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Visit Blair Atholl and the surrounding villages and stay in bed & breakfast accommodation:
Blair Atholl, Perth and Kinross, is a combination of a tourist Centre and village situated at the junction of the Tilt and Garry rivers.
Glen Tilt, which runs North and North East and eventually connects with Deeside, is famous for the beauty of its scenery, at first heavily wooded, later dramatic and precipitous. On the South it is dominated by the summits of Ben-y-Gloe, the highest of which is 3,671 ft. In the upper reaches the valley leads on to the vast moors of the Atholl Deer Forest. The glen is famous for marble in shades of light grey and green. In 1861 Queen Victoria and Prince Albert passed through Glen Tilt on a historic journey over the hills to Balmoral.
Blair Castle is the seat of the Duke of Atholl, and lies just North West of the village. This is a private residence, but parts of the building are open to the public and contain antique furnishings and a remarkable collection of china.
The oldest part of the building is known as Comyn's Tower, and the foundations of this probably date to 1269, when David Strathbogie, Earl of Atholl, complained to the king that John Comyn of Badenoch had begun to build a fortalice at Blair.
The earldom of Atholl was given to Sir John Stewart of Balvenie in 1457, but the line failed, and in 1629 the then heiress, daughter of John 5th Earl of Atholl, married John Murray, Earl of Tullibardine, on whom Charles I bestowed the earldom of Atholl.
In 1644 the Castle was occupied by the Marquess of Montrose, and was again garrisoned by Claverhouse in 1689. After Claverhouse's death at Killiecrankie, his body was brought to Blair Castle, and his cuirass is among the exhibits there.
In 1745 Prince Charles Stuart and the Jacobite troops rested at Blair Castle while on their way South, and in the following year the structure was badly damaged during a bombardment aimed at dislodging some of the Duke of Cumberland's English troops accompanied by German mercenaries.
At the end of the 18th century the Castle was renovated, all the turrets and parapets being removed and the whole turned into a plain Georgian mansion-house. When the Scottish baronial style of architecture became fashionable in the Victorian era, the Scottish architect David Bryce was commissioned to restore the medieval appearance, and the turrets, towers, and crow-stepped gables were put back again.
Nearby towns: Aberfeldy, Blairgowrie, Fort William, Pitlochry
Nearby villages: Atholl, Ballinluig, Bridge of Tilt, Dunalastair, Foss, Grandtully, Logierait, Moulin, Struan, Trinafour, Tulliemet, Tummel Bridge, Weem
Have you decided to visit Blair Atholl or the surrounding villages? Please look above for somewhere to stay in:
- a Blair Atholl bed and breakfast (a Blair Atholl B&B or Blair Atholl b and b)
- a Blair Atholl guesthouse
- a Blair Atholl hotel (or motel)
- a Blair Atholl self-catering establishment, or
- other Blair Atholl accommodation
Accommodation in Blair Atholl:
Find availability in a Blair Atholl bed and breakfast, also known as B&B or b and b, guesthouse, small hotel, self-catering or other accommodation.