Perth Railway Station and Secret Garden

Perth's historic train station was built way back in 1848 from plans by Sir William Tite who won a prize for his design.  It is at the heart of our city's transportation hub, putting residents within easy reach of nearby Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow as well as more far-flung destinations.  This is all, of course, common knowledge.  However, did you know about platform 2 and 3 quarters?  That's where you can find The Secret Garden along and the ducks Patti, Joe and Bob!

Lorna Duthie who works as a customer service agent gave me some background on the ducks and the garden:

"They're awesome! we had 11 and 3 have stayed.  Patti is named after Patti Smith (one of my idols).  Bob is, of course, the one and only Bob Dylan and Joe is called after Joe Strummer! My reasoning was Joe is the alpha male and his leg is electric... Bob is the quieter one. And miss Patti is the boss. I think you can tell I love them. It's fab sitting in the garden on my break and watching them they're so much fun to watch."

Perth Station is a fun and friendly place to start or end your journey.  From the guys and gals who man the taxi's at the entrance, to the barrier staff (the lovely Gwen and Lisa the day I visited) and conductors everyone has a smile on their face and is ready to help.  Gwen showed me around the Station, even telling me when there was a train due in so I could snap it as it approached.  As a Hitchcock fan, I was pleased to see that the station also houses a bust of one of Perth's most famous literary son's John Buchan, replete with a copy of his most well-known creation "The 39 Steps".

In recent years the station has even graced the big screen, starring alongside both Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman in 2013's period drama "The Railway Man" and the station was shut down for the whole day to film Kidman's scenes there.  So next time that you fancy a trip, do the environment and yourself a favour, leave the car at home and make your way down to Perth Railway Station.  After all, if it's good enough for Nicole Kidman...