The Hermitage is one of Scotland’s most beautiful woodland walks. It runs along the River Braan, a cascading torrent that flows into the River Tay at Dunkeld.
Complete with leaping salmon, it truly is a magical place. Its piece de resistance is Ossian’s Hall of Mirrors, a Georgian structure originally built in 1757 as a simple view house over the river for the 2nd Duke of Atholl.
With increased demand by tourists for locations revolving around romanticism, the house was redecorated in 1783 as a shrine to Ossian, a 3rd-century bard. Inside contains a painting of the famous poet and a hall of mirrors that give the appearance of water flowing from all angles. The house attracted many visitors including poet William Wordsworth, who described it as a “World of Wonder.”
In 1869, the building was destroyed by vandals possibly as a protest against increased taxation and was abandoned until 1943. During that year, the 8th Duchess of Atholl donated it to the National Trust for Scotland.
It was fully restored for the public to enjoy in 2007.
