Check dates and times of opening before travelling. Perth tourist office can be contacted at 01738 450600 PERTH Perth is an important and attractive town 20 miles up the Tay from Dundee. Many Dundee people travel to Dundee to shop. There are calm riverside walks and you can cross to Moncrieff Island in the middle of the river.   LOWER CITY MILLS You can watch oatmilling demonstrations and see the massive waterwheel and Victorian machinery. In addition to the oatmill there was once a barley and malt mill in the same building. The miller explains what is happening. You can buy freshly ground oatmeal here. It is normally open from April to October.

PERTH LEISURE POOL

There is a large swimminmg pool in Perth with waterslides and a number of other attractions. There is also an ice skating rink next door.

BRANKLYN GARDENS

This beautiful garden is well worth visiting with a relaxed atmosphere and a wonderful collection of plants.

KINNOUL HILL

There are tremendous views from this wooded craggy hill just outside the town towards Dundee. We found the walk to the top relatively easy. We parked in the Forestry Commission carpark. Take the turning for Kinfauns off the main Perth to Dundee road. Follow the signposts for Kinnoul and after a few miles you will come upon the carpark. Even with small children the walk will not take a long time and there are really rewarding views from the top. There is also an interesting lookout tower which you can see high up on the top of the hill from the main road at the bottom.

SCONE

Long ago the Scottish kings and queens were crowned at Scone seated on a stone. Ever since, there has been controversy about the removal of the stone from Scone by the English and the removal at night of the stone from Westminster Abbey in London. The Stone has now been returned to Scotland and is kept in Edinburgh. A replica can be seen at Scone. There is now a large house, Scone Palace, here containing an interesting collection of furniture, porcelain, clocks, ivories and needlework. There are fine trees in the grounds.

"GATEWAY TO THE HIGHLANDS"

North and West of Perth is an area of great beauty. Once, much of the land would have been covered by the Caledonian pine forest but now we have mostly hills and higher mountains covered by grassland and heather moorland. Only small areas of the forest remain. The glaciers of the last ice age and the heavy rainfall and snow in this area has created deep valleys (glens) with craggy rock faces and deep Lochs throughout the highlands.

From Perth you can travel west through Crieff, a most attractive town to visit with Scotland's oldest distillery, a crystal glass workshop, a pottery, a paperweight makers and shops. Then turn north up the Sma' Glen (Small Glen) to the attractive highland town of Aberfeldy, or continue West in the direction of Crianlarich, to visit Loch Earn, Loch Tay and some of the higher Grampian mountains on the way to Glen Coe and Fort William.

Alternatively, from Perth you can travel North along the A9 road. You can turn off this road to visit a number of attractive towns. Dunkeld has many old buildings and a Cathedral. The nearby Hermitage is reached by a pleasant riverside walk. Pitlochry has a large distillery and a salmon ladder to allow fish to get up the river past a dam. You can leave the A9 road at Pitlochry to visit Loch Tummel and Loch Rannoch. At the Pass of Killiecrankie you can visit the site of a battle. Near Blair Atholl is the spectacular Blair Castle. The road continues north through the mountains to Newtonmore, Kingussie and Aviemore where you can ski, visit the Caingorm mountain range and Loch Morlich. There is also a restored steam railway which runs between Aviemore and Boat of Garten. The road eventually reaches Inverness and the famous Loch Ness.

Most international students have no transport of their own. So you may think you cannot travel so far. Many international students go on organised bus trips to the highlands. If you are at Dundee University, ask Shahidah Shah at the Advisory Centre in Cross Row if any trips have been arranged. If you have an international driving licence (and enough money) a group may be able to hire a car for a short holiday. There is a railway line from Perth to Inverness following a similar route to the A9. You can therfore travel from Dundee to some of the places mentioned above. There are a number of campsites and Youth Hostels in the area if you want cheaper accommodation.

However you travel, it would be interesting to take time to walk in the hills. To explore, you need strong boots, waterproof clothes, warm jumpers, a warm drink and some high energy food, an Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 scale map and a compass. You need to know how to use these to find your way, or to go with someone else who can. If you want to climb, there are a number of very well known mountains, such as Cairngorm and Lochnagar in the area but with an Ordnance Survey Map you can find many other interesting climbs and plan your own route to the top. Leave early in the morning. Many of these hills will take a whole day to climb and you will want to finish and get back before dark. It is essential that you plan your route so you can get back in time. On rainy or foggy days it is hard to find your way in the clouds so get a weather forecast before setting out. Don't set out in winter without full winter gear and an experienced climber. A pleasant winter day in the valley could mean ice, deep snow, dangerously low Arctic temperatures, high winds and low visibility on the slopes. Every winter, some people who are caught in the hills by bad weather lose their lives. Both universities have active hill walking clubs and you may prefer to go walking in a group. The clubs tend to like a challenge and head for the higher hills.

You can also follow long distance paths through the hills. We once walked from Blair Atholl over the hills to Kingussie along a route used long ago by men herding cattle from the highlands to the markets in the lowlands. The trip required an overnight camping stop and, at one point, some careful map reading.

If you want to plan hill walking trips, why not go to the Central Library in Dundee where you can see all the Ordnance Survey maps. You cannot take maps away from the library so once you have decided where you want to walk you will have to buy the right map from a bookshop.