DISCOVER PITLOCHRY
Pitlochry (Baile Chloichridh in Gaelic), is a burgh in the council area of Perth and Kinross, Scotland, lying on the River Tummel.
Pitlochry is largely a Victorian town, whose success as a tourist resort was due to Queen Victoria visiting the area in 1842, and the arrival of the railway in 1863. It remains a popular tourist resort today and is particularly known as a centre for hillwalking, surrounded by mountains such as Ben Vrackie.
The town has retained many stone-built Victorian buildings.
 HISTORY
Pitlochry dates largely from Victorian times, though the area known as Moulin, once a separate village, is older. Moulin Kirk was granted by the Earl of Atholl to Dunfermline Abbey in 1180. Moulin became a burgh of barony in 1511.
Pitlochry itself first started to grow after General George Wade built a road through the town as part of his effort to improve access to rural Scotland between 1725 and 1737 as a response to the Jacobite Rising of 1715.
In 1842, Queen Victoria visited the nearby Blair Castle. Her favourable opinion of the area caused the town to be more widely noticed. After the railway station was built in 1863, Pitlochry became a favoured destination for tourists.
In 1947 Pitlochry became a burgh. That year also saw the beginning of construction of a dam as part of the Tummel hydro-electric power scheme. The dam and its fish ladder are a popular tourist attraction today. The damming of the river created an artificial loch, Loch Faskally.
Pitlochry Festival Theatre opened in 1951, originally situated in the current location of the Curling Rink as a tent. The current building dates from 1981.
Every year in October, Pitlochry transforms into a hub of activity for some 20,000 visitors who descend upon the town to see The Enchanted Forest sound and light show and the Pitlochry Autumn Festival that runs alongside the event.
The town was the winner of the 2003 Britain in Bloom horticultural contest, in the category of Small Country Town.
ECONOMY
Pitlochry's main tourist attraction is its setting, with the surrounding mountains attracting hillwalkers and climbers. Other outdoor activities such as angling and boating are also popular.
The town has two whisky distilleries whose visitor centres are popular attractions: Edradour, which is billed as the smallest distillery in Scotland, and Blair Athol Distillery, which dates back to 1798. The town has many pubs and hotels, including one with a microbrewery.
The power station's dam is known for its 310-metre salmon ladder; fish can be viewed swimming from weir to weir within the ladder, via an underwater viewing station or a video from inside the visitor centre.
ARTS AND CULTURE
Pitlochry has a repertory theatre, Pitlochry Festival Theatre, founded by John Stewart former director of Skerrys College. Its ensemble company is the largest in Scotland. The theatre boasts Scottish-based author JK Rowling as a patron. Its vision is "Stay Six Days and See Six Plays". In 1960, Margaret Morris founded a Scottish National Ballet Company in the town.
The renowned sound and light show, The Enchanted Forest, takes place in Pitlochry's nearby Faskally Wood every year in October, attracting 20,000 visitors to the town.
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
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