Kirkmichael is a village located in Strathardle, Perth and Kinross

Perth and Kinross

Perth and Kinross is one of 32 council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee City, Fife, Clackmannanshire, Stirling, Argyll and Bute and Highland council areas. Perth is the administrative centre...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. It is midway between the towns of Blairgowrie

Blairgowrie and Rattray

Blairgowrie and Rattray and Raitear is possibly from an English language cognate of Gaelic ràth, meaning fortress + a Pictish term cognate with Welsh tref, meaning settlement) is a twin burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Amongst locals, the town is colloquially known simply as "Blair"...

 and Pitlochry

Pitlochry

Pitlochry , is a burgh in the council area of Perth and Kinross, Scotland, lying on the River Tummel. Its population according to the 2001 census was 2,564....

.

The name Kirkmichael means "The church of St. Michael", and the village dates back to the first millennium.

The Village

The village is split into two by the River Ardle

River Ardle

The River Ardle is a tributary of the River Ericht. It runs for through the valley of Strathardle in Perthshire, Scotland. It is a salmon river providing opportunities for angling.-Course:...

. On the north side is the A924 Main Street with the church, Session House community centre, Kirkmichael Hotel, shop, post office, garage and traditional properties dating from the late 19th century. On the south side are the Primary School, Bannerfield, the fire station, Williamston, the village hall, the disused Free Kirk, Sillerburn Road, Whitefield View, the cemetery, Balnald, Balnakilly and the Log Cabin Hotel on the road to Glen Derby. Approximately one third of the houses in the village are holiday or second homes. Permanent population is approx 150.

The original village known as Williamston sits above the School on the original public highway which is now part of the Cateran Trail

Cateran Trail

The Cateran Trail is a circular long distance walking route in central Scotland. The official start and end is at Blairgowrie, Perth and Kinross...

.

The School

Kirkmichael primary school sits on the south side of the bridge. The school's catchment area incorporates Strathardle, Kirkmichael, Glenshee, Blacklunans and Bridge of Cally. Pupils continue their secondary school education at Blairgowrie High School

Blairgowrie High School

Blairgowrie High School is a high school in Blairgowrie, Scotland. Blairgowrie High School has almost 900 students from Blairgowrie and the surrounding area.The current Rector is Mr G Miller....

.
Over its lifetime, the school has been extended from single storey to a two storey building and in 2007 a new nursery building was added.

The Kirks & Session House

The Church of Scotland

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

 Kirk dates back to the 18th century and is built on a site used for worship for over 1000 years. It is surrounded by the original graveyard which contains graves dating back to the time of the Black Death

Black Death

The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. Of several competing theories, the dominant explanation for the Black Death is the plague theory, which attributes the outbreak to the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Thought to have...

. The modern cemetery on Balnald Road was opened in the 1950s.

The disused Free Kirk, known as the Duff Memorial Church, was built in the late 19th century by the break away Free Church of Scotland

Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900)

The Free Church of Scotland is a Scottish denomination which was formed in 1843 by a large withdrawal from the established Church of Scotland in a schism known as the "Disruption of 1843"...

 and functioned until the 1950s. It was used as an agricultural store until 2000 but now sits empty.
The Session House Open Learning Centre offers a range of educational courses in conjunction with the University of the Highlands and Islands as well as being a meeting point for various community groups. It was originally the parish school.

The Village Shop

The village shop is run by a community interest company with five local unpaid directors and incorporates the post office, a coffee shop and a petrol station. The adjacent garage is home to Milford Vintage Engineering who specialise in the service, maintenance, repair and restoration of vintage and veteran vehicles. The garage ceased operating as a general repair garage in the 1990s.

The Hall

The Village Hall was opened in 1934 and is managed by a committee of volunteers. It is used by WRI, Freemasons, the local pre-school group and other youth groups as well as primary school PE classes and is home to local functions. It was extended in the 1950s and over the years there have been several plans to provide a new state-of-the-art facility, this project is ongoing.

The Fire Station

The Fire Station - the 3rd version built in the 1990s - is manned by a part time volunteer crew with a modern water tender ladder. The original 1960s station was a wooden hut adjacent to Riverview containing equipment and a trailer pump with Kirkmichael Garage providing a towing vehicle as required. The second station was on the present site in Bannerfield and was a basic tin Nissen Hut shed housing a Karrier Bantam water ladder tender appliance but with no crew facilities. The current station is fitted and equipped to a high standard with office and training facilities.

Bannerfield

Bannerfield - where the Earl of Mar

Earl of Mar

The Mormaer or Earl of Mar is a title that has been created seven times, all in the Peerage of Scotland. The first creation of the earldom was originally the provincial ruler of the province of Mar in north-eastern Scotland...

 raised the standard for the Jacobite rising of 1715 - provides car parking, a recycling depot, a riverside picnic area and a public area incorporating the football pitch.

The War Memorial

The War Memorial sits above the road between the village and the Strathardle Inn and along with Ballinloan on the B950 and the Log Cabin Hotel provides the best view of Kirkmichael.

The Small Monument

At the junction of the A924/B950 sits the James Small (1835-1900) of Dirnanean monument, a highly ornate celtic cross erected in honour of a former Lord Lieutenant of Perthshire.

Whitefield Castle

Off the footpath from the village to Glenshee lies Whitefield Castle, a ruined hunting lodge built by Malcolm Canmore

Malcolm III of Scotland

Máel Coluim mac Donnchada , was King of Scots...

 in the 12th century.

The Minister's Well

The old roadside well opposite the church is fed by an underground spring which never runs dry. The ice cold water has an excellent clean sharp taste and is completely drinkable.

The Games

Strathardle Highland Gathering & Agricultural Show is held annually in Kirkmichael on the fourth Saturday of August. The Gathering is currently held in Bannerfield with the Agricultural Show in an adjacent field. Known locally as "the Games", the highlights of the day include:

• Agricultural Show with various livestock classes.
• Home Industries Tent
• Vintage Vehicles
• Trade Stands
• Pipe Band
• Highland Dancing & Piping Competitions
• Track & Heavy Events
• Open Tug'o'War
• The Robertson Cup Tug'o'War local competition between Strathardle and Blackwater
• A Unique Musical Cars event - similar to musical chairs but involving cars driving round the ring.
• Funfair

The Gathering started in the late 19th century and was held in various locations including Croft of Dounie, Aldchlappie and Dalnagairn before settling in its current Bannerfield location in the late 1940s. The Agricultural Show started in the late 1950s and now attracts a large entry of quality livestock. For over a century three generations of the Evans family from Glasgow attended the Gathering with their travelling funfair and "Evans shows" as they were known were an integral part of the Games and of village life. In the 1950s and 1960s the fair stayed for two weeks and attracted huge crowds with bingo, slot machines and shooting the main attractions but sadly the fair made its last visit in 2009.

The Glen

Kirkmichael is the largest village in Strathardle. Known locally as "the glen", the Strath

Strath

A strath is a large valley, typically a river valley that is wide and shallow .An anglicisation of the Gaelic word srath, it is one of many that have been absorbed into common use in the English language...

runs for 13 miles from Glen Brerachean on the Moulin Moors to the confluence of the River Ardle and the Blackwater just east of Bridge of Cally. Other settlements along the A924 are Straloch, Enochdhu, Ballintuim and Bridge of Cally. The Ardle starts opposite the road to Glenfernate where the Brerachean and the Fernate meet and is bridged at Enochdhu, Kirkmichael, Pitcarmick, Ballintuim, Blackcraig, Cally Lodge and Bridge of Cally.

Public transport connects Kirkmichael with Blairgowrie, Tarvie and Spittal of Glenshee. (See Stagecoach Buses for the seasonal timetable.) The nearest railway station is Pitlochry (12 miles) from where there is direct express service to London including the Caledonian overnight sleeper.

Accommodation

There are three hotels, Kirkmichael Hotel, Strathardle Inn and the Log Cabin Hotel. Kirkmichael Hotel was originally a large coaching inn but is now partly converted to flats with the remaining part operating as a small hotel/restaurant/bar. Strathardle Inn was traditionally called Aldchlappie Hotel. The Log Cabin Hotel was built from Norwegian logs in the 1960s.

Kirkmichael offers a choice of self-catering holiday and b&b properties ranging from traditional cottages to apartments, bungalows and log cabins.