The rural village of Blair Atholl set among the Hills of Perthshire.
Until the early 19th century the only building on the site of the present village was the Old Mill (open to the public in summer). It began to grow around the present parish church, largely as a planned settlement, when this was moved from Old Blair. The building of the main A9 North Road and railway line to Inverness encouraged the growth of the village, though the A9 has bypassed it since the 1980s. The Atholl Folk Museum in the village has displays on the social history of the area. Open in summer (entrance charge). A peculiar quirk of the town is ownership of the water supply. As a result of an unusual legal agreement made in 1911 for the benefit of steam trains, the responsibility for the public water supply to the people of Blair Atholl has been held by the railway companies who own the line through Blair Atholl, currently Network Rail. In April 2006, it was announced that Network Rail would finance the cost of connecting the Blair Atholl and Bridge of Tilt to Scottish Water's supply Blair Atholl's most famous feature is Blair Castle (NN 865 662), one of Scotland's premier stately homes, and the last castle in the British Isles to be besieged, in 1746 during the last Jacobite Rebellion. The Castle was the traditional home of the Earls (later Marquises, now Dukes) of Atholl. The Duke of Atholl is the only private person in the United Kingdom allowed to raise his own private army - the Atholl Highlanders. Its activities are social and ceremonial, and the ranks are filled mainly from workers on the extensive Atholl Estates. The Castle no longer belongs directly to the Duke of Atholl, as the 10th Duke, George Iain Murray (1931-96), left the Castle in trust upon his death. His distant cousin the 11th Duke, John Murray (b. 1929), lives in South Africa, and returns annually to review the Atholl Highlanders.
Size: 5130px × 3407px
Location: Blair Atholl Perthshire Tayside Region Scotland UK
Photo credit: © David Gowans / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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