Weem Wood

Overview

Weem Wood lies on a steep craggy slope above the village of Weem just to the north-west of Aberfeldy.

This ancient woodland is home to many legends of dragons and demons that haunted the cliffs and caves. The walk rises steeply culminating with a fine view at St David's Well, a hermit's retreat used by St Cuthbert in the early days of Christianity. St David, the laird's son from nearby Castle Menzies, occupied it later when he took on an austere religious life in the fifteenth century.

The wood contains many fine specimen trees planted by the Menzies family in the nineteenth century to provide a spectacular backdrop to the castle and gardens. At this time Perthshire was at the forefront of the renaissance of Scottish forestry with many newly discovered species being introduced from abroad. Two local men were pre-eminent in plant collecting- David Douglas from Scone and Archibald Menzies from near Aberfeldy. Menzies worked in the adjacent walled garden, at Castle Menzies, as a lad before becoming a notable botanist and plant collector in the Americas.

There is a moderate-going, circular walk around Weem Wood which takes in the best features. Length approx 1 mile/1.5km.