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Alyth () ( gd, Ailt) is a town in
Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland and S ...
, Scotland, northeast of Blairgowrie and about northwest of
Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...
. In 2016 the town had an estimated population of 2,400. First mentioned by name in a 12th-century royal charter of William the Lion, Alyth for many centuries was an important market town and entrepôt on long-established drove roads by which Highland farmers brought their sheep and cattle to lowland markets. Another royal charter in 1488, from James III of Scotland granted Alyth the status of
Burgh of Barony A burgh of barony was a type of Scottish town (burgh). Burghs of barony were distinct from royal burghs, as the title was granted to a landowner who, as a tenant-in-chief, held his estates directly from the crown. (In some cases, they might also ...
entitled to stage markets and fairs. The 17th-century stone Packhorse Bridge still stands in the middle of the town (now pedestrian-only), later joined by two other stone bridges for wheeled traffic, emphasising the settlement’s importance as a river-crossing. Agricultural improvements and expanding markets for livestock in the south contributed to Alyth’s prosperity during the 18th and early 19th centuries, while water-power provided by the Alyth Burn plus, later, steam-power helped the development of a local textile industry specialising in linen. Steam power also brought the
Alyth Railway The Alyth Railway was a short branch railway line built in Strathmore in Scotland, connecting the town of Alyth to the main line network. It opened in 1861. Its junction was remote from any large population centre except Dundee, which was only re ...
to the town in 1861, accompanied by growth during the later 19th century in retailing along with hotels for holidaymakers, golfers and country sports enthusiasts. Today, industry has largely gone, but Alyth retains many shops and businesses serving the local area. The town has one of only two museums in Perthshire outside Perth (the other being the Atholl Countylife Museum), as well as a flourishing community of artists and a growing tourism economy. The boundaries of Alyth Community Council also encompass the hamlet of New Alyth (population c350), about southwest of the town, together with a handful of smaller hamlets and steadings giving a total population of just over 3,000.


History and archaeology

In late medieval times Scottish kings used the nearby Forest of Alyth for hunting during their progress around the country. They probably occupied the royal castle of Inverquiech just east of the town (where Edward I of England stayed during his campaign against the Scots in 1296) or the castle of Corb, a royal hunting-lodge in Glenshee in the north-west of the Forest. north of Alyth is Bamff House which has been held by the Ramsay family since 1232, when King Alexander II granted the estate to his physician Nessus de Ramsay. Bamff today is an ecotourism destination and, since 2002, home to a reintroduced population of wild beavers. Bamff is currently undergoing a major 'rewilding' project. Alyth's
Pack Bridge Pack Bridge is a bridge in the Scottish town of Alyth, Perth and Kinross. Intended to carry packhorses loaded with panniers across Alyth Burn, it is one of the oldest masonry bridges in Scotland and is shown on maps as far back as 1600, but is ...
(intended to carry packhorses loaded with sidebags or panniers across the burn) is one of the oldest masonry bridges in Scotland and is shown on maps as far back as 1600. During the years of civil and religious conflict in the mid-17th century, the town was the scene of a dramatic incident known as the ‘Onfall of Alyth’ (28 August 1651). The town had been chosen as the rendezvous for the Committee of Estates, effectively the Scottish government at that time, to organise resistance to the English Parliamentarian invasion forces under General Monck, then besieging Dundee. The Committee was betrayed and surprised by a force of Parliamentarian cavalry, and in the fighting that ensued the Earl of Leven (commander of the Scottish forces), the Earl of Crawford, the Earl Marischal, Lord Nairne and other prominent persons, including the Minister of Alyth, Rev. John Rattray, were captured and sent to the Tower of London. This event temporarily extinguished the Scottish Government of the time. Next to the Pack Bridge, on Pitnacree Street, is the site of one of the town's two textile mills. In the 18th century, Alyth became heavily involved in flax processing for the linen textile industry, and spinning and especially hand-loom weaving dominated local employment. The Alyth Arches, visible from the centre of the town looking north, stand on the site of what is probably Alyth's oldest Christian church dating back to the 6th century and dedicated to St Moluag, a contemporary of
St. Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is toda ...
. They formed part of the old parish church, which was abandoned in 1839 when the present fine new church was erected 200 yards to the west. There are also a number of graves, some of which are of notable local people, including James Sandy, the inventor of the invisible hinge. The current parish church building, completed in 1839 to the design of Edinburgh architect Thomas Hamilton, dominates the skyline of the town. It is
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
in style, with Romanesque influences, especially in the windows, and has an unusually high spire. Inside the church is the funerary hatchment of Sir George Ramsay (sixth baronet of Bamff) who was killed in a
duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...
at
Musselburgh Musselburgh (; sco, Musselburrae; gd, Baile nam Feusgan) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It has a population of . History The name Musselburgh is Ol ...
, in April 1790 - one of the last duelling deaths in Scotland. In the church porch is preserved a late 7th-early 8th century Pictish cross-slab, with a decorated cross on one face and a single Pictish symbol ('double disc and Z-rod') on the other. It was discovered in Alyth in 1887 when ground was being levelled in front of the
manse A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...
. Alyth retains a physical link with the Napoleonic Wars in the form of a church bell from Brittany. It was captured in 1810 from a French frigate taken by HMS Horatio and was sent as a gift to Alyth by John Warden, a son of the owner of the Bamff Arms, who served on the ship. It remains on display in
Alyth Town Hall Alyth Town Hall is a municipal structure in Albert Street in Alyth, Scotland. The structure, which is currently used as a community events venue, is not yet listed. History The building was commissioned as a result of a local initiative to rai ...
. During the Second World War, Alyth formed a close bond with units of the Polish armed forces in exile formed from troops escaping from the Nazi conquest of Poland. There was an active Scottish-Polish Society branch in the town, and several memorials were erected to commemorate the bond. Across the road from the entrance to the Alyth Arches stands the town's old mercat cross, which served as a symbolic representation of the right to hold a regular market or fair. The main annual market was held on St Moluag's name day (25 June) every year in the vicinity of the church and nearby Woolmarket. In the middle of the new Pitcrocknie housing development on the north east edge of the town, is a fine example of a late Neolithic or early Bronze Age Standing Stone. Called the Pitcrocknie Stone it is made out of very fine garnet bearing schist. To the northeast of the town a hill fort, possibly of Pictish date or earlier, stands atop Barry (or 'barrow') Hill. It is considered to be one of the best preserved examples of an enclosed hilltop settlement in Scotland. The remains consist of massive collapsed stone ramparts that take advantage of the topography of the Hill. Local legend connects the fort with
King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...
, and Hector Boece's ''History and Chronicles of Scotland'' claims that Guanora, the Scottish name for
Guinevere Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First ment ...
, Arthur's queen, was imprisoned here for a very short time(page 86). Another nearby early medieval feature is a Pictish 'Class I' symbol stone in a field on Bruceton Farm somewhat to the east of Alyth. The southeast face of this slab is incised with two Pictish symbols - an arch with traces of internal ornament above a finely scrolled Pictish beast - and is one of relatively few likely still to be in its original position. It may have marked an ancient burial.


Archaeological excavation of a souterrain - Shanzie Farm

A late
British Iron Age The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ire ...
souterrain ''Souterrain'' (from French ''sous terrain'', meaning "under ground") is a name given by archaeologists to a type of underground structure associated mainly with the European Atlantic Iron Age. These structures appear to have been brought northw ...
was excavated by a team of
Headland Archaeology Headland Archaeology Ltd is a wholely owned subsidiary of the RSK Group. Headland provides archaeological services and heritage advice to the construction industry. Company history Headland Archaeology Ltd was established in 1996. Headquartered ...
in Shanzie Farm, c 3.5. north-east of Alyth. The underground structure was roughly C-shaped in plan and measured c 35 metres in length. There was a single chamber c 5m long and an entrance to the south-east. For the most part, the souterrain had been badly plough truncated and the walls survived as a single course. The northern terminal of the souterrain was better preserved, where 3-4 courses of wall survive. The chamber here narrowed and had been filled with rubble to a depth. The walls also started to corbell inwards indicating this was originally a stone-capped structure rather than timber roofed. No evidence of an associated settlement or any other surface features were identified; these have undoubtedly been lost to the plough. The structure is typical of the 'southern Pictland group'. The souterrain had clearly been broken into during the Victorian period, but also, during medieval times. Finds included several types of late
prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of ...
pottery, a fragment of probable Roman pottery, an amber ring, a pair of tweezers, a brooch or clasp, two copper alloy rings and a fragment from a quern stone. The souterrain was partially backfilled allowing visitors to see the structure in plan.


Governance

Alyth lies within the
Perth & Kinross Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland a ...
council area of eastern central Scotland. The town is the second largest settlement within Ward 2 (Strathmore) of
Perth & Kinross Council Perth and Kinross Council ( gd, Comhairle Pheairt is Cheann Rois) is the local government council for the Perth and Kinross council area of Scotland. It employs around 6,000 people. The council was created in 1996, under the ''Local Governmen ...
, which is currently (2020) represented by four councillors - two Conservative, one SNP and one Liberal Democrat. Alyth lies within the
Perth and North Perthshire Perth and North Perthshire is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency was created in 2005. ...
constituency of the UK Parliament and the Perthshire North constituency of the
Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
. In 1488,
King James III James III (10 July 1451/May 1452 – 11 June 1488) was King of Scots from 1460 until his death at the Battle of Sauchieburn in 1488. He inherited the throne as a child following the death of his father, James II of Scotland, King James II, at th ...
made Alyth a Burgh of Barony, a status it retained until 1834 when it became a
Police burgh A police burgh was a Scottish burgh which had adopted a "police system" for governing the town. They existed from 1833 to 1975. The 1833 act The first police burghs were created under the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833 (3 & 4 Wm IV c.46). This ...
with its own law enforcement and other functions under the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act, 1833. In 1624, the lands around Alyth passed from the Lindsay Earls of Crawford into the hands of the local Ogilvy family, and the first Earl of Airlie acquired the feudal superiority of the burgh. Baron Ogilvy of Alith and Lintrathen remains a subsidiary title of the Earls of Airlie. Throughout these centuries, Alyth was a distinct parish within the Scottish local government system, situated mostly within the historic county of
Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...
but also partly within
Forfarshire Angus ( sco, Angus; gd, Aonghas) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agri ...
until 1891 when, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, it was moved wholly within Perthshire. In 1894, Alyth became a civil parish and later, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929, a 'small burgh' following the abolition of Scotland's parish councils. Almost 80 years later, the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered local government in Scotland on 16 May 1975. The Act followed and largely implemented the report of the Royal Commission on Local Gove ...
created Alyth Community Council with boundaries taking in the minor settlements of Tullymurdoch and Bamff to the north, Shanzie to the east, and New Alyth, Balhary and Leitfie to the south.


Geography

Alyth lies north of Edinburgh and north of London. The town straddles the burn which bears its name, at the point where the burn descends from the Perthshire Highlands to the lowland Vale of Strathmore. Most of the town lies in a shallow, sheltered basin around 330 feet (100 metres) above sea-level, nestled under the Hill of Alyth (970 feet or 295 metres) which is part of the southern edge of the Perthshire Highlands. The underlying geology is
Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...
-age Old Red Sandstone ( 400 million years old) overlain by glacial deposits left behind by the Pleistocene ice ages. Alyth lies just a few miles southeast of the Highland Boundary Fault which divides the Scottish Highlands from the
Scottish Lowlands The Lowlands ( sco, Lallans or ; gd, a' Ghalldachd, , place of the foreigners, ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Lowlands and the Highlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowl ...
. The Alyth Burn bisects the town and is crossed by two road bridges and four footbridges, including the 17th-century Packhorse Bridge. Alyth’s built environment comprises the mediaeval street pattern northeast of the burn where the ancient drove roads converge on the river crossing, and the more planned nineteenth-century street grid to the south and southwest of the crossings. The town is the only significant built-up area within the Alyth Community Council boundaries, most of which is upland pasture and grouse moor or lowland arable land. Three golf courses occupy a significant area of land to the south and east of the town. Apart from the extension of the golf courses, land-use around Alyth has changed only marginally in the past 80 years.


Den of Alyth

The Den of Alyth is a wooded gorge lying on either side of the Alyth Burn northwest of the village. Just under 33 hectares (82 acres) of the Den are designated a
Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...
(SSSI), important for its upland mixed ash woodland. It is also part of the River Tay Special Area of Conservation, designated for its importance to Atlantic Salmon, otter and various species of lamprey. Alyth Den includes a number of abandoned quarries which provided much of the stone for buildings within the town in earlier times. The Den was gifted to the town by the Earl of Airlie in 1923. Today it is a popular destination for walkers, cyclists and naturalists.


Demography

According to the National Records of Scotland mid-2016 estimates, Alyth has a population of about 2,400. In 2011, the split was 48.5% male, 51.5% female. The age distribution of Alyth’s population differs somewhat from Scotland, with 15.7% aged 16 or under (Scotland 17.3%), 59.3% aged 16–64 (Scotland 65.9%), and 25% aged 65 or older (Scotland 16.8%). The median age of males and females living in Alyth was 46 and 48 respectively, compared with 40 and 42 for Scotland as a whole. Alyth is growing more slowly than comparable towns in Scotland, with population growth of only 4% and net migration of only 1% between 2001 and 2011. Just over 97% of Alyth’s population were white Scottish or other British in 2011, compared with just under 92% for Scotland overall. Economically active people made up 65.5% of the population (Scotland 69%), with 21.4% retired (Scotland 14.9%) and 3.7% unemployed (Scotland 4.8%).


Economy

Tourism accommodation, construction, retail, property, education and the motor trades are the main employment sectors, with smaller but still significant proportions in the arts, business admin and health. About 36% of the working population commute more than 5 km, with Dundee, Blairgowrie and Perth being the main destinations. Alyth has slightly fewer jobs per head of population than similar towns and saw a small decline (-4%) in the number of jobs between 2009 and 2014. Just over 50% of the adult population are employees, just under 10% self-employed, and a little over 20% are retired. Over 70% of jobs are full-time, and almost 30% part-time. Alyth has a more diverse retail sector and more people per shop than similar towns in Scotland, and also more tourist beds per head of population.


Culture and community

In 2021, Alyth Development Trust and other groups in the town carried out a major consultation on developing a Community Action Plan to identify and prioritise new initiatives that the people of the town wanted to see implemented. Several hundred responses were received and the results were collated into a five-year vision for the town, which was launched in March 2022


Culture

Alyth is part of the Cateran Ecomuseum, a new 'museum without walls' launched in 2019. Set across 1,000 square kilometres of eastern Perthshire and western Angus, all its sites are outside. It is Scotland's second ecomuseum and the only one on the mainland. The Alyth Museum is run by Perth Museum and is open from May through September. It exhibits pictures and objects reflecting life as it was in and around Alyth and is also the new home of the Story Box archive, where visitors can listen to the voices and stories of Alyth told by the folk of the town. The museum offers access to the Alyth Arches. There is an active Alyth Family History Project, based at the Parish Church since 2009, which has assembled a large archive of photographs and genealogical records. The Alyth & District Agricultural Show takes place annually each June. "Alyth Creates" is the town's annual arts festival, run by Alyth Arts & Crafts Guild. A golf club was established in Alyth in 1894. The original nine-hole course was designed by
Old Tom Morris Thomas Mitchell Morris (16 June 1821 – 24 May 1908), otherwise known as Old Tom Morris, and The Grand Old Man of Golf, was a Scottish golfer. He was born in St Andrews, Fife, the "home of golf" and location of the St Andrews Links, and died t ...
of St. Andrews and was modified and extended to 18 holes by James Braid in 1934. Alyth Golf Club had its own halt on the Alyth railway branch line between 1861 and 1951. A further two golf clubs have opened since, the Strathmore Golf Centre (1986) with an 18- and a nine-hole course, and the 18-hole Glenisla Club in 1992. The Glenisla Club closed in 2016 with half the course being sold off for housing development and the other half being taken over by Alyth Golf Club to create a new nine-hole course alongside its existing 18-hole course. The Alyth Voice is a free monthly community magazine produced and distributed by volunteers, launched in May 1997.


Community facilities

Alyth has a public library, run by Perth & Kinross Council. Health and medical services in Alyth are provided by NHS Scotland via Alyth Health Centre. There is also a dental practice operating as Infinityblu Dental Care. The Diamond Jubilee Park, containing a recreation ground and children's play park, was gifted to the people of Alyth by the then Earl of Airlie to mark Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897. It includes a football pitch which is home to Alyth Amateur Football Club. The park is managed by Perth & Kinross Council. In 2022, a community initiative raised £60,000 to build a new 665-metre multi-user path around the Park. Nearby, on the bank of Alyth Burn, is Mill Street Park containing another play-park for young children. There is an extensive network of 'core footpaths' in and around Alyth maintained by Perth & Kinross Council. Alyth Hill is owned by the Scottish Government. It is mostly open to the public and managed by Forestry Scotland. An active voluntary group, the Alyth Hill Users' Group, represents the community's interests on the Hill, managing both the Community Orchard they established in 2011 and the Alyth Community Woodland established by the Forestry Commission in 2007.


Religion

Alyth has three churches: Alyth Parish Church (Church of Scotland), completed in 1839; St Ninian's Church (Scottish Episcopal Church), completed in 1856; and St Luan's Church (Catholic Church in Scotland).


Landmarks

Alyth Parish Church (completed in 1839) is notable for its unusually high steeple, visible from many parts of the town and from the roads and fields surrounding it. The Alyth Arches (see History and Archaeology section above) are also a prominent landmark visible from the centre of the town. The grand Alyth Town Hall on Albert Street was built in 1887. Balhary House, south of Alyth, is a Grade A-listed late Georgian country house. The Hill of Alyth and Barry Hill dominate the town to the northwest and north. There are several war memorials in the town: the main war memorial on the Market Muir at the southern end of Airlie Street commemorates 119 local men who died in World War I, together with 33 who died in World War II and one who died in the
Falklands Campaign The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland I ...
. Located beside this is the memorial to Alfred Anderson, who was the last surviving Scottish veteran of WW1, last survivor of the
Christmas Truce ckb: ئاگربەستی کریسماس The Christmas truce (german: Weihnachtsfrieden; french: Trêve de Noël; nl, Kerstbestand) was a series of widespread unofficial ceasefires along the Western Front of the First World War around Christ ...
of 1914, and Scotland’s oldest man when he died in 2005. In the Market Square, there is a memorial to three local men who died in the Second Boer War. There are a number of other war memorials inside Alyth Parish Church, St Ninian's Church and other buildings in the town. north of Alyth, on the River Isla, is the spectacular waterfall of Reekie Linn, from the Gaelic for "misty pool". The River Isla has carved a 45-metre-deep gorge down from the hard igneous rock of the Highlands to the softer sandstone of Strathmore, creating two falls of 6 metres and 18 metres. When the River Isla is in spate the two falls merge to create a single drop of 24 metres. At the base of the waterfall is a dark cave called Black Dub, where legend has it an outlaw once hid until the devil appeared before him in the form of a giant black dog.  The outlaw was so scared that he turned himself in the next day.


Transport


Roads

Alyth lies just north of the junction of the A926 (connecting Blairgowrie and Kirriemuir) and the B954 (connecting Dundee and Glenisla). The B952 loops through the town itself, from the A925/B954 junction back to the B954 just east of the town.


Railway

Alyth was the terminus of the
Alyth Railway The Alyth Railway was a short branch railway line built in Strathmore in Scotland, connecting the town of Alyth to the main line network. It opened in 1861. Its junction was remote from any large population centre except Dundee, which was only re ...
, a branch from the
Scottish Midland Junction Railway The Scottish Midland Junction Railway was authorised in 1845 to build a line from Perth to Forfar. Other companies obtained authorisation in the same year, and together they formed a route from central Scotland to Aberdeen. The SMJR opened its ...
. Alyth railway station opened in 1861 and closed to passenger traffic in 1951, although goods traffic continued until 1965. The site of the former railway station, now occupied by housing, is remembered in the name Mart Street, where livestock auctions were held after they moved from the Market Muir. The nearest
ScotRail ScotRail Trains Limited, trading as ScotRail ( gd, Rèile na h-Alba), is a Scottish train operating company that is publicly owned by Scottish Rail Holdings on behalf of the Scottish Government. It has been operating the ScotRail franchise a ...
stations nowadays are Dundee railway station and Perth railway station (Scotland).


Cycling

Alyth is part of the Strathmore Cycle Network, a project to develop a series of dedicated cycle tracks connecting three local towns via country lanes and specially-built paths avoiding main roads.


Education

Alyth has a primary school with around 170 pupils. Alyth High School (built in 1885) catered for pupils up to fourth year until it was closed in 1994, when all pupils were moved to
Blairgowrie High School Blairgowrie High School is a high school in Blairgowrie, Scotland. Blairgowrie High School has 719 students (as of September census) from Blairgowrie and the surrounding area. The current head teacher is Beverly Leslie. History The school was ...
or
Webster's High School Webster's High School is a secondary school in Kirriemuir, Angus, Scotland. The school has run for over 150 years, and there are over 650 pupils in the school. The school has 4 houses; Isla, Moy, Prosen and Clova, The houses are named after Angu ...
situated in nearby Kirriemuir. The Primary School was rebuilt and extended in 2018.


Notable people

* David Smart, a prominent late nineteenth-century architect. * Andy Stewart, front man of the 1970s Scottish folk band, Silly Wizard, was born in Alyth. * William Lyon Mackenzie (1795-1861), an important figure in Canadian history, lived and worked on Toutie Street in Alyth from 1814 to 1817. He then emigrated to Canada where he became a celebrated (or notorious) newspaper editor, radical, and politician. * Sir Francis Aglen (1869-1932), head of the Chinese Maritime Customs service from 1911 to 1927, which was one of the most important posts in the administration of China at that time, grew up in Alyth and returned to live in the town following his retirement. *Professor
John M. Mackenzie John MacDonald MacKenzie (born 2 October 1943) is a British historian of imperialism who pioneered the study of popular and cultural imperialism, as well as aspects of environmental history. He has also written about Scottish migration and t ...
, the British historian of imperialism who pioneered the study of popular and cultural imperialism, as well as aspects of environmental history, lives in Alyth. *
Alfred Anderson Alfred Anderson may refer to: * Alfred Anderson (American football) (born 1961), former American football running back * Alfred Anderson (entrepreneur) (1888–1956), Australian butcher and entrepreneur * Alfred Anderson (pianist) (1848–1876), Au ...
, the last surviving Scottish veteran of WW1, last survivor of the Christmas Truce of 1914, and Scotland’s oldest man when he died in 2005. * Sir James Ramsay, 10th Baronet, historian and landowner. * Dr William Warden, Royal Navy surgeon who caused a furore when his account of conversations with
Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
in exile on
St Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...
were published in 1816. *
James Young Geddes James Young Geddes (18501913) was a Scottish poet. Born in Dundee, he spent much of his youth and later life in Alyth Alyth () ( gd, Ailt) is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, northeast of Blairgowrie and about northwest of Dundee. ...
, poet and one-time chairman of Alyth Town Council. Alyth has also been home to many traditional folk singers including the late
Sheila Stewart Sheila Stewart (7 July 1937 – 9 December 2014) was a Scotland, Scottish traditional singer, storyteller, and author. She inherited a large number of traditional songs from older family members, including her mother Belle Stewart. Biography ...
and Folk Trio Bob, Tony & Paddy Stewart.


See also

* Meigle Sculptured Stone Museum


References


External links


Alyth in ScotlandGenuki.org.uk''Den of Alyth: Local Walks''
- Perth and Kinross Council {{Authority control Towns in Perth and Kinross Highland Boundary Fault