Quarrymill Woodland Park

Visitor Centre, Quarrymill Woodland Park
©2022 Gazetteer for Scotland

Visitor Centre, Quarrymill Woodland Park

An accessible woodland in Perth & Kinross, Quarrymill Woodland Park is located a mile (1.5 km) southwest of Scone and similar distance north of the centre of Perth. It represents the lower reaches of the Den of Scone, on the course of the Annaty Burn, and was bought in 1933 by the local philanthropist and whisky baron A.K. Bell (1868 -1942) for the benefit of the people of Perth. Bell's Gannochy Trust, together with Perth & Kinross District Council and the then Countryside Commission (now NatureScot) developed Quarrymill Woodland Park in the 1990s, laying out three waymarked walks, named Pine Tree (1.5 km in length), Millstone (750m) and Mill Pond (1.2 km) all starting from the car park. There are a wide range of trees and shrubs, along with wild flowers and ferns. Facilities include a visitor centre, barbecue and picnic areas and a coffee shop.

Records suggest sandstone was extracted from a quarry here from as early as 1328. The stone was used for St. John's Kirk and Smeaton's Bridge in Perth, and numerous other buildings nearby. According to local legend, in 1296 when it was known that King Edward I was going to remove the Stone of Destiny to England, monks from Scone Abbey replaced it with a stone taken from Quarrymill and it is this replacement which rests in Edinburgh Castle today. Weaving was a later activity, with several mills spinning cotton in the 18th century.


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