Through a Highlands Narnia to a great pub: the Taybank, Dunkeld

An appetite-inducing seven-mile hike through the woods of the Atholl Estates returns you to the village of Dunkeld, and its renowned, musical local

One of Perthshire’s most photogenic villages, Dunkeld could easily have tumbled out of the pages of a Beatrix Potter storybook – so it comes as no surprise to learn that the writer spent many happy summers here. Its 17th- and 18th-century whitewashed cottages, rebuilt after the battle of Killicrankie in 1689, have been restored to Mrs Tiggy Winkle-esque-perfection by the National Trust for Scotland.

The high street is strung with cute cafes, delis and galleries. This is where Flora Shedden, Great British Bake Off semi-finalist, opened her artisan bakery, Aran, all bright white tongue-and-groove along with a bijoux grocery store, Lòn, round the corner. On the grassy banks of the River Tay there’s a romantic ruined 14th-century cathedral.