Exploring Blairgowrie’s River Ericht.

This time, we’re going beyond the city walls once again, to see the great mountains and to hear the roar of the rivers as we explore the towns of the shires.

Just check all the autumn colours out. It’s absolutely stunning.

In this series, we’ll be travelling through the rolling green hills of the Scottish countryside.

You know what? This is one of those wow moments of your life.

Where all the Edinburgh hints of Scotland’s history can be discovered. With 10,000 miles and 34 shires, all home to hearty Scots from all walks of life…

Spending my entire waking moment thinking about colour and design and yarns.

… this will be a great big epic story about people…

And she said she was convinced that it was the BerryBs that got her through the marathon.

… and the history of their town.

It’s lovely architecture, good history. It’s soaked in history, really.

Together, we’ll be embarking on our most adventurous local journey yet, through a land steeped in ancient myth and legend. Join us as we travel the length of the River Ericht.

So let’s begin our journey in episode two in Blairgowrie’s ancient playground, Drimmie Woods, before following the River Ericht downstream towards a rather majestic showman’s waggon. Here we hope to get a glimpse into the stories that surround the Craighall Castle as it watches over Scotland’s deepest river gorge.

They were buried sitting up in a chamber with a stone lid.

Very mystical land, this place.

We’ll also meet our friendly local kayak guide…

Great to meet you, Kyle.

… to discover more about these historic waters, and what really happened to this once thriving and prosperous part of town.

It was just, for people, an opportunity. It was a chance to get better, to live better.

Absolutely incredible. Look at this. Whoa!

It’s hard to believe that we’re standing at the foothills of the Cairngorm Mountains. We’re surrounded by two and a half thousand square miles of beautiful rolling green hills, autumn woods, and farms harvesting the wind inside Scotland’s historic heartlands. But I’m also here at a time of dramatic change, not only in how we deal with climate change, but also a global pandemic. This entire shire is home to over 100,000 people who’ve all had to change the way they live in the face of it. People are now coming back to places like this, to their roots in the countryside, and we’re witnessing a renewed sense of appreciation for the rural lifestyle inside towns and villages like Blairgowrie. And when we look at all of this, we’ve got to see that this is a profound cultural shift, and we’re starting to rediscover the rich cultural heritage left behind by the makers who ultimately shaped our world.

The surrounding region of Perthshire is known as the Big Tree County, due to its 200,000 acres of thriving natural woodlands, and status as the fourth-largest historic county in Scotland. Within it lies the town of Blairgowrie, and is now home to almost 10,000 people and growing. And just two miles on the outskirts of this town is a place where timber production is said to be at the very heart of driving low-energy manufacturing for the entire shire and beyond.

This is Drimmie Woods. It’s a place I’ve heard so much about, but I’ve never actually explored it until now. So, I guess we better go have a look.

The sheer height of these trees is colossal. The actual trail follows what was once a drove road, and it was used by ancient farmers to move cattle south from the Highlands to local markets. And the locals here believe that this place was actually the preferred playground and hunting reserves for Scotland’s long-lost kings.

Drimmie Woods certainly lives up to the hype. As a beautiful area with stunning scenery, a peaceful freshwater loch, and an abundance of wildlife, it really is no surprise that this place attracts many adventurous souls like us throughout the year.

So, now I know why this area of Drimmie Woods is a locals’ favourite. This is the secret loch. It’s one of three nearby, and it’s where all the locals prefer to come. It’s off-road, so you’ve got to kind of take an off-road track to get here, but once you’re here, it’s beautiful. Just check all the autumn colours out. It’s absolutely stunning.

And many years before Scotland’s kings arrived here, ordinary, everyday folk known as the Neolithics were the first to call this place home. It was these hunter-gatherers who made the first attempts at farming and mass food production, and are thought to have radically modified large areas of land through deforestation. And not only did this social and environmental evolution transform what was once vast native woodlands into the grazing fields, pastures, and settlements that we see today, it also became one of the many foundations for centralised political structures. In other words, places like these became the perfect place for a king and his people to do business, settle, and, of course, hunt.

After leaving Drimmie Woods, and just a short walk along this single track country road, is a field, and in it lies an unassuming structure.

Here we are! This is it. According to the locals, what I’m seeing over there is a wee bit bonkers. It’s supposed to be a magical, mysterious, prehistoric structure. And now that it has my attention, I’m going to go and see what all the fuss is about.

Set on the dramatic slopes above Blairgowrie is a museum without walls. That’s right. Instead of a traditional museum, which generally focuses on objects in a building, outdoor museums like these take the form of a place, the boundaries of which can be defined by archaeology, music, and cultural traditions.

So, this stone right here is set within the boundaries of the Cateran Ecomuseum. With some 300 ecomuseums worldwide, this one is the only one on mainland Scotland. I’m also told that the locals know this stone to be called the Kynballoch Stone, and it’s also known in archaeological circles as the Craighall Stone. It’s made of Dalradian schist, and close to the base are carved, quite strangely, nine cup marks.

Further downhill though, we discovered another unexpecting site. This time it’s the remains of a stone circle. Some suspect the nearby Craighall Stone and this circle to have an ancient connection.

Oh, well! I really can’t help but wonder what the Mesolithics, our ancient ancestors, must have been doing with these beautiful prehistoric structures. But one thing’s for certain; the locals here believe that these two structures, the circle here and the standalone boulder, were once connected together, or maybe still connected together. Are they connected? Do they harness some magical, mysterious powers that only the Mesolithics knew about? Nobody really knows for sure. Or do they? I guess we could maybe try and find out.

We take a short walk along Bonnington Road to meet Lachlan, a previous owner of Craighall Castle, who swapped mediaeval life after 27 years for a shot at Airbnb with this, a 1947 showman’s waggon.

Come along, I’ll show you in.

This is a very efficient log stove. The vents, you have the vents open to get it going. Once it’s going well, close the vents down, and it’ll burn right through the night like that. When the stove’s on, or you’re using the gas cooker, keep one of the windows open. There’s this gas stove, it’s quite straightforward. On the back right, you press in and round and press that and go. And the same applies to the oven. There’s quite a clever storage cupboard here fitted by the very skillful Terry Farrell, who did this refurbishment. You have your little fridge freezer here, and then you have a rather quirky water system here. This left tap turns on the water. And if you turn it, the red arrow, clockwise, it goes hot, and the blue arrow, anti-clockwise, it goes cold.

The shower turns on here, it’s an electric shower. And the hot water, although it’s a new Triton shower, it seems to be, we turn it towards cold, it goes hot. You’ve got a king-size bed. The pillows and the duvet come from a company called Soak&Sleep, and a lot of people remark on how comfortable it is.

Even though we’re just five minutes away from Blairgowrie, it feels like we’re absolutely in the middle of nowhere. What is this place, and why do you have a shepherd’s hut right here in your backyard?

It actually belongs to a friend of mine, and he didn’t have anywhere else to put it. And we decided between us that this would be a good location. But it’s sort of worked out better than we thought. It’s got a great view to the south and to the west. It seems to attract the sun in the daytime. It’s been very well refurbished. The refurbishment took two years with a very skilled man. It’s more spacious than people initially think, and it’s proving to be very popular.

And it’s not just any old shepherd’s hut, is it? It’s something 1947?

It’s a Hurst Fairground Showman’s Waggon, or it could be the circus man’s waggon, originally from Nottingham.

So, what’s the part about the showman? Is there a bit of a history behind why it’s a showman’s waggon? I’m thinking something to do with circuses, maybe something like that?

Yes, it would’ve been his home. I think his whole family would’ve lived in it.

Really?

And it’s got many of the original features, like his desk, and the mantle piece, and the cut glass windows. It’s got a bit more to it than the normal sort of shepherd’s hut.

You like to call it a specific thing, it’s an escape, isn’t it? What is it you call it? What’s your slogan?

I think it’s like an escape to the country, really, because we’re very accessible, for instance, from both Glasgow and Edinburgh. We’re very accessible to Blairgowrie. To the south, you’ve got a wonderful view of what’s called the Strathmore Valley, the Sidlaws in the distance, even the Lomond Hills. And we’re also close to the Cairngorms National Park. And even the hills immediately close by, you get even more spectacular views. And I think people can get peace here.

It seems like people are returning to their roots a bit more, and they want to get away from crowded cities. Are you noticing that? Being in this place, in the middle of nowhere, in the countryside, are you noticing people wanting to find a place like this to stay for a few nights, just to get away from it all?

I’ve noticed people in Scotland wanting to holiday at home, they call it the staycation. I think if you live in a flat in Glasgow, for instance, a couple of nights in this waggon would be very refreshing.

Just up the road, where I’ve just come from, there’s a Kynballoch Stone. Now, I walked past this about two times before I even took any notice of it, a giant boulder. And I’m puzzled, because when I went online and I searched up, it says it’s also known as the Craighall Stone. Do you know what the mystery is that surrounds this stone, and is there a link between this stone and the Craighall Castle?

The only link is a Bronze Age cist, which was actually found in a field in the 19th century and moved to Craighall.

Right. And what kind of age are we talking about?

It could certainly be Bronze Age.

Okay, Bronze Age, yeah.

There’s a lot of Bronze Age relics and other stones in this area. There are stones described as having Druidic cup marks. It’s more commonly actually called the Courthill Stone. It’s been described as a Horse Stone. I don’t know what the significance of the Horse Stone is.

And there’s a stone circle just a few yards away from the actual stone, isn’t there, in that field?

Two or 300 metres to the south of the Horse Stone is a small stone circle. So the legend is that the shadow of the Horse Stone falls into the stone circle on midsummer’s night.

Like an actual shadow straight down the centre?

Yeah, and I’m sure they did this. There’s always been this theory of ley lines. There’s meant to be a magnetic line which runs through this part of the world. Can we ever know what link up might be between the Callanish Stones on Lewis, and Stonehenge in Somerset or Wiltshire? This certainly seems to be an area rich in Bronze Age stones, cists, you name it.

A very mystical land, this place. With the link there between the stone and the Craighall Castle, you’re the very man who spent quite a few years in this castle. So, what’s the history and mystery behind this castle?

It had been a family home since about 1533.

And you were there for how many years?

25 years.

25 years. Oh my. So, the upkeep of this castle is obviously a big job, because there’s not just a couple of rooms like a normal home. There is how many rooms in this place?

There were 13 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, and in all, 37 rooms.

Wow. 37 rooms. So literally, if you were staying here, and you were bursting for the toilet, and you had your whole family over, you would still get a free bathroom to go to, easy-peasy. Oh man. And speaking of the cliff edge, obviously the castle overlooks one of the deepest gorges in Scotland. What’s so special about this gorge?

I call it the Upper Craighall Gorge. It’s the deepest inland riverine gorge in Scotland, and it’s the most fantastic territory. The rock on the west side in particular is called Craighall conglomerate, and the erosion went on, went down, I suppose, to the 300, 350 foot mark until sandstone bedrock, and that’s the point where the erosion stops. There was anarchy for the next 70 years, until James VI went to London Whitehall to be king of the United Kingdom, and we had all the problems of the 17th century and the Stuarts. And in 1645, Craighall Castle came under siege by Cromwellian troops, and we still have a cannonball which was found embedded in one of the walls of the house.

And right down there in the deepest parts of this gorge is a microclimate home to unique species. It’s one of the few places on Earth that have never experienced the breeze of the wind, direct sunlight, or even frost and snow in the depths of winter. And that’s because it remains sheltered by the natural elements and untouched by mankind.

The forest that surrounds this castle conceals another story.

We’ve got the Craighall Castle, we’ve got the Craighall Gorge, we’ve got the Craighall Stone. There’s also the Craighall circular walking trail.

I think it’s becoming known for its trails, as a sort of appeal to those who like the outdoors.

But it’s not just any old walking trail, is it? This walking trail was once a main road. It was the main route between Blairgowrie and Bridge of Cally, and it’s now abandoned.

We’re looking at a part of this river that has been lost to time, and abandoned by motorists. This circular trail is a four-mile journey. This ghostly highway was once the main driving route between Blairgowrie and Bridge of Cally. And although it remains open to adventurous explorers and their four-legged friends, nature is slowly but surely reclaiming what’s rightfully hers.

So in 1985, 47 years after the Craighall Bridge was built, there was a major rainstorm, which caused a massive chunk of this old road to be washed away into the River Ericht below. The temporary solution? An old steel bridge right up there, known locally as the old Bailey Bridge, and that helped to keep the traffic flowing from Bridge of Cally to Blairgowrie until the new road further up there was finally opened in 2008, much to the relief of the locals.

This was originally built in 1810 as a single track road, and it was later rebuilt again in 1937 as a two-way road to accommodate the increasing levels of traffic. But, food for thought, is there really a better place in Blairgowrie to eat a locally sourced burger and some homemade rocky road? I’ll let you decide on that one. You can’t get much better than this.

And the waters that flow through the arches of the Craighall Bridge have, by now, passed over eight geological faults, including the main Highland Boundary Fault, to reach us here in the Lowlands. In doing so, the waters have fell a total of 80 metres. It’s this fall that provided enough clean energy to power the town into and through the rapid industrialization of the 19th century. This final stretch of the River Ericht is known to the locals as the mill town. And we know just the adventurous soul who loves nothing more than to share the story of what really happened to this once thriving part of town.

Hello, Piotr. Good to meet you.

And you too. Nice to see you.

How’re you doing?

Not too bad, not too bad.

Piotr loves kayaking and canoeing so much, he’s now operating tours with a dedicated team of guides all over the shire, including the ever popular Perth City Tours. And over the last few years, he’s earned himself a bit of a reputation as an inspiration among the locals here, simply because of his dedication to protecting the local environment and its wildlife. But what many don’t know is this is mostly done out of his own pocket.

River Ericht, naturally in Scotland, by my humble opinion, is one of the best rivers in Britain, because we’ve got this sense of adventure, and wildlife, and uniqueness, and remoteness, to go in to town with vast amount of history, and then nice and mellow down below town on the River Ericht. And you know what? Almost nobody knows about it.

Tell us a bit about the history of this river, specifically around the mills, and how the mills were able to generate such an economy, and a working class, and a livable wage for the people of Blairgowrie? What was the story of these mills?

This is a great gateway from the Highlanders to find a place where it’ll be more accessible, roads, bridges, train, railway tracks. But also, the vast volume of the river itself, moving so quickly and swiftly right now, but that means it can be amazingly powering the mechanism. Victorian era, bringing the industry to the next level using the force of the river, the water, hydro schemes and so on were quite popular in Britain in the Industrial Revolution times. And that’s exactly what was quite easy to establish here. More than many other rivers, which they would be too shallow, or too wide, or too far away from the civilization. We’re talking about the times when electricity doesn’t exist yet, or is in the very little actions. So the force of the river, something which we’re using now as our hydro schemes, was already known and utilised a long time ago.

We’re just standing that far, literally a few metres away from one of the broken mills, sorry, where the water will be rediverted to get the mills going, and working on textile and jute, which then it will be transported into the train, nonexistent railway tracks anymore, down to Dundee, Perth, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and some of the produce as far as London. It was a great economy boost to the local town, such as Blairgowrie. It was thriving and thriving on the river’s powers and force. But it was also attractive for the fishermen, the trout, the salmon up here. Long time ago, apparently, there used to be gold in the gorge behind us, and all of it in the very short section of the river. It’s only 10 miles, 16 kilometres from Bridge of Cally to the confluence of the Isla.

Being able to find factory work will be more reliable source of income, I presume. I wouldn’t say it will be an easy work, we’re talking about the Victorian times, so working in any kind of factory will be hard work, but it will give people a reliability, there is work there. Which it will be a great reason for people to stay, or get them from the smaller villages and smaller towns, probably all the Highlands, being the way of changing the life, of growing to the better status in the future and so on. A middle class didn’t exist at the time, in the early Victorian times as much yet. Much better towards the end of it. It was just, for people, an opportunity. It was a chance to get better, to live better.

We can actually come down here and witness for ourselves the ancient ruins, which I believe were once a collection of homes to house the local mill workers. If there was a door here, I would politely knock and invite myself in, but there isn’t. This is an ancient ruin that has withstood the test of time for generations. This is absolutely astonishing. It’s hard to imagine what they would be doing in here, it’s pure stone, for goodness’ sake! They didn’t have any central heating, nothing. It’s just a shell. And they made do with it the best they could. And they’ve even got a fireplace.

So, this has to be one of the best kept elements of these ruins that I’ve found so far. This fireplace gives us a real glimpse into the lives lived of the mill workers who once occupied this place. And in 1979, the last of the eight mills finally closed, because of direct and cheaper imports from foreign lands. Not only that, they were battling prolonged hot summers, which caused the water levels to drop to record lows, making the future of the industry rather unpredictable. And with the whole place trying to stay afloat with those two things, it was the final nail in the coffin.

But there’s quite a few places you can start or finish your walk. There are several different circular walks, routes around Blairgowrie, and one of them is the Ericht Walk. I love it. You’re starting in the bridge in town, the old military bridge, and then you can walk whichever side of the river all the way upstream from town, and then you’re going to see some amazing rapids crashing, squeezing into the place called the Cargill’s Leap.

But when we’re looking into the history of this place, there is so much more to it. The local person who apparently jumped over the biggest rapid just in town, there’s a beautiful viewpoint there at the moment. If you haven’t, go and have a look, beautiful walk. It’s not the longest one. It’s moderately hard, so you don’t have to be an experienced hill walker. You can do it in 40 minutes, but it’s definitely a [inaudible a great experience, because you’re going to see the classic of Blairgowrie, the bridge with the churches, with the historical buildings including the mills, the old lake where the water was rediverted to the mills in and out, and it’s all still there. It’s all still here for you to have a look, to explore, to dig into the history yourself, and get the firsthand experience of it. It’s a fantastic walk all year round. And it’s autumn? Fab. But you can do it any time of the year. And then if it’s cold, go to town and step into one of the cafes and get some awesome food.

You’ve made it your mission to clear the waterways around Perthshire. Tell me why, what’s going on here?

Today, 10 years ago, I was fortunate enough to have a group of students, and we were looking for another river before we were going to go back to Wales, to our home, and we ended up on this river. It was day like today, as I said, 10 years ago. It was sunny, blue skies, perfect water level if you’ve got a little bit of experience. And we paddled through this beautiful gorge just three miles upstream of here, of Blairgowrie, where we’re standing right now. And you know what? This is one of those wow moments of your life. When you on the bottom of this beautiful gorge, with the 20-odd metres of the cliff, and then you’ve got semi-open cave, and then there’s a castle above it with a balcony.

And then, like now, all what you can hear is the roar of the river, and the birds just singing along the way. Then you’ve got a kayak with you, and an awesome group of mates, and you’re going, paddling down the gorge from the shadow, and the beautiful rapids like we’re looking into the sun now. So you can see them clearly, you can see where you’re going, and it’s all becoming fun in the right moment. There’s everything aligned in the right place, and it’s one of this, “Wow, this is epic.” So when we finished, I started looking back into it. And yeah, we’re still friends with all the people who we’ve paddled. Nevertheless, 10 years on, I still live here.

But you’ll be surprised how much litter you can still find. It’s nice to keep it nice, it’s nice to keep it better for other people. The way I grew up and told about the countryside, that you’ll take at least one piece of litter more than you have brought with you. Not only take what you did bring, but take one piece more. And that really makes a difference if you, me, anybody can do it.

So a while ago, to be honest, when I started my own company, we decided to offer for people who maybe couldn’t afford it, or they don’t want to afford it, or they’re just looking for other reasons to come out kayaking, canoeing, that we’re going to take them out on our guided trips, we’re going to show them the reason we’re here, how beautiful the countryside is, why love the history. But we won’t charge you a penny if, in the return, you will give us a hand of taking some of the litter home. In our six years of doing it, roughly counting, it will be four and a half tonnes of litter we removed from the waterways.

So, this looks like a real investment in time and money. What are the advantages to you and your customers for keeping the waterways clear? What’s in it for you guys?

Indeed, it costs a fortune. You have to get the boats, you have to get the people to make it safe, you have to get to and from places. And we’re trying to go on the weekends, which for us normally will be the best-selling time. But more than just the money, it never was about the money, it was about living the life, and respecting the countryside. You would like to do the same in your own garden. As a young scout in places I paddled with, the clubs I grew up with, that’s what you just did. Makes you actually feel you do make the difference. I know often people say, “Oh, one litter, you won’t make the difference.” No, you do.

You’ve been working on this for the past couple of years, and it’s something that I’m really excited about, and I really want you to share it with us. What is it that Perthshire Adventures is all about? What’s the story here?

So, with a few as equal as myself, with other explore organisations, we decided to launch something called Perthshire Adventure, where we’re trying to make it easier for people, local residents and visitors, to stop, stay for longer, explore and admire Perthshire, and different type of activities. You don’t have to be the most experienced person ever. Bring your family, or learn how to do it. Stand-up paddleboarding, cycling, walking, canoeing, kayaking, go climbing, we all got it here. So, we decided to shout more about it, and that’s exactly where we can take it to the next level, work with the local communities, establish more picnic spaces, welcoming visitor attractions, and liaising with the local food producers, and then history destinations, and attractions, and other activities, which we did in in the area. So, yeah, it’s still got much more to come.

I like that, it’s about bringing everyone together to share in a common experience. And I can see clearly how your local efforts are truly helping local explorers to really discover the cultural heritage of the places that you show them. And not only that, you’re also showing them how they can protect the landscape as they do it. And I think that is truly extraordinary. This river is what made Blairgowrie today what it is. It’s a stark reminder that renewable sources, renewable energy, keeping the planet or even just the shire, the shire, the local area, clean, respecting it, looking after a place and its people, coming together as one community, sharing in that common bond, I think that is Blairgowrie’s legacy, I think. I think that’s one of the main things that we can take away from Blairgowrie, along with all of the beautiful experiences we can have, not only around the area, but with you, here, on this river.

The Neolithics and their structures, the ancient kings of Drimmie Woods, the castle families of Craighall, the serious explorers of the River Ericht, the mill workers, the bridge builders, the Covenanters, the tartan weavers, the silversmiths, the potterers, the farmers, these are all individual people who understand that culture is only born when each of us shows up as only we can, authentically. There will always be a threat to our natural and historical heritage, but at the same time, we are the makers, and the making of the entities and places that shape our world. And together, we’re more powerful than we think.