The home of one of Scotland’s best-loved authors and a church familiar to a worldwide television audience are just two of the buildings open to the public for this year’s Doors Open Days in Perth and Kinross.
A notable addition to the programme this year, Buchan House, a mid-19th century category C-listed double villa on York Place, Perth, is famous as the birthplace of the prolific Scottish novelist John Buchan.
A Mecca for fans of the 39 Steps author, for several decades it stood empty but has now been fully refurbished and is the home of the charity Mindspace.
Tours of Buchan’s childhood home will be available on Saturday September 16.
Tibbermore Church is better known to international television audiences as Cranesmuir Church, the setting for the infamous witch trial in the Outlander drama series.
An atmospheric building of medieval origin set in a walled graveyard, on Saturday September 2 there is a chance to step back in time and enter the world of Outlander, view props and hear about filming at the church.
On Sunday September 3 there will be an opportunity to explore the church and graveyard with guided tours.
Doors Open Days is an annual event which provides the chance to visit historic, civic and interesting buildings not usually open to the public, all for free.
As it is bigger than ever before, Doors Open Days in Perth and Kinross is being split across the first three weekends in September.
Thanks to the continued support of the Gannochy Trust, there will be 52 buildings opening this year, more than 10 for the first time.
Kinross-shire and Strathearn is September 2 and 3, Highland and Eastern Perthshire, September 9 and 10, and Perth city, September 16 and 17.
Perth and Kinross Heritage Trust (PKHT) outreach officer and Perth and Kinross Doors Open Days area coordinator Gavin Lindsay explained the reasoning for spreading openings over more than one weekend.
“Expanding Doors Open Days over three consecutive weekends offers people in Perth and Kinross even more opportunities to get in to buildings not normally accessible to the general public,” he said.
“There are only so many buildings you can physically visit in two days and with Perth and Kinross being such a large region, it is often the venues near the borders that people miss out on.”
The brochure is now widely available and can also be viewed at www.pkht.org.uk.
