Perbri two

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The start of this walk up Moncrieffe Hill is incredibly steep but great views of the river on the otherside. The walk into Perth is not so lovely - you are met with burnt out cars and warehouses. It is however a straightforward route and gets you into Perth no problem.

This is a good walk - the route up Moncrieffe Hill (through the wood) will get your heart pace up - it's steep! Lovely scenes once you get onto the other side and head towards Perth. The final stretch into Perth is very industrial.

Review of Slow Ways Route Perbri two (Perth to Bridge of Earn)
I walked this route in reverse (i.e. from Bridge of Earn to Perth) as part of a “double header” with Perbri one on a cold, sunny afternoon in November 2023. It is considerably longer than Perbri one but much more scenic and with much less roadside walking. The route leaves Bridge of Earn via the bridge over the River Earn and quickly turns right along Rhynd Road. This road (without pavements) is followed for around one kilometre and requires the walker to hop up onto the verge each time a vehicle passes (which was quite often on the day I chose). It therefore comes as a relief when the route turns into the access road for the Moncrieffe Hill Wood. This road is followed as it winds uphill to a small parking area. Thereafter a tarmac track continues uphill (before frustratingly losing a lot of the altitude gained) and eventually turns into a good, packed-earth track. There is a right fork which it is important not to miss, but otherwise navigation through the forest is fairly straightforward. After the right fork is passed, the route becomes quite steep as it follows the winding track uphill. Eventually a level section is reached before the track begins to descend down the other side of the hill. Just before this point it is possible to take a path up to the summit of Moncrieffe Hill for excellent views encompassing the Loch Lomond hills in the west, the city of Dundee in the east and a huge swathe of the Perthshire plain and the southern Highlands in between. However the mapped route bypasses the summit and zig-zags downhill (watch out for the various wooden sculptures) to arrive at the Moncreiffe Hill Tay Car Park (incidentally, the maps I consulted used “Moncrieffe”, “Moncreiffe” and “Moncrieff”). Leaving the car park, there is another section of road-walking with no pavement but this is quite short and the road down to the River Tay is mercifully quiet apart from local traffic. At the T-junction, the route takes the left hand (private) road which passes under the Friarton Bridge towering overhead and eventually leads to an industrial estate at Lower Friarton and then Friarton Road. A little further on, a left turn past some industrial units leads to a footbridge over the railway. It is then a relatively simple task to follow the city streets (increasingly busy) until Glenearn Community Campus is passed on the right. Here, a narrow lane gives access to an underpass (under the railway) and South Inch Park beyond. It is then a short walk to the city centre and the end of the route. Overall this is an interesting and scenic route, although by no means a direct or efficient way of getting from either end point to the other. It has some VERY steep sections, some road walking, some busy road crossings and a footbridge with steep steps up and down. However I thoroughly enjoyed it (especially the views from Moncrieffe Hill).

This is a good route, but I can only give it 3 stars as it's twice the length of the more direct PerBri one, and is predominantly on tarmac. Also it goes through a short stretch where there has been illegal dumping. However unlike PerBri one it avoids most traffic, so is much more pleasant. It is accurately mapped, although through Moncreiffe Hill woodland the mapped route differs slightly from the paths on the ground, however as the paths are surfaced and well waymarked/signposted there is no reason to get lost!

The route as a whole would be impossible for wheelers, due to the pedestrian bridge over the railway, however it would be easy enough to take PerBri1 from the centre of Perth then link up with this route as it enters Lower Friarton. The paths within Moncrieffe Hill woodland are very steep in places, possibly as much as 25%, but they are well surfaced. The gaps beside the barriers east of Lower Friarton may be difficult, being unsurfaced and only about 1m wide.

From the centre of Perth the route uses streets, with dropped kerbs, and pedestrian crossings at busier roads. It follows a cycle route through the South Inch parkland (cafe, and toilets when the cafe is open). It goes under railway lines (underpass is long, but lit). Still on the cycle route it crosses the Craigie Burn then uses residential streets. It leaves the cycle route on a footpath towards Tesco's, crosses the A912 at traffic lights, and heads down a residential street to cross the railway line at a footbridge (photo).

The next part of the route is not particularly pleasant, with the Lower Friarton industrial estate on one side, but the River Tay on the other. Most of this road has no footway but there are verges, it could potentially be busy during rush hour. At the end of the industrial estate the route continues on a new private road not shown on 1:25000 maps. The barriers (photos of both) could potentially limit use by wheelers. The road here is quiet, but passes beneath the the Friarton motorway bridge, so there is traffic noise. After the second barrier a private road heads uphill past some houses, to link with the public road (photo). 200m along this minor road is Moncreiffe Hill Tay Car Park. The woodland is managed by the Woodland Trust, with a network of waymarked surfaced paths, passing sculptures and occasional seats. The cowslips were amazing when I visited, and tree blossom and birdlife were pretty good too.

PerBri two follows the main path as it zigzags upwards, then a steeper path, waymarked with blue arrows, towards Moredun Fort which crowns the top of the hill. The actual summit is just off route, a track winds its way up – the direct steep way is best avoided. Views from the summit are wide ranging. Continuing onwards, the path makes a gradual descent then dives downhill, pretty steeply in places, following the lower part of the yellow waymarked route. It leaves this loop where there is a signpost indicating the Earn car park. A good track takes the route to the minor road (which loops round to Elcho Castle), but this is rather tedious, being very straight. It passes beneath the M90, then along a footway beside the A912 it's a short distance over the bridge over the River Earn and into Bridge of Earn.

Buses between Bridge of Earn and Perth are approximately hourly. There is a café and farm shop at Home Farm 300m north of the junction of the A912 and the road to Elcho, and other facilities in Bridge of Earn.

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