Path networks in Perthshire

There have never been as many recorded rights of way in Scotland as there have been in England, partly because the requirement on local authorities to record them was never the same and partly because access to open land was never contested by landowners to the same extent as south of the border. However, Perth and Kinross still has one of the largest networks of recorded rights of ways in Scotland and around Pitlochry many of the routes we use on a daily basis are designated as such. These routes were seldom signposted and before the digital age could only be checked by looking at dusty paper maps in council buildings or contacting the Scottish Rights of Way Society.

Back in the late 1980s, the local council were aware that many people came to the area to go walking and thought it would be a great idea to promote and signpost a network of paths on which people could walk and feel confident that they would be welcome and not get lost. So the Council set about developing a path network around Dunkeld and Birnam by liaising with the local landowners to gain their permission to develop and signpost routes (made easier because much of the land was in the ownership of Atholl Estates). In July 1994 this was one of the first promoted path networks in Scotland.

It soon became the first of several networks and was closely followed by Pitlochry and then the newly formed Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust developed the network at Crieff. All this was before the new Land Reform Act of 2003 and involved lots of negotiation and discussion with local landowners and communities. If you have one, have a close look at the Dunkeld and Birnam path leaflet - it was produced before the days of digital mapping and printing and all the tree symbols are individually hand drawn!

Eventually, in 2003, the Land Reform (Scotland) Act was passed and at that point the right of responsible access to most land was enshrined in law. Furthermore, local authorities were required to produce core paths plans to give the public reasonable access throughout their area and again Perth and Kinross Council managed to produce one of the most extensive plans in Scotland through lots of consultation with local communities. There are over 2,000km of core paths in Perth and Kinross and you can find out more about them here. This time although landowners were consulted and were able to object to routes the final decision was made by the Scottish Government and the core paths plan for Perth and Kinross was approved on 1 December 2011. This now forms the basis for many of the new path network leaflets that have been developed since then.

The above is a very brief condensed history of the development of path networks in this area. You can find out more about the wide range of paths and other routes that exist in Perth & Kinross on our Walking in Perthshire page on our website. If you want to know more about our world-class access rights, there is a summary on our website or you can visit the official website on access rights and responsibilities. Or just come out on a guided walk with Perthshire Treks and we can tell you all about it!!