Blairgowrie is the biggest town in Perthshire. And that’s just the beginning of its boasts.
Unusually, you’re getting two towns for the price of one here. Blairgowrie and Rattray are twin burghs, united by an act of Parliament in 1928.
The locals call it Blair. And the River Ericht, which runs through it, once supported 12 textile mills employing half the town.
In the 20th Century Blairgowrie became the capital of Scotland’s berry-growing industry drawing in busloads of pickers from across Tayside.
It’s still an important market town – and a popular spot with tourists – today.
And there’s plenty for outdoorsy types to enjoy, not to mention a thriving town centre filled with independent traders.
Florist Jillian Page is proud to count herself among them. Since 2000, she and her husband Stephen have run Simply Special Flowers in the town where she grew up.
Jillian and Stephen returned to Blairgowrie to raise their own kids and their Allan Street shop has been there for all the townsfolk’s family occasions.
Here she explains why there’s nowhere else she’d rather be.
1. Blairgowrie – where community still counts
“The community spirit in Blairgowrie is the biggest thing for me,” says Jillian.
“There are great volunteering opportunities for people. We’ve got so many local groups doing things for the community, and lots of different events happening all through the year, so there’s lots of ways for people to get involved.
“The local schools tap into it too. The nursery starts them young, getting them used to coming to the shops and things.
“We’ve just given them lots of silk flowers so they can learn about running a shop, and then we’ll go and give them a wee talk later.
“Lots of the other shops do the same thing. It’s just all about getting the children used to being part of the community from that young age.”
2. Enviable events programme
“There’s always something going on here, I suppose that leads on from the community spirit,” says Gillian.
“The Blairgowrie and Rattray Development Trust has a website, Discover Blairgowrie, which lists all the local events.
“We’ve just had the half-marathon. And then the big one of the summer is Blairgowrie and Rattray Highland Games.
“They’re on the first Sunday in September, but Blairgowrie always celebrates Braemar Highland Gathering on the Saturday too. There’s fireworks, street entertainment, it’s a great weekend.
“The Cateran Yomp is another massive event that brings lots of people to the area.
“And on the last Saturday of every month there’s a local market in the Wellmeadow. It’s really taken off this year with loads of independent sellers, some of them local but others coming from further afield.”
3. A river runs through it
“The river Ericht runs through Blairgowrie and it’s always been integral to the town,” says Jillian.
“Blairgowrie used to be a mill town, as well as a centre for fruit growing, and you can still see some of the old mills along the riverside. Some of them have been restored into houses now.
“I remember going ‘up the Keithie’ when I was younger. There’s a place on the river called Cargill’s Leap, where we all went to do the things we probably shouldn’t have been doing.
“After school on sunny days we’d be straight up the Keithie to go swimming and just have the best of times. The kids still do it now, which is nice.
“There’s lovely walks by the river too. You can cross over to Rattray, or walk either side. And the biodiversity is really special. The river is just a massive part of Blairgowrie life.”
4. You take the snow road
“Blairgowrie is at the start of the snow road,” says Gillian.
“It goes up past the ski centres at Glenshee and the Lecht and through places like Braemar, Ballater and Tomintoul.
“The town is a great place for people to start out from. We get a lot of motorbikes and campervans setting off from here. But we’re trying to make more people aware of it.
“Lots of people are doing the North Coast 500 these days, but we want them to know that there’s this lovely road through the mountains that they could be going through to get to it.”
5. A state of independents
“Blairgowrie still has a great mix of independent businesses,” says Jillian.
“I know people will say the town centre’s not what it used to be. It’s the same everywhere. But when you look at what we do have, we’re still really, really lucky.
“There’s ourselves obviously. Then we’ve got a fishmongers, an artisan bakery, a fantastic deli, a jewellers, a hunting and shooting shop, a lovely wee independent book shop…the list just goes on and on.
“It’s not just the same shops that you see on every high street. And some of the businesses here have been in town for hundreds of years.
“We’ve got some fantastic cafes and decent pubs too – lot of places for people to come and spend time.
“As independent businesses, we all support each other, but local people really support us as well. It all comes back to that community spirit, doesn’t it?”
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