A Pitlochry Weekend. Atholl Palace Hotel and Grounds.

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On the same trip that my hill walking friend John and I stayed at an overnight bothy he dropped me off the next morning at Moulin, a small village/hamlet just above Pitlochry, as it was easier to get out here, rather than a very busy main street in Pitlochry. I walked from there across several fields and through woods but I will save that walk for my last post in this area as this, above, was the highlight of the trip and needs its own spot.  Atholl Palace Hotel.

Although it sits proudly on a hill top I came at it from a strange angle as I'd already been to the Black Spout waterfall on scenic paths from Moulin. Atholl Palace Hotel pitch and putt course hut, above.  It did not look well used ( maybe because it was winter or out of fashion these days) but as luck would have it a woodland path led from here steeply upwards to the castle/palace. Viewed side on, from these lower woods, it does look more like a castle than a palace, glimpsed in brief soaring fragments of stone through the leaves in the direction  I approached from. It reminded me of the Gothic family pile in Gormenghast, Dracula's Castle, or the hilltop Italian Monastery in Name of the Rose so I was fascinated by it like any moth to a flame as I climbed upwards.

Up close it was just as impressive so I had a full walk around it, viewing it from all sides.

I was trying to imagine how many rooms it had and what the entire weight of stone would be in tons when an elderly man came out the bar and we had a chat. After finding out I was interested in the history of the building he mentioned that there was a museum inside.... and that it was free. The magic words to me. I'm not particularly tight with money but there are certain groups of people or rungs on a ladder in the UK or world wide. Homeless or folk in debt.... people just about managing to pay bills but not much left over for expensive items ( that's my rung)... folk that can afford to stay here ( £60 to £220 a night in 2025 depending on deals, time of year, and rooms... they do have woodland chalets etc ).... or folk that can afford big extra expensive items fairly easily and frequently without leaving a considerable hole in their bank balance ( that's not me).... and then there's the super rich one percent at the top who have more money than the other 99 percent of the planet combined.

 

 Being mid February I was also surprised how busy the hotel car park was, almost full up but maybe they had winter deals on. You would need to stay competitive just to afford the heating bills and upkeep of a vast property of this size.

Normally 4 star hotels... or no star hotels are not my natural environment as I have no desire to be pampered and as long as I have a dry space, a sleeping bag, a tent, or just a carrymat ( for some insulation off the cold ground), I'm perfectly happy. But I was interested in the history of the place so I went inside.

An entire corridor and several small side rooms told visitors the history of this hotel. Apparently when this museum was set up it was the only hotel to have a museum dedicated to it's various transformations over the years. Constructed in the late 1870s for around £100,000 in a mix of Scottish Baronial and French Gothic styles it was only open as a Hydropathic facility for under ten years before running into financial problems. The new owners concentrated more on paying guests having fun and entertainment rather than water torture/health cure patient treatments and they ran it successfully for 20 years. With a hotel of this size however and it's Highland location the financial burden to keep it open must be considerable and it has had numerous owners over the many decades since its inception. A good museum I enjoyed... especially as it was very unexpected.

A water feature inside the hotel. Presumably they no longer pour water on the guests, just in the malt whisky glasses in the bar.

I also enjoyed the grand driveway and grounds. Arriving on foot I was doing the whole thing back to front, which did not occur to me until later. If you were arriving here by car you would travel up through the grounds first, gliding through green meadows and scattered pines on this scenic serpentine tarmac ribbon.

Then the hotel would come into view. ( note all the cars... and the overflow car park was busy as well... surprising for a winter month. To me anyway.)

I noticed tennis courts, chalets, and a spa as I walked down through the grounds. Very colourful, green, and lush for mid winter in Scotland.

 

And some fake deer... Surprising up here as I often see the real thing on my walks.

Landscaped pool. This was a delight... like a fantasy walk... and I enjoyed this far more than a strenuous hill walk with John. The sun even came out to bless me. Thank you once again Serendipity... and John for dropping me off... in this hedonistic Paradise...  

Japanese Garden in the grounds.

The stream with metal swans. Japanese Garden.

As I said it was only when I arrived at the Pitlochry road entrance to the palace that I realised I'd done the entire route back to front. Mind you, traditionally my class of folk always arrived in via the back entrance to fancy places anyway, to serve the drinks and food, so maybe I did it the right way after all :o).

A very unexpected and enjoyable day out.