In preparation for the new season, a bike ride from Perth out to Dunning, and on to the Tullibardine Distillery (Blackford), and then on a loop all the way around Gleneagles golf course.. cycled back to Perth taking in Auchterarder, Findo Gask and Tibbermore along the way.. A day out covering 90km along cycle friendly roads.
On the way out, just past Dunning, there is the ‘Maggie Wall monument’ (from 1657), which commemorates over 4,000 women who were caught up in the witch hysteria between the 16th and early 18th century, and who were executed in Scotland for witchcraft.
We recommend that you do your own research prior to visiting this site, as while there is no record of anybody actually called Maggie Wall, records however do show that around eight women were condemned as witches and then killed in Dunning during the same period (in 1663, six women were executed in Dunning, in a wood on the other side of the village), so this also tells us that Maggie Wall was therefore not the last person to be burned at the stake as a witch (according to the Perthshire Tourist Map).. also, records show that the last woman burnt as a witch in Scotland was in fact Janet Horne, in 1722, at Dornoch (a seaside town up near Tain, on the east coast).
According to local reports, a wreath is left at this location near Dunning each year, with a card saying 'In memory of Maggie Wall, Burnt by the Church in the Name of Christianity'.
When delving into local history, it seems that religion was very often the root cause of many issues that had an impact on the local population - in between the early 16th century and the mid-18th century, judicial proceedings were common with ‘the crimes of witchcraft’ (Scottish Gaelic: buidseachd), and all in the name of Christianity!.. It seems that back in those days the church had an issue with outspoken women? - it is also worth noting here that while the real Macbeth was king of Scotland from 1040 until 1057, Shakespeare’s version of Macbeth was first published in 1623, which was during the height of the witchcraft trials across Europe, and in his version we first see the inclusion of those 3 witches/weird sisters (witchcraft) into Macbeth’s storyline!
For more info on some of our bike tours covering Tibbermore (filming location for tv series Outlander), or famous whisky distilleries located here in Highland Perthshire;
https://www.highlandbiketours....
For more info on our ‘Macbeth Tour’ which includes an e-bike ride from Birnam Wood over to Dunsinane Hill (Macbeth’s fort);
https://www.highlandbiketours....
All photos by HBT
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How to book your Tour
There are no cash payments at the premises, so all tours must be booked in advance, or paid by debit or credit card (at the shop/hub) prior to the tour.
Please note that there are only a maximum of 4 places on any given tour.
To reserve your place on one of our tours you can either use the Fareharbor Booking system (via orange BOOK NOW link), send us an email to [email protected], or simply complete the Contact Us section. As there are only 4 slots on any of our tours we operate on a first-come first-served basis with all our bookings. Please also include the height of each person - We will then supply you with the correct frame size.
It is also worth mentioning that if the ‘private tour’ option has been booked in advance then there are no other places or bikes available on that day. For more info about the ‘private tour’ (from 1 up to a maximum of 3 people for the same fee) please see our Tours section, or simply contact us by email or via the website.
Highland Bike Tours (HBT) make use of Hybrid road E-Bikes with a classic Dutch design, so suitable to use while wearing casual clothing. You can view images of these e-bikes on the FAQs page (see above), or on our Instagram link (see below).
Solo travellers wishing to take part in a Bike Tour: Although there is the 'private tour' option (for 1 to 3 people), all of our shared tours require a minimum of two people, so if you would like to take part in one of our tours and are travelling alone, then feel free to contact us with your preferred travel date, and we will do our best to match you up with others in a similar position.
Guided E-Bike Tours also in the Dutch language. NL: Samen met een Nederlandssprekende tourgids ervaar je al het moois dat de Schotse Hooglanden te bieden heeft op een unieke manier.
