Drummond Castle Gardens and Knock of Crieff

[wjshaw2]

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This was a pleasant way to spend an afternoon. After our customary late start, we headed off to Drummond Castle Gardens between Muthil and Crieff. You can't visit the actual castle as it's still a family home, but the gardens are a nice wee diversion for a few hours - formal bits, market garden bits (cheap fallen apples), and a good place just to be. Also a place with a sense of humour:

No OAPs allowed here

The formal gardens

If you parked here, you could wander round the grounds, and then go up the nearby Marilyn of Torlum before returning. We decided instead on a wee dander around the Knock of Crieff behind Crieff Hydro. After a slightly tortuous car journey around the back streets of Crieff trying to find the right road up to the Hydro and then the right road round the Hydro grounds, we parked up and set off, narrowly avoiding being run over by a family on segways. The other hazard on the hill will be mountain bikers as it is criss-crossed with trails. The whole thing basically feels like the Hydro's overgrown back garden.

A garden with pretty shiny-edged beetles.

If you head straight up the hill you come first to a clearing with a viewfinder and benches. As you won't get a view from the top of the top, have a look around here.

View towards Loch Earn with the northern Glen Artney Grahams prominent

Carrying on the direct route to the top we passed through a few interesting gates of a style I have encountered nowhere else and through a felled area.

Interesting gates on the direct route to the top

Ben Vorlich sunset (zoomed a little) over the top of the Grahams.

And then through the woods to the top.

Pleasant forested summit

We carried on past the top and appeared out into another felled area where the views opened up to the east. Here's where the mountain bike tracks start to cut across the walking paths.

North east to Milquhanzie Hill with its hillfort

We returned to the car on the track that goes round the north side of the hill, eyes drawn towards Ben Vorlich again.

Ben Vorlich again (zoomed)

It's a funny hill to be included on a list as it is so easy, and so low compared to any other local bump, but there are far worse ways of spending a summer's evening.