Perth

Sitting at the mouth of the river Tay in east central Scotland, Perth has earned itself the nickname of "The Fair City". This family friendly town has some excellent Georgian and Victorian architecture in the city centre, as well as being the administrative centre for the county of Perth & Kinross.

There is evidence that there have been settlements in the area since around 4000BC. The area was also visited by the Romans, with a fort being sited at nearby Carpow and one just to the north of the modern day town.

During the middle ages the town was known as "Saint Johns Toun", after the local church which was dedicated to St. John the Baptist. The towns football team, St. Johnstone, took there name from this and the symbol of St. John the Baptist can be found in the teams Club crest.

The first bridge over the river Tay was built here when the beginnings of the town was laid out by king David In 1152 to provide access to the ancient capital of Scotland, Scone. This proximity to the old capital in Scotland’s turbulent past led to the town being occupies by the English in 1296 until it was recaptured by the forces of Robert the Bruce in 2312. Perth was no stranger to Scotland’s internal troubles too, and was the site of a staged battle in 1396 to settle a dispute between the clans of Chattan and Kay.

Transport links to the town are excellent, with direct bus and rail services to and from Scotland’s major cities, as well as London and Manchester. Perth is also one of Scotland’s main road hubs, with a motorway connection to Edinburgh and is connected to Glasgow and Inverness by the A9.