Do you love riding trains? Local shops? Cafes with delicious coffee and homemade baked goods? Long walks by the river? A quiet, peaceful, emotionally centring Saturday? The Edinburgh to Dunkeld day trip is PERFECT for you!
Getting from Edinburgh to Dunkeld
It recently came to my attention that the train goes from Edinburgh to Dunkeld (who knew?! How didn’t I know?!). As soon as I found out, I made a plan to go on my next free Saturday. I have long-since been a fan of the Aran Bakery, but I’ve never been! Fully thought you needed a car, or a long bus journey, to get to Dunkeld.
The train is between 1h50mins to 2h20mins depending on which train you get. On my way out I took the train to Perth and then changed to the train to Inverness. On my way in I took a direct train to Edinburgh. I thought a 2h long train would feel a LOT longer than it did. I actually just really enjoyed the peace and quiet, but then again I just really love a train journey to begin with!
One thing to watch: getting off the train in Dunkeld is a JUMP. The train is a lot higher than the platform. Be careful.
Getting from Dunkeld & Birnam to Dunkeld village
It’s a very straightforward walk, it took me around 15 minutes. It starts with a path straight from the train station over to the main road. Then, you walk along the main roads until you cross the bridge to Dunkeld. There’s always a wide pavement for walking, and the views are stunning!
Things to do in Dunkeld
- Visit the Aran Bakery. It’s what I went there for after all! Aran Bakery is owned by Flora Shedden, and is all levels of delightful. Everything served in the bakery has been crafted, from recipe to shelf, with care and you can tell. I ordered a poached plum pavlova and a focaccia sandwich.
- Go for a wander! You’ve made it to the Perthshire Highlands. There are some seriously gorgeous nature walks nearby. Personally, I just sat by the river all day and read, wrote, and ate. It was glorious. Next time, I’m going to revisit this TripAdvisor list of walks before I go and plan to spend some more time exploring.
- Visit Going Potty – a pottery shop and DIY paint-your-pottery shop. Definitely will plan better next time to do some pottery painting when I go! This time around I picked up an adorable little ceramic mushroom.
- Shop til ya drop! Dunkeld has my favourite kind of shopping. Local small businesses that stock fancy versions of every day things. I went to the Lòn shop and picked up some granola, a kombucha, and some pomegranate molasses. IDEAL! There was also a scandi cafe & shop on the main road, which I cannot remember the name of and I cannot find online. It has AMAZING ice cream and so many cute homewares.
And that was my day in Dunkeld! I spent a lot of it reading Joan Didion’s let me tell you what I mean. It’s one to pick up if you like classic American literature! (Ooooo who doesn’t love the sound of that!) I always recommend you bring a book as a friend when you’re travelling alone, even just for the day.
Want to read more about travel in and around Edinburgh? Check out the blogs below!
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