Exploring Blairgowrie, Scotland, A Drive Through.
Blairgowrie, is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, is a town simply as "Blair" by locals. Blairgowrie is the larger of the two former burghs, Blairgowrie and Rattary, which were united by an Act of Parliament in 1928. Famous today for its soft fruit, 'The Berry Town', has a much richer history.
The town has developed over the centuries because of it's situation at the crossroads of several historic routes with links to Perth, Coupar Angus, Alyth, and others to the north.
From around 1600 to the beginning of the 19th century, Blairgowrie had a fairly stable population, recorded at 425 inhabitants in the first Statistical Account in 1792. The second Statistical Account of 1853 notes a disproportionate increase due to an influx of families attracted by the expanding textiles industry.
Blairgowrie was made a barony in favour of George Drummond of Blair in 1634 by Royal Charter of Charles I. Only becoming a free burgh in 1809.
Blairgowrie's rich history includes links to the Jacobite Uprising through notable historical figures associated with the area.
In the early 18th century, Major William Caulfeild, the successor to General George Wade in military road building, was instructed to investigate a route between Inverness and Perth, for the construction of a military road. A line from Blairgowrie to Braemar by way of the Spittal of Glenshee, was surveyed in 1748 and construction began in 1749. It would be the last of the major military roads to be built in the Highlands. Today it passes through the town on the line of the A923 and A93, the Coupar Angus Road, Gas Brae and Boat Brae.
Blairgowrie has a long history in the textile industry, and historically played a significant role in Scotland's linen industry with mills situated on the banks of the River Ericht.
By the end of the 18th century, the Blairgowrie area was also a huge centre for growing flax with 12 spinning mills in the town at production heights.
Blairgowrie is the largest town in Perthshire and is perhaps best known for its succulent soft fruit - raspberries, strawberries and others, some of which are supplied to the Lawn Tennis Association during Wimbledon fortnight, and which are available to buy locally in shops, often on the day they are picked, or directly from the growers during the summer season.
The coming of the railway revolutionised the textile and soft fruit trade. Blairgowrie railway station was the terminus of a branch line from Coupar Angus on the Scottish Midland Junction Railway, later part of the Caledonian Railway. The last train ran in the 1960s, and the extensive railway yards are now the site of the Tesco supermarket and Welton Road industrial estate.
Blairgowrie had a busy livestock market at the bottom of the Boat Brae but this closed in the 1960s and is now the site of the Ashgrove Court sheltered housing complex.
The town has a range of independent shops, craft workshops, restaurants, and pubs, and national retailers such as Tesco.
Today, The town is also home to the Blairgowrie Advertiser, a local weekly newspaper, and has regular Saturday outdoor markets in the Wellmeadow with stalls offering local produce and crafts.
In addition, Blairgowrie is the main start point for the 60-mile circular Cateran Trail that walkers can follow around the historic drove roads used by cattle rustlers.
@explorescotland
Music:
Two as One, David Celeste, Epidemic Sound.
Sing for Me, Howard Harper-Barnes, Epidemic Sound.
Known in Heaven, Joyspring, Epidemic Sound.
Links:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blairgo...
www.visitscotland.com/info/to...
visitcaterancountry.com/desti...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Militar...
00:00 A93
01:03 Perth Road
02:10 Perth Street
02:37 William Street
03:18 Coupar Angus Road
03:41 Gas Brae
03:56 Wellmeadow
04:29 Lesley Street
05:43 High Street
06:35 Allan Street
07:00 Mill Street
07:25 Lower Mill Street
07:44 Upper Mill Street
08:46 Commercial Street
09:01 Welton Road