of Caledonian pinewoods by Rannoch and the wild slopes of the Lawers range mentioned above, but an excellent range of low-level walking in woodland trails, as well as wildlife spectacle such as Vane Farm by Kinross.

Here spectacular flights of wildfowl can be enjoyed from the (centrally heated!) visitor centre. There are also walking trails on the hill behind the centre which give further fine views across the loch. Perthshire boasts another very special lochside feature, on Loch Tay.

The Scottish Crannog Centre can be found beside Kenmore. A crannog was a kind of Iron Age dwelling built out from the shore of a loch on stilts. This one is authentically constructed, based on the archaeological evidence from excavations around other crannog sites. Ancient crafts are demonstrated, along with plenty of hands-on activities. (NB Visitors should check winter opening times before visiting, as the centre closes December to early March.)

Water is an important element in the Perthshire landscape, not just for crannogs. It plays a part in the activities choice. Angling and sailing are two of the "mainstream" activities on offer, though, if you are looking for a new experience, then canyoning is a Perthshire speciality on offer from a number of activity operators. It means getting kitted up with all kinds of safety gear, then scooshing through a water-filled gorge, being rope-lowered over waterfalls, sliding along natural flumes and jumping into deep clear rocky pools.

After that, having a round of golf in any of Perthshire's 40 courses may sound a little conventional, but at least you have a chance of keeping dry. Amongst other dry-land activities, walking is also popular. Perthshire offers everything from high-level mountain expeditions to gentle woodland walks. The woodlands hereabouts are special and the label "Big Tree Country" is an accurate description of many a countryside walk, especially round about, say, Dunkeld, Birnam or the Linn of Tummel north of Pitlochry.

The landowners of old, such as the earlier Dukes of Atholl, were responsible for planting many of the soaring larches and pines which make the Perthshire horizons so distinctive today. (And make sure you take the pleasant riverside walk to the Hermitage, near Dunkeld, where the tallest tree in Scotland grows).

Finally, no trip hereabouts is complete without spending some time in the main town of Perth. A handsome place, built on a grid of streets by the banks of the Tay. Today, there are plenty of shops with High Street names as well as specialist outlets selling everything from Scottish crafts to Scottish pearls. In-town attractions range from an excellent repertory theatre to glass-blowing as demonstrated at Caithness Glass.

Perth Museum and Art Gallery is also a good place to spend an hour or two, with its collection of local history, archaeology, as well as fine and applied art. More colour can be found at the Fergusson Gallery by the River Tay. You can brighten up a winter day here by admiring the work of the Scottish Colourist John Duncan Fergusson. Add on a great choice of eating places in the town and it becomes hard to think of a better base to explore the true heartlands of Scotland.