Each walk has a description, a Fact File (including nearest wheelchair-accessible toilet), a photo and a map with paths graded for different wheelchairs or scooters. Due to copyright restrictions the maps are only available in the book Walking on Wheels.

Perth & Kinross
Walk 24 - Dunkeld, The Hermitage
& Loch Ordy

Dunkeld is an old Cathedral town lying on the banks of the mighty River Tay. Across the water the larger buildings of Birnam reflect its rapid growth as a Victorian holiday resort with the coming of the railway. Although the main shopping street is full of specialist shops and restaurants, not many are accessible by wheels. But there are three very good routes out of Dunkeld, each offering a very different type of ramble.

The Hermitage

The Hermitage (National Trust for Scotland): Head south over the bridge then turn right on to a path, following signs which take you under the A9 and then back alongside it before bringing you to The Hermitage trail. A fellow rambler friend, James Page, once wrote: 'The Hermitage was one place I really wanted to go to on a scooter. I'd been there often when both my legs were working and wanted to share the experience with others. When you pass under the road you've left all the world and its problems behind and when you arrive at The Hermitage you are witnessing the awesome power of the primeval element - water. Cleanse your mind of trivia like money and politics; be grateful you are not a fish trying to get to the spawning grounds.'

Loch Ordie: For a longer ramble, climbing higher into the hills, take the A923 north out of Dunkeld. After a sharp right turn, a quick left will take you to a Forestry Commission car park. Or you can, as I've done, go on the pavements in your wheels from the main Dunkeld car park. It is then a long, slow climb up through the forest to Loch Ordie, passing two other little lochs on the way. I believe it is possible to walk round the loch but I haven't done so: my scooter had had enough and we had to return.

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