Route Description
Starting at Kirkmichael Village Shop, the route follows the A924 out of the village, passing the historic church and the Minister’s Well. At the junction with the B950, you’ll pass the James Small Monument - an imposing granite cross standing 18 feet high.
The route continues on quiet roads to Auchintrail, before joining gravel tracks across Pitcarmick Estate to meet the Cateran Trail. From Pitcarmick Mill, the climbing begins in earnest, following a double track up to Pitcarmick Loch, with expansive views opening up across Strathardle. The climb continues beyond the loch, before the route descends towards a woodland.
On the far side lies the site of the former Pitcarmick Roundhouses. From here, the route drops back into the valley and follows the Cateran Trail into Kirkmichael, passing Bannerfield - a wide area of open ground on the west bank of the River Ardle and home to the Kirkmichael Highland Games.
It was here, in September 1715, that John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar, raised his standard in support of the exiled Stuart king James VIII, known as the Old Pretender, gathering Highlanders at the start of the Jacobite Rising. The campaign came to an end two months later with defeat at the Battle of Sheriffmuir.
Navigation
Difficulty
Straightforward
74% off-road
Connections
Other Routes:
Points to visit
Along the way you will find these points of interest:
Kirkmichael Village
The ancient heart of Strathardle Glen. Located in Strathardle, 13 miles north-west of Blairgowrie, Kirkmichael village dates back over 1,000 years and was once an important market in the cattle trade between the Highlands and Lowlands, with various...
Read more - "Kirkmichael Village"The Minister’s Well
An ancient well. The old roadside water well opposite the church is fed by an underground spring which never runs dry. The ice cold water has an excellent clean sharp taste and is completely drinkable.
Read more - "The Minister’s Well"The Bannerfield
An important site in the 1715 Jacobite Rising. A large area of open ground on the west bank of the River Ardle, just south of the Kirkmichael village, is known as the Bannerfield. It was here in September 1715 that John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar...
Read more - "The Bannerfield"James Small Monument
Memorial to a prominent local man. James Small was an important 19th century Scottish Laird from Kirkmichael. As well as the local estate of Dirnanean, Mr Small owned as much as 20,000 acres of land in the surrounding area and played a prominent...
Read more - "James Small Monument"Duff Memorial Church
A memorial to Scotland’s first missionary to India. Born in the parish of Moulin in 1806, Alexander Duff was first educated in what is now the Kirkmichael Session House. He boarded with the brilliant teacher Mr Macdougall, returning home to...
Read more - "Duff Memorial Church"Kirkmichael Kirk
A forgotten corner linked to the Black Death. There is a corner of Kirkmichael Parish churchyard where, despite the lack of space, there are no marked graves. This is because in 1350 AD, a terrible plague, the Galor Mor, better known as the Black...
Read more - "Kirkmichael Kirk"
Pitcarmick Roundhouses
Site of Bronze Age dwellings. This area has been farmed since the early Bronze Age, during which time people lived in round houses – remnants of which, like these, you can see today. Indeed, this part of Perth and Kinross contains one of the...
Read more - "Pitcarmick Roundhouses"
