Birnam Hill and King's Seat

From the layby by the old Birnam Quarry on the B867, pass under the railway and take the signed path up through mixed woodland. Keep straight on at the junction for the Pass of Birnam and make the short detour to Stair Bridge, a decorative bridge looking towards Perth. The path crosses open heather and climbs across the flank of the hill to the large cairn on King's Seat (404 m). Descend by the Birnam Hill path, steep and rocky at first, then boggy and wooded, past a rocky outcrop with a view over Dunkeld to the Loch of the Lowes. At the foot of the hill, tracks and paths lead back past old villas to the start.

It is 6.8 km with 378 m of ascent; allow about 3 hours. The grade is Easy: clear waymarked paths, with a short steep, rocky section on the way down.

Walkhighlands notes that the heather moor is a good place to see birds of prey and warns of a very steep rocky section at the start of the descent. Birnam Wood is the wood named in Shakespeare's Macbeth.

Park in the layby on the B867. The nearest station is Dunkeld and Birnam, about 1.7 km away.

Route drawn by Global Adventurer along OpenStreetMap paths (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), with figures worked out from it. Check the forecast and the ground on the day: paths change.