A Wee Jaunt to Birnam

Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care

Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are.

Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until

Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill

Shall come against him.

Macbeth - Act IV, Scene 1

It is over 400 years since William Shakespeare wrote about Birnam Woods moving to Dunsinane Hill and yet the majesty of the trees, woods and wildlife around this wee town are as mysterious and beguiling today as they were back then.   We quite often nip up to Birnam and Dunkeld for a wander or a pint among their amazing live music scene but last weekend I made a break for it and booked myself in for two nights of exploration.

My initial reason for heading North was a two day course I had booked at the brilliant Birnam Arts; I could easily have travelled the 15 minutes by train each day but decided I would use it as a good excuse to spend some time away from home.  In particular, I was feeling particular curious about Jessie Mac’s Boutique Hostel; it seems as though every tourism conversation I have been part of for the past two months has mentioned this quirky wee home-from-home on Birnam’s Murthly Terrace and I although it has been YEARS since I stayed in a hostel, my nosieness got the better of me.  

I have to confess that at this point I was still a bit unsure; I have no desire to share sleeping quarters with other people (too old / too messy) and I like to get stuck into a proper cooked breakfast when I go away (muesli and yoghurt is for weekdays only!).   You’ll be relieved to know, as I was, that this new age of boutique hostels are a million miles away from any dodgy, insect infested hell-holes you may have found yourself dossing in circa 1988 and as well as my own room I enjoyed a cooked breakfast both days.

I arrived mid-afternoon on Friday after a wander round the splendid ‘Between Myth and Ledgend’ textiles exhibition at Birnam Arts.   This is one of the many reasons I love Birnam; it has a real arty vibe going on and you will always find something to do, see or listen to.  This exhibition runs until 30th April and has been curated by Edge Textiles Artists Scotland. The group aims to promote excellence in all aspects of contemporary textiles and the artists now have a wide following. The strength of the work produced by the members is outstanding and the exhibition is completely free – although you should really stop for lunch in their great wee café.  The homemade soups and baking are both excellent!

Over to Jessie Mac's which is literally a minute up the road.   I was met by Brenda, one of the owners, who gave me a tour and explained the ethos of their hostel.  She and her partner Dot like to travel with their dogs and found that there were very few places to take pets and truly relax.  Brenda is an environmentalist and still works three days a week for Fife Council; Dot was a research biochemist at Ninewells for years but now works in their business full time. 

The pair are passionate about ensuring their Perthshire Accommodation brings the best of all worlds to their guests and after a research trip to Lisbon exploring some of the world’s best rated hostels, several long chats to friend about what they looked for and a commitment made to establish the greenest small hostel in Scotland, they were ready to put their plan into action.  That was in 2011 and after finding the perfect wee traditional B&B in Birnam they set about with the aim of turning it into a hybrid – self-catering facilities but still offering breakfasts plus a mixture of shared dorms, private doubles and family rooms.  It seems so simple you wonder why it’s never been done before – but then, the best ideas are usually exactly that.

Brenda’s gorgeous Northern Irish accent gives a warm welcome from the off and as she showed me round I met a family playing with the communal fiddles in the lounge, teenagers playing a Scottish History board game and a single man making himself a cuppa in the large, shared kitchen. 

It had an air of eccentricity about it, as though you’d arrived at your favourite nutty aunties for the weekend.  Cushions on the sofa spelled out their name – Jessie after Dot’s mum and Mac after her godmother – homemade muffins were laid out, left over from breakfast and free for anyone to enjoy, and a notice board with cards and ideas and drawing from previous guests adorned the wall.

My room was up in the attic and was a beautiful wee snug of lavender and pale green, with an en suite shower room and loo.  Another muffin – chocolate and banana, OMG! – and a tunnocks wafer biscuit awaited me on my tea and coffee tray.  The bed was super comfy but the ultimate home-from-home luxury for cauld-tattie-me was a wee hot water bottle.  Heaven!

The wifi wasn’t great in my room but I had already been forwarned by Brenda that this was case; however it was completely fine in the communal areas of the lounge, dining room and kitchen and the 4G signal was firing on all cylinders up in my wee attic bedroom.

On Friday night I took a wander down to The Tap and enjoyed one of their amazing stone-baked pizzas that locals had been telling me about.  Birnam is renowned for its wee pubs and live music and the welcome is always warm and friendly.  Locals sat around tables supping pints with dogs at their feet and a reassuring familiarity hung in the air. 

Up early for breakfast and boy-oh-boy have Brenda and Dot nailed this luxury hostel game!  Cereals, homemade muffins, warm croissants, fresh fruit and yoghurts were all laid out for us to enjoy.  I was introduced to Grace who was also doing the Stories We Tell course and we pulled up a table together and both launched into how surprised and happy we were we’d taken the plunge and booked Jessie Mac's! 

Breakfast is ordered the night before so there’s no food waste and we were brought a big pot of piping hot Glen Lyon Coffee and brown toast to get us started.  As you’d expect from a Green Hostel, the sausages, eggs and bacon are all from local farms and butchers and are cooked to order. It has to be up there with one of my best ever Scottish hotel breakfasts. Spot on!

Grace is a young, 23 year old drama graduate from Hackney and was to become my best pal for a whole weekend.  We walked over to the Birnam Arts Institue where we would be spending two days exploring our life journey in the Stories We Tell Course run by local Birnam couple, Jamie and Sarah Jauncy. 

The pair run the majority of their Scottish Workshops from this fantastic space and you can see why; up in the dance studio the view stretched for miles and pulled in the trees, field and hillsides of Perthshire and beyond. 

We were thrown into a day of self-exploration on this unique and inspiring workshop (do please the read entire review here>>>) and by the time it ended at 4 o’clock Grace and I were feeling charged up with gratitude and a reminder of how wonderful life is.   The perfect mood, as it turns out, for accepting Brenda’s offer of a drive up to the Loch of The Lowes Nature Reserve.

The sky was bright and the day clear with a soft breeze.  I had often gone to see ospreys as a wee girl but to my shame, it’s been years since I headed up here.   You’ll drive it in 20 minutes from Perth and from Birnam it took no time at all.  We crept quietly through the carefully placed walks, Brenda explaining that many locals, including Dot, volunteer during mating season so that meticulous notes can be kept of the protected Ospreys who return each year to nest.

We headed for the main hide, trying to spot red squirrels on the way, and were met by two of the volunteers who were recording every last movement made by the two birds nesting across the Loch.  It is peaceful, calm and one of the most glorious views across Scottish land and water.  While we there, watching though binoculars, there was a brief mating session and some three days later we heard there was an egg!  

The most wonderful part of the day for me though was doing all of this with Grace.  I have come to blindly accept that I live in this beautiful part of the world, so much so, that I often forget the many less natural alternatives out there.  As Brenda swept her car round the corners of the country road there was an audible gasp from the back seat; Grace’s young Londoner’s eyes drank in the scenery and hillsides that we are all so complacent about.

“The air is just so fresh! Like, I know what that means now!” was one of the best statements she made on our walk through the woods.   “Look at the birds. Do you really get red squirrels?” and so on.  It made me open my old, blind eyes and experience my landscape with the humbling gratitude and enjoyment of my new pal.  I tell you, it is extraordinary to look out at your doorstep with this new perspective.

Dinner that night was over at The Atholl Arms and we met up with Jane from our course who has just moved into the area.  Homemade burgers with fat chips for me and Grace and a salmon salad for Jane were all washed down with red wine, gins and pots of tea.  It was a Saturday night and the bar was buzzing, alive with the sounds of locals and tourists melting into one as local folk music rang out from the speakers.   We walked back from Dunkeld to Birnam at about 10pm, safe and warm from chat and drinks.

Sunday brought day two of my course and as 4 o’clock loomed I realised I wasn’t quite ready to leave this gorgeous wee town.  Sue, local yoga teacher and another new friend from The Stories We Tell, offered to drive up to the Corbenic Poetry Path just by Trochry and it seemed such a fitting way to end a story telling weekend that I jumped at the chance. We packed up my suitcase into her car and headed out to enjoy the remainder of the day.  Blue skies, a warm breeze and the promise of poetry and writing along our walk made for a wonderful start to the end of my break.

The Corbenic Poetry Path is a stunning walk set into the hills and fields of the old Drumour Shooting Lodge and estate.  The path has been created and maintained by the residents of the Corbenic Camphill Community and like all art, and nature, it is a never-ending project that the volunteers and artists involved will add to and develop as time goes on.   It is currently 3km long and my small word of wisdom would be to give yourself at least an hour.  You will be stopped by views, by wildlife, by art and words as you make your way through this unique and wonderful path.

Sue dropped me at the train station for my short, but extremely scenic 15 minute journey back to Perth. I love the views from the train between Perth and Blair Athol and have no idea why anyone would ever wish to drive!

My weekend in Birnam was over and although I had spent only two days in this wee town I felt as though I’d seen myself and Perthshire in a whole new light.  It was uplifting, relaxing and joy-filled, packed full of new and wonderful people, nature, art and life lessons that will remain with me for a very long time.

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Jessie Mac's Boutique Hostel - prices for single occumpacy start at £25.  See Jessie Mac's ful contact details on our Accommodation In Perthshire Directory. 

Birnam Arts Centre - A whole host of fantastic events and exhibitions will take place throughout 2016. See their full contact details in our Visitor Attractions Directory.

The Stories We Tell - Read our full review on this fantastic two day course run by Jamie and Sarah Jauncey. More>>>

The Loch of the Lowes Visitor Centre - As well as their hides to view the Ospreys, the nature retreat has many walks and a fantastic visitor centre. More on their website >>>

The Corbenic Poetry Path - See our photography gallery and full story about this beautiful artistic path in Trochry. More>>>