The Pitlochry Autumn Festival runs from 16 October to 1 November 2009. One of the main events is the Enchanted Forest lights show held in Faskally Wood. It’s a wonderful spectacle which I’ll be attending this year.

Borealis, by piglicker

The other Festival events include a Haloween Marquee where you can play games such as Splat the Rat and Hook the Duck and listen to story telling in Mongolian Yurt. There are Street Festivals on October 16. 17, 24 and 31 October. The winner of the Treasure Hunt will receive a £200 shopping voucher.

On Halloween, the 31 October, there will be prizes for the kids in the best costumes with free Ghost Tours, on a first come, first served basis for kids in fancy dress. At 19:30 there’ll be a firework display.

Pitlochry in Perthshire is one of the most archetypal and iconic towns you can visit in less than a two hour drive from Edinburgh en route to the Scottish Highlands. The surrounding area is renowned for its natural beauty, particularly in the Fall. Autumn is probably one of the best times of year to visit Perthshire for its fantastic leaf colour displays, when the area around Pitlochry is simply gorgeous! Easy walks from the town lead to Faskally Loch and wood, where decidous trees of many types abound, with colours to match.

Faskaly Wood in the Fall

Faskally Loch fuses with the river Tummel, a great salmon fishing location, via the hydroelectric dam. If you’re lucky you can spot salmon leaping up the specially constructed fish ladder at the dam.

Pitlochry Dam and hydroelectric station (salmon ladder bottom left of photo)

By now I hope you can appreciate that this is a wonderful natural, typically Scottish location for an Autumn Festival.

If you’re heading to the Pitlochry Autumn Festival, have you packed your thermals?