Falls of Braan

As the sun was shining and the forecast was fair today we went up to the Hermitage in Perthshire. It's an area we like to visit at this time of year because, long ago in the mists of time, our Youth Club spent a weekend at Dalguise House and the beech trees were in their most beautiful golden brown livery which has left a lasting impression on us both. This is near Birnam, where Beatrix Potter spent many holidays.

The Hermitage is actually the landscaped grounds of the Dukes of Atholl, who planted a variety of tree species around the River Braan. One of these, a Douglas fir, was last measured at 64.5 metres tall, said to be one of Britain's tallest trees and is still growing. Ossian's Hall, a folly now modernised with glass doors, overlooks the waterfall, this was impressive after a few days of rain and although conditions were right for salmon to be leaping we didn't see any - perhaps we should have stayed longer - instead we continued on, in rain and hail, and came back on a different path, past Ossian's Cave, a folly constructed as a hermitage.

There's a refreshment van in the carpark so of course we sampled the coffee and home baking (and pronounced it to be very good) before going on to Dunkeld, to wander by the Telford bridge over the River Tay and have a look at the shops. This took just enough time for us to enjoy a sunset on the way home and avoid the rush-hour traffic.