There are many different routes you can take to explore Aberfeldy. This is just one suggestion.

Start in The Square, where you’ll see the distinctive fountain first erected in 1885. Admire the 1939 Art Deco building that has now returned to being the town's cinema, before crossing the Moness Burn at Bridgend and passing the War Memorial.

Turn right into Mill Street to The Watermill, an 1825 building that now houses a bookshop and art gallery. Follow the burn down to Taybridge Terrace where you turn left alongside the wide riverside lawns and play areas of Victoria Park. The park underwent a major refurbishment during 2007 to provide new children’s play equipment.

After passing the first hole of Aberfeldy Golf Course, you’ll see ahead of you the imposing Black Watch Memorial erected to commemorate the first ever muster of this famous Scottish regiment in 1740. Beside it, the elegant Wade’s Bridge crosses the Tay. When this was built in 1733 there was no town in existence. So you really are at the point where modern-day Aberfeldy started.

The Birks are woodland gorges of waterfalls and rapids on the Moness Burn. Their name derives from a Scottish term for birch trees and they were first made famous by Robert Burns, our national bard, who wrote a well-known poem about them in 1787:

“The braes ascend like lofty wa’s,
The foaming stream deep-roaring fa’s,
O’erhung wi’ fragrant spreading shaws.
The Birks of Aberfeldy.”

Burns would still recognise the Birks today although he may find the network of footpaths and bridges easier to traverse. The paths climb for almost two miles up to the Falls of Moness, giving wonderful views. The left bank of the burn offers a more rugged climb with an easier route on the right bank.

The Birks can be accessed by a footpath from Aberfeldy town centre at Bridgend or from a large car park signed off Crieff Road just after Moness Country Club. Beautiful all year round, the waterfalls are at their most spectacular after heavy rain or when the autumn colours are on the trees.