Perambulations in Perth

68 Comments
Perth
Perth

Somehow our usual autumn holiday downgraded itself in 2016 to a couple of nights in Perth in early December! I’m not complaining, Perth is a beautiful city and the weather, though cold, was wonderfully bright. We spent most of our day there, Sunday, following the River Tay Public Art Trail.

Sunbank House Hotel
Sunbank House Hotel

Our hotel (Sunbank House – highly recommended) was on the east bank of the river so we started there and followed the trail through a series of parks and gardens before crossing the river and returning along Tay Street. Here are some highlights.

East bank

This was my favourite part of the trail with the tall spire of St Matthew’s Church an ever-present landmark.

Vortex by Malcolm Robertson
River Arch by Doug Cocker
Reason by David Wilson
Millais’ Viewpoint by Tim Shutter
Evergreen by Kenny Munro
Rodney Gardens
St Matthew’s Church
Benchmark by John Creed
Norie-Miller Park
The Dance Within by Paul Eugene Riley

Perth Bridge

Perth Bridge by day
Perth Bridge by night

We crossed the river by the Perth Bridge which is equally attractive by day and night. It was built in 1766 and widened in 1869. On the other side are the Museum and Art Gallery and the Concert Hall – we didn’t go in this time, but enjoyed visits to both earlier in the year.

Perth Museum and Art Gallery
Perth Museum and Art Gallery
Perth Museum and Art Gallery
Perth Concert Hall
Perth Concert Hall
Perth Concert Hall

Returning to the river, some of the art serves a very practical purpose as flood gates.

Tay flood barriers
River Tay Themes by David Wilson
River Tay Themes by David Wilson

We passed the war memorial and regimental monument and admired the beautiful houses on the side of the river we’d just come from.

Regimental monument
Perth war memorial
Perth war memorial
Houses across the Tay

Then we crossed under the bridge to walk up Tay Street.

West bank and city centre

On the section of Tay Street between Perth Bridge and Queen’s Bridge there are ten wall carvings and several other sculptures, of which my favourite is Shona Kinloch’s chubby eagle standing proudly atop its fish.

Wall carving by Gillian Forbes
Wall carving by Gillian Forbes
Eagle of Perth by Shona Kinloch

The trail now took us away from the river into the city centre – lunch! But also more to see. The Salutation Hotel is another historic landmark, dating from 1699.

Salutation Hotel
Salutation Hotel
Salutation Hotel

St John Street has decorative lampposts and gratings – I’m not sure if they’re meant to remind me of Munch’s The Scream, but they do. Round the corner, Walter Scott’s Fair Maid of Perth sits forlornly on her bench.

Art works in St John Street by David Wilson
Perth street grating
Fair Maid of Perth by Graham Ibbeson

Nearby, Nae Day Sae Dark is another literary sculpture, inspired by Perth poet William Soutar. The two figures represent happiness and misery. It wasn’t possible to get a picture of the full circle because a (tuneless) busker had plonked himself right in the way.

Nae Day Sae Dark by David Annanad
Nae Day Sae Dark by David Annanad
Nae Day Sae Dark by David Annanad
Nae Day Sae Dark by David Annanad

After lunch, we continued along the riverbank, passing another sculpture inspired by Soutar, Soutar’s Menagerie, until we reached the Fergusson Gallery. Housed in an old water tower, this is dedicated to the work of Scottish Colourist JD Fergusson (1874-1961). It’s not open on Sundays, but we’ve been before and it is well worth a visit. It also has information about Fergusson’s partner, the dancer Margaret Morris, and their life together.

Soutar’s Menagerie by Rhonda Bayley
Fergusson Gallery

Craigie walk

From the Fergusson Gallery we set off to follow another trail – there was life in the old legs yet – which focussed on the life of the aforementioned poet, William Soutar. We set off across South Inch (large grassy area) – Soutar was born in one of its bordering terraces.

South Inch
St Leonard’s-in-the-Fields from South Inch

We then walked uphill to areas Soutar would have played in as a child, passing Craigie Waterfall and climbing Craigie Knowes, a little patch of wilderness in suburbia. In Soutar’s day, the waterfall was surrounded by malt barns, a laundry and a flock mill. Now it’s all houses, though some of the windy roads probably had their origins as farm tracks. Higher still is Craigie Hill, where you can see John striding along below. This looks like the country, but to the left of the picture is a golf course and out of sight on the right traffic thunders along the motorway to Dundee.

Craigie Waterfall
On Craigie Knowes
On Craigie Hill

Descending again, we passed 27 Wilson Street where Soutar lived in the last years of his life. Here he spent 13 years bedridden with an incurable arthritis of the spine, all the time writing his poetry and receiving a constant stream of friends, neighbours and literary admirers. He died of tuberculosis aged just 45.

27 Wilson Street
Soutar memorial plaque

Finally, we returned to South Inch and amused ourselves watching the birds on the frozen pond.

Pond on South Inch
Birds on South Inch pond
Birds on South Inch pond

Linking to Jo’s Monday Walks where you’ll find her on a trail in the Algarve, and her friends? Well they’re cyber-walking all over the globe!

Scotland, UK , , , ,

68 Comments »

  4. Pingback: Jo’s Monday walk : Ribeira de Algibre | restlessjo

  10. Great post. I’ve been wondering about a day bus trip to Perth myself and if there was enough to see there. Clearly there is plenty to do as I’ve passed through it dozens of times in various cars but still not explored the city properly. Town trail here I come.

    Like

  12. The first time I saw the Perthshire countryside I was on a train going from Glasgow to Aberdeen. I don’t know if it’s my Ontario roots but I find the rolling hills and picturesque lakes and rivers far more compelling than any highland vista. I hear there’s a bit of a “weather window” in Perth as well, with less rainfall than elsewhere in Scotland. Sounds like Perth is hard to beat!

    Like

  15. Another long walk revealing lovely sights. And what a nice crisp day to do so. I totally recognize The Scream in those grates. You are not imagining it! Do you think Perth in Australia is named after “your” Perth?

    Like

  18. This is a great walking Trek you did and I love these art pieces ….so unique. I like screaming grate:) There is a lot to see here. What a wonderful time you had and good weather

    Like

  19. Great photos Anabel, and I agree with you about the gratings looking like The Scream. I love the snail sculpture with the two ‘creatures’ underneath, they look rather cute 🙂

    Like

  21. I’ve driven past on the way to a friend’s wedding in Montrose, but never been there. Looks more interesting than I thought! Will need to look up William Soutar now!

    Like

  22. Hi Anabel – what a glorious area … and as it was cold, the various sculptures and architecture kept you warm and perambulating happily. Love the herring on the lamppost, and yes the gratings do look like a Munch don’t they … I love the iron flood gates too …

    Thanks for sharing these photos with us … another Scottish place to visit and poem to remember … cheers Hilary

    Like

  23. So many lovely public sculptures, Anabel! And I really like those gratings. I like the idea of bringing a sense of humour to the drains 🙂 Thanks so much for the link! It’s much appreciated.

    Like

  29. I’m sorry we didn’t find the time to actually visit Perth. Is the sculpture trail permanent? Some interesting pieces. I like the fishes and the menagerie. And what are those stones on the South Inch? Another sculpture or something much older?

    Like

    • Hi Jude, just visiting WP on my PC for the first time in a week and discovering some genuine comments in spam, including this one! What are they thinking of? So sorry for the delay. The sculpture trail appears to be permanent and as for the stones on South Inch, I don’t know. They are definitely not old but we couldn’t find any plaque or any reference to them in the sculpture trail. (Of course, you will have totally forgotten your questions by now…..)

      Liked by 1 person

  30. What a fantastic trek, Anabel. Thanks for taking me along. (I have now added River Tay Public Art Trail to my ever-expanding travel bucket list)!

    Like