Birnie Cottage is ideally situated in the heart of Strathmore.
it is a short drive to the amenities in the village of Alyth and it is also within easy driving distance to Blairgowrie, Forfar, and Dundee, where a wide range of shopping, leisure, and cultural facilities can be enjoyed. The nearby twin burgh of Blairgowrie and Rattray is approximately six miles from the cottage (roughly ten minutes by car), providing excellent amenities for all your daily needs. Popular with anglers, walkers, and golf enthusiasts, Blairgowrie is also the starting point for the 60- mile circular Cateran Trail and it is the gateway to Glenshee, affording access to year-round sports facilities including skiing, mountain biking, abseiling, and paragliding.
This is a charming cottage and the generously sized rooms have oil fired central heating which is included in the price and wood or coal is always available for the open fire. The kitchen is well equipped and has an old fashioned theme, mindful of the original use as a gardener's cottage for nearby Birnie House, the home of the owner - willing, if available, to give advice about where to go and what to see in the area. When the cottage was overhauled in 2009, great care was taken to retain the original 1930s character.
Visitors are welcome to walk in the woods attached to the house and will become familiar with our resident red squirrels, our more timid red deer, and an amazing variety of wild birds. Various games are also available for younger visitors and activities in the surrounding area abound; enough to satisfy any age of visitor!
Dogs are also welcome but not on the beds or sofas! (Please tell us separately that you will be bringing your pet(s) because we do not charge for them so they may not appear in the guest details.)
The cottage has free wi-fi and, whilst there are security cameras which cover the perimeter of Birnie House, they do not overlook the cottage or the hedged cottage garden. Your privacy is very important to us.
Walking: The CATERAN TRAIL is a walking route full of breathtaking landscapes with a wide range of changing terrain that should suit long distance walkers of any age. Situated on the southern end of the Highlands in the Heart of Perthshire and the Angus Glens this route provides the walker with a true feel of Scottish landscape and offers a glimpse of the lifestyle of the Caterans in the 15th to 17th centuries.
The DEN OF ALYTH has several walks of varying length through the deep, shady glen of the Alyth Burn amongst mixed open woodland. As well as being a quiet place to walk, the Den is a place to rest, picnic and watch the varied wildlife. Oak, ash and birch trees are home to small birds like tree creepers and great tits, while dippers and grey wagtails live by the waterside.
Walk around AULD ALYTH or the quiet country roads leading to Glenisla and the Angus Glens. The views are magnificent. Also in the area is the waterfall, REEKIE LYNN, on the way to PEEL FARM.
Nature: GLEN ISLA is one of the more significant and the most westerly of the Angus Glens, a wide valley in the southern Grampians, between Glen Shee and Glen Prosen. The River Isla flows south and then southeast into the Valley of Strathmore.
LINTRATHEN reservoir is a nature reserve in the Braes of Angus, situated at the southern end of Glen Isla, 4 miles (6 km) northeast of Alyth. Surrounded by farmland, the loch is visited by large numbers of wildfowl, wintering geese, whooper swans and the occasional osprey. Here you can hire bikes or eat cake in the wonderful Wee Bear cafe.
LOCH OF KINNORDY, nearer Kirriemuir, is a shallow loch set in a natural basin which attracts all sorts of wildfowl and is open from dawn to dusk.
Near Dunkeld, LOCH OF LOWES is all about ospreys. From April to September a pair of ospreys usually breed here and there is an observation hide just 150m from their nest, as well as a camera so visitors can watch close up pictures of the birds. The reserve covers 95 hectares of the loch, shoreline and surrounding woodland.
Peter Pan: The Peter Pan House in Kirriemuir is the birthplace of J M Barrie who is best known for his wonderfully enchanting story of the boy who never grew up.. His childhood house is equally as delightful and visitors have a rare privilege to see where he grew up and step into the rooms where he spent his childhood can and even go into the wash room that is said to be the inspiration for his Wendy House and was his first theatre during his childhood. There is also the Neverland play park on Kirriemuir Hill.
Close to the Neverland Play Park is Kirriemuir Camera Obscura – one of only three in Scotland – housed in a purpose-designed turret room in the Barrie Pavilion on Kirrie Hill. It provides a fascinating glimpse of historic technology and striking views of the surrounding countryside. The narrow streets of Kirriemuir itself are lined with traditional red sandstone houses, friendly shops and galleries, interesting museums, cosy cafes and welcoming pubs, not to mention some of the best ice cream in Tayside. Here, too, you can see the statue of ACDC’s, Bon Scott, Kirrie’s very own rock son. Kirriemuir, which has lost none of its charm, is central for explorations of the beautiful Braes of Angus - all penetrating deep into the lonely eastern Grampian mountains..
