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Birnam, Perth and Kinross

Field	Value
country	Scotland
official_name	Birnam
gaelic_name	Braonan
os_grid_reference	NO032417
coordinates
unitary_scotland	Perth and Kinross
lieutenancy_scotland	Perth and Kinross
constituency_westminster	Angus and Perthshire Glens
constituency_scottish_parliament	Perthshire North
constituency_scottish_parliament1	Mid Scotland and Fife
post_town	DUNKELD
postcode_district	PH8
postcode_area	PH
dial_code	01350

Birnam is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is located 12 mi north of Perth on the A9 road, the main tourist route through Perthshire, in an area of Scotland marketed as Big Tree Country. The village originated from the Victorian era with the coming of the railway in 1856, although the place and name is well known because William Shakespeare mentioned Birnam Wood in Macbeth: Prior to the construction of the railway, the only substantial building on the site of the present village was the church of Little Dunkeld parish, which still stands in its ancient position within a graveyard within the village. Dunkeld, to whose monastery Kenneth MacAlpin, the first King of Scotland, moved the bones of St. Columba around the middle of the ninth century, and which is notable for its cathedral, lies on the opposite bank of the river.

Governance

Birnam is in the Perth and Kinross council area, and in the Community Council area of Dunkeld and Birnam, which also includes Amulree, Butterstone, Dalguise, Kindallachan, Loch Ordie, and Strathbraan.

It is in the Perthshire North constituency for the Scottish Parliament where has been represented since 2011 by John Swinney for the SNP. It is in the Angus and Perthshire Glens constituency for the UK Parliament, where it is represented by Dave Doogan for the SNP.

Transport

In 1977, Birnam, along with neighbouring Dunkeld and Little Dunkeld, was bypassed by A9. The village is now approximately one hour from Glasgow and Edinburgh, and two hours from Inverness, by car. There are regular bus and coach services to Birnam and Dunkeld along the A9, with long-distance coaches operated by Scottish Citylink. There is access by rail at Dunkeld & Birnam railway station on the Highland Main Line route between Perth and Inverness. Most services on the route extend to either Edinburgh Waverley or Glasgow Queen Street; on Sundays only a southbound train operated by the East Coast Main Line operator extends to London King's Cross via Edinburgh, although there is no corresponding northbound service from London. A daily (except Saturday) London service is offered by the overnight Caledonian Sleeper trains to and from London Euston.

Notable people

John Everett Millais, who painted many local landscapes, and Beatrix Potter, with her family, often visited Birnam. Potter drafted her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, at Eastwood House whilst writing a story and picture letter to child friend Noel Moore on 4 September 1893. There is an exhibition and garden dedicated to Potter and her characters in Birnam.

Dr George Smyttan FRSE HEIC (1789-1863) was born and raised in Dunkeld, and retained links to Birnam all his life.

Attractions

There is an ancient tree, the Birnam Oak, standing a few hundred metres from the centre of Birnam on Murthly Estate. Traditionally, it was known as "The Hangman's Tree". The Birnam Oak is believed to be the only remaining tree from the Birnam Wood of Macbeth.

In addition to The Beatrix Potter Exhibition and Garden, Birnam also has a community-run arts and performance centre and library, Birnam Arts and Conference Centre.

The Birnam Highland Games is the location of the World Haggis Eating Championships.

Gallery

File:Birnam wood macbeth.jpg|Birnam Wood in 1800 File:Main_Street,_Birnam,_Scotland.jpg|Main Street, Birnam File:The_Birnam_Hotel,_Birnam,_Scotland.jpg|The Birnam Hotel File:Birnam Institute ca 2003.jpg|The Birnam Arts and Conference Centre File:Birnam Oak.JPG|The Birnam Oak

References

"Tay Forest Park".
"Macbeth, Act 5, scene 3".
"Find your Community Council".
"Dunkeld & Birnam Community Council".
(2021). "Perthshire North - Scottish Parliament constituency".
"Angus and Perthshire Glens - General election results 2024".
"Angus and Perthshire Glens - MapIt".
"Thomas Telford's Bridge". Dunkeld & Birnam Tourism Association.
"Citylink Scotland {{!}} Coach & Bus Trips {{!}} Plan Your Journey".
"Train Tickets {{!}} Train Journey Planner {{!}} ScotRail".
"Timetable Detail".
(13 July 2016). "Beatrix Potter's hidden Scottish link". BBC News.
"History". Eastwood House.
"Beatrix Potter Exhibition and Garden". Dunkeld & Birnam Tourism Association.
[[Smout, T. C.]], MacDonald, R. and Watson, Fiona (2007) ''A History of the Native Woodlands of Scotland 1500-1920''. Edinburgh University Press. {{ISBN. 978-0-7486-3294-7. p.78.
(2010). "The special qualities of the National Scenic Areas". Scottish Natural Heritage.
"About Birnam Arts". Birnam Arts.
(30 August 2008). "Scot claims haggis eating crown". BBC News.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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