While Australia’s Perth is more commonly thought of when someone says they’re visiting Perth, Scotland’s Perth is actually what Australia’s Perth is named after. Perth sits on the banks of the River Tay, just over 1 hour north of Edinburgh. Often called the Gateway to the Highlands, it is Scotland’s 7th city.
As Perth is a very small city – much, much smaller than our previous visit to York – we felt that a day trip would suffice. We hopped on the train from Edinburgh and our wee journey began! Here are 4 places that we would recommend visiting when in Perth!
1. High Street & Surrounding Streets
Upon leaving the train station, we just wandered toward the city centre, and it was not hard to stumble upon Perth’s High Street. It looks like many other Scottish cities’ main streets, being pedestrian-only with cobblestones and with the typical shops on both sides.
Perth is also commonly known as The Fair City after Sir Walter Scott (Scotland’s most famous writer, in which Scott Monument in Edinburgh is dedicated to) wrote a novel titled Fair Maid of Perth. There is even a bronze statue on the east side of Perth’s High Street depicting the Fair Maid of Perth.
Walking along and turning onto random streets, we also stumbled upon the Perth Concert Hall on Mill Street and the Perth Museum & Art Gallery on George Street.
2. River Tay from Perth Bridge
As mentioned earlier, Perth sits on the banks of the River Tay, so I’d say the best spot for views of Perth is on one of the bridges that links Perth with its suburb across the river, Bridgend. We crossed on Perth Bridge (also known as Smeaton’s Bridge), which offers splendid views of the Perth skyline.
3. Black Watch Castle & Museum
The castle is actually called Balhousie Castle and it is so cute! It looks like something out of a fairy tale. The Black Watch Museum showcases the history of Scotland’s military regiment, including uniforms, medals, and military equipment.
Address: Balhousie Castle, Hay Street, Perth PH1 5HR
Hours: 10:00 – 16:00 (01 November to 31 March), 09:30 – 16:30 (01 April to 31 October)
Price: £8.00 (regular admission), £12.50 (including guided tour)
4. Rodney Gardens
We managed to stumble upon Rodney Gardens while we were walking along the Bridgend side of Perth. It is a landscaped park with benches to sit on and lovely views of Perth.
Bonus: Perth Riverside Light Nights
We really actually came to Perth to see the free event, Perth Riverside Light Nights. It was part of Perth’s Winter Festival and ran from 26 January to 10 February, featuring different themes each weekend at Norie Miller Park.
We went on the last day, where the theme was Valentine’s Day! We weren’t really sure what to expect but it was really funky! It included people dressed as unicorns, people on stilts, wee concerts under the arches of a bridge, and even an ice sculpture.
While Perth is a very wee city, it’s a great place to go for the day to explore something new! Have you ever been to Perth? Would you like to? Let me know in the comments!
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People dressed as unicorns… If I am recalling correctly, doesn’t the unicorn have a particular significance in Scotland? Sounds like a funky event!
Random question: Can you walk across the River Tay or is it a driving bridge?
Yup, the unicorn is Scotland’s national animal! (Though now upon closer inspection of Arek’s video footage, they look more like horses, but anyway!)
Both bridges that cross the River Tay are walkable! We walked over on Perth Bridge and walked back on the other bridge (not sure what the name is though).