Falls of Bruar

The Falls of Bruar are a series of waterfalls on the Bruar Water in Perth and Kinross, about 13 kilometres from Pitlochry. The falls were shaped after the last ice age when retreating glaciers cut through rock pushed up 500 million years ago. Softer rock wore away faster, leaving harder rock untouched and forming deep pools, outcrops and a natural arch. The water often runs brown from peat in the upper river. Two main drops and several smaller cascades make up the falls, which total about 60 metres in height. The site became a tourist draw in the late 18th century when visitors found the landscape bare and the path slippery. Robert Burns wrote a poem in 1787 urging the Duke of Atholl to plant trees around the falls. The Duke responded by ordering 120,000 larch and Scots pine, later expanding to 15 million trees across his estates. He also built the path, two bridges and shelters that still guide visitors today. A circular footpath starts near the car park and leads up to the Lower Bridge close to the natural arch. It continues to the Upper Bridge about 800 metres away before returning down the opposite bank. The gorge narrows sharply, making the falls most dramatic after heavy rain. Conifers now mix with native mountain ash, willow, aspen and birch, softening the earlier neat lines of the planting scheme.