Dunkeld and Birnam are just 15 miles north of Perth along the A9, but they feel like a world away.
The twin communities sit on either side of the River Tay connected by Thomas Telford’s bridge. There’s a cathedral, a bustling high street packed with visitors, and a thriving arts scene.
Dunkeld and Birnam have always punched above their weight culturally.
The Birnam Oak is thought to be the last remnant of the Birnam Wood in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The Beatrix Potter Garden commemorates the author’s childhood holidays here. And the annual Niel Gow festival celebrates the locally-born musician who would become “the father of fiddle music”.
Today, much of the activity is centred around Birnam Arts. This remarkable venue includes an auditorium, studios, gallery, cafe, shop and Beatrix Potter experience, alongside the 140-year-old local library.
It welcomes top touring acts, as well as fostering local talent. And Willow Findlay, Birnam Arts performing arts development manager, is only too happy to shine a spotlight on what makes her home town so special.
1. The people
“Dunkeld and Birnam aren’t like bigger places. I noticed it as soon as I moved here,” says Willow.
“People smile and say hello to you. They genuinely want to speak to you, and to find out what’s going on in your life.
“There’s always a lot going on, it’s that kind of community. And it made it really easy to feel included, which isn’t always the case when you go somewhere new.
“I was working at the Taybank Hotel when I first moved here, and its weekly music sessions were a great way to get to know people. I made some really good friends and very quickly felt like I belonged here.”
2. The River Tay
“Another thing I hadn’t realised until I came here was how a small town can have a river that big running through it,” says Willow.
“I didn’t know you could fall in love with a place, and the river has been a big part of that for me.
“I’m quite an outdoor person so I go swimming in the Tay all the time. There’s a lovely beech up by the Birnam oak, and there are always one or two people in swimming.
“And sometimes it’s nice to go and just sit for a couple of hours and just watch the river passing by. It’s so beautiful with the trees behind it, it’s like looking at a painting.”
3. Access to nature
“We’re surrounded by countryside here,” says Willow.
“And there’s something very special about being able to get in the car – not even that, to just walk up the road – and feel like you’re away from buildings, people, roads, everything.
“Birnam Hill is a great walk, you get a really nice view over the town from there. And if you go up the path you come to a certain level where the landscape just changes completely. You’re in among really old trees, and in winter it’s like being in a fairytale.
“There are plenty of bigger hills between here and Pitlochry if you want to go a bit further, and the Loch of the Lowes nature reserve, just beyond Dunkeld, is really popular with visitors.”
4. Musical legacy
“Dunkeld and Birnam is a really musical place,” says Willow.
“That’s quite unusual these days when a lot of musicians are doing a lot of their stuff online. It’s not always easy to find people to play music with elsewhere. But here there’s just a really nice ecosystem of creative people, who are really eager to join in and to support one another.
“I’ve played guitar since I was 14 and I started playing at the Thursday night trad sessions at the Taybank Hotel a few years ago.
“Everyone’s welcome and they’re great fun. There might be up to 20 musicians taking part, and the bar is always packed. They do the boat road sessions, which are more country and bluegrass, on Wednesday nights too.
“We’ve just had the Niel Gow fiddle festival, which is a big event that celebrates our musical legacy.
“And there’s a really popular Dunkeld and Birnam Traditional Youth Music Group that meets every week too. So it’s lovely to know there’s this younger generation coming through and keeping that legacy going.”
5. Creative talent
“Music is one part of the creative story in Birnam and Dunkeld, but there’s so much more going on,” says Willow.
“The area is full of writers and artists and poets and storytellers. And Birnam Arts has played a really important part in all of that.
“It’s supportive of people, and it gives them a base where they can come and express themselves, join groups, be inspired and learn new things. I know people who have written books sitting in the Birnam Arts cafe.
“It’s quite a thing to have a venue like this in a place like Dunkeld and Birnam, when you think about it. And it brings some amazing talent to the town too.
“When I started my job I thought I’d be having to persuade people to come and perform here but it’s the total opposite. My inbox is full of people wanting to come and be a part of this incredible creative legacy that we have here.”
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