Pitlochry - Festival Theatre & Dam

Navigating The Route

This is a circular Detective Mystery around Pitlochry Festival Theatre, the riverside and Pitlochry Dam, with Detectives helping Detective Chief Inspector Lou Tennant work out what happened to whisky magnate Anita Dram and how the case was carried out.

The investigation covers approximately 1.75 miles and should take around 2 hours to complete. You'll work through the town, follow the riverside, cross the dam, investigate paths through gardens, pass the station area and finish with several clues along Pitlochry's High Street.

This Trail is not suitable for wheelchairs or pushchairs. The route includes flights of steps, stretches without pavements, a road section with no pavements, steps over the fish ladder, a footbridge, downhill sections and paths through gardens.

Take care when crossing roads, including at the pedestrian crossing and mini-roundabout. Keep away from the water's edge and obey warning signs, as the dam has steep drops into open water. Stay alert on road sections with no pavements, and keep away from the edge on the station bridge and platform area.

Getting There

By car: Start your investigation at Atholl Road Car Park in the centre of Pitlochry (PH16 5BX). Park your squad car here - you'll need at least two hours to solve this case, and you're on foot from here.

By public transport: Make your way to Atholl Road Car Park in the centre of Pitlochry to begin. The route also passes Pitlochry station, including the station platform and footbridge to platform 1.

Need the Loo?

Public toilets are available off Station Road at Clue 15, making this a useful comfort stop part way through the investigation.

Bring Your Furry Sidekicks

Four-legged Detectives can join the investigation 🐾

Sniffer dogs should be supervised at all times. The route includes roads, sections without pavements, steps, riverside stretches, the dam, open water and the station bridge and platform area, so keep canine colleagues close, away from edges, and don't let them run ahead.

Food & Drink Stops

Solving a whisky magnate mystery is hungry work. There are refreshment stops and shops throughout the route, with cafes, pubs and great pub stops along the way. Hettie's tea room is on High Street, and there are many opportunities to pause for a picnic as the case unfolds.

Want to Make a Day of It?

Pitlochry Dam and fish ladder

The dam is one of the standout stops on this investigation. It's a working hydro-electric dam with a 310-metre salmon ladder, and the route crosses the dam using the Public access to Fish Ladder/Dam Visitors Centre route. Fish can be viewed swimming from weir to weir, via an underwater viewing station or a video from inside the visitor centre when open.

Pitlochry Festival Theatre

Pitlochry Festival Theatre brings proper drama to the case. Known for the slogan 'Stay Six Days, See Six Plays', its rare repertoire system means audiences can see a completely different production every night - sometimes two on matinee days - with constant set-swaps and backstage sorcery.

Pitlochry town centre

Pitlochry is a picturesque town with shops, cafes and pubs, and the route heads through the town before leading Detectives towards the riverside and dam. It became a tourist hotspot after Queen Victoria visited in 1842, and Robert Louis Stevenson stayed here later too.

Explorer's Garden

Keep your investigative eyes peeled on the riverside section for the information board about the Explorer's Garden. It's one of the places to look out for along the way, especially once the team is ready to swap suspect-chasing for a gentler pause.

High Street and Station Road

The final stretch brings the case back through several clues along Pitlochry's High Street and past the station area, including the Millennium clock, station platform and footbridge. To return to your squad car, proceed along High Street and cross at the pedestrian crossing to reach the car park.