Fodor's Travel Talk Forums

Fodor's Travel Talk Forums (https://www.fodors.com/community/)

- Europe (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/)

- - Perth,Scotland (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/perth-scotland-297669/)

My wife and I are retired Canadians.We are planning to spend May12toMay17th 2003 in Perth as a nostalgia trip for my wife who was born in Perth but moved away quite young. Would appreciate information regarding B&Bs or hotels downtown Perth.We are not sure at this point to rent a car or not.As we would like to do some sightseeing I do not know how easy or difficult would it be without a car, Information regarding car rental agencies,insurance requirements and tarifs along with places to visit will be heghly appreciated.Thanks. jkay

Hi jkay. Can you give me some idea of the sort of place you like, and your budget. There are lots of nice places and Perth is really not big enough to have what you would call a "downtown". Most of the nice places to see would benefit from your having a car, but maybe not all the time. The centre of the town is flat and easy to walk around. I'll post some stuff when I get home tonight on local sights (I keep them in a Word document at home) I feel my mother's genes coming out in me (having been born and brought up in Perth, myself). What was your wife's name and where did she go to school.

Hi Sheila, Thanks for the reply,we would like to get some accomodation ranging between 25 and 35BP now this may be not adequate I do not know. As for sight seeing we would be interested in visiting castles and places of historical interest.Being a keen golfer I would like to visit St.Andrews old course.I do not know the proximity ofit to Perth. Any info regarding the above would be greatly appreciated. jkay.

Hi jkay. It was a long week and I ran out of energy on this last night. I'll fill in the blanks next time. You'll get a perfectly good B&B in that price range and I'll see if I can find a thread I did some stuff on a couple of years ago and top it for you. St Andrews is dead easy- about an hour in the car and a great day out. It was a real treat when we were kids.

My apologies for the delay in dealing with this. I couldn't find the thread and have been waiting for it to be indexed. Most of Perth's interest lies in its history- ancient capital of Scotland- and in its place in Scottish literature. Just north of Perth, 2 miles or so, is Scone Palace, worth a visit itself, which was the site where the kings and queens of Scotland were crowned, seated on the Stone of Destiny, (a good fake of) which you will no doubt see when you visit Edinburgh castle. The town's 12th century Church, St John's is worth a visit. It contains the remains of an Earl of Perth who is supposed to have told the town's baillies "If you give me six feet, I'll give you twa Inches"- a reference to the two parks on either side of the Old town, the North and South Inches (from the Gaelic Innis meaning meadow). In addition it is where John Knox preached the destruction of the monasteries at the start of the Scottish reformation Sir Walter Scott wrote a novel called "the Fair Maid of Perth" and her house and that of Hal o' the Wynd, can both be visited. This will tell you all about Clan Chattan and Clan Kay and the battle they fought (staged?) on the North Inch. Next to Hal o' the Wynd's house is the City Mills which has a restored oatmeal and some nice craft shops. The City Mills Hotel, which I think is now called the Stakis, is another converted Mill, done so the lade can be seen flowing underneath. If you walk along the Tay, you can see where the houses in the Watergate had their gardens which led down to the river, where Kate Barlass held off the soldiers come to capture and kill the king. The town has really good shopping centered around the High Street and Old High Street. On the north edge of the town is the Caithness Glass factory where you can see the glass being made and, of course, buy from the factory shop. There are a lot of nice walks.. along the river and through the North Inch, through the Norie Millar gardens on the north side of the river, Branklyn Gardens on the North side of the river, Kinnoull Hill with its folly, and Buckie Braes and Callerfountain. Places to eat- Let's Eat is without doubt the best place in town Patrick’s is a bistro behind the Sherriff Court which is on Tay Street), which is quite good, and Littlejohns, Paco's and and the Filling Station, are all cheap and cheerful. The Willows tea room in St John's Square is very good for coffee/ tea and cakes and things.

Hi Sheila, Thanks for the info,we will certainly include in the suggestions in our itenerary.Re accomodation is it better to book it in advance from here before we leave or try and find some place when we get there? Do you know New County HOtel located on couty place,found this on the net and seems reasonable would appreciate input.Thanks jkay.

The County used to be a serious dive. I know it has upgraded in the last couple of years, but I suspect the change is superficial. I'll check with my brother who still lives there. It's also on the busiest road in town so the traffic noise might be bad.

Hi Sheila,Due to a serious illness in the family our plans for Scotland have been on again and off again.Your input has been most helpful.In the last communication I had asked about the county hotel,your comment about it was not very positive.However, you were going to ask your brother who lives there about it. I have no further leads,we would like to make a reservation prior to leaving here if possible,any further information about county hotel or any other establishment will be extremely helpful.Thanks.

The County has not improved. Can you give me a budget? I know your preferred location.

Thanks for getting back.Our budget is between 25 and 30 BP.per person per night. Not having first hand knowledge of current costs of accomodation I do not know if this is a realistic figure for a decent place.