Pitlochry Recreation Ground

By Pitlochry Guide editors · Updated 29 August 2026

Pitlochry Recreation Ground
Recreation Ground, Pitlochry - geograph.org.uk - 6884900 by Chris Morgan · CC BY-SA 2.0 · via Wikimedia Commons · resized, converted to WebP

The Recreation Ground is on Ferry Road, between the town centre and the River Tummel, about five minutes’ walk from Pitlochry’s main street.

It is the town’s playing field and playground, and it is free.

What is there

A children’s play area — a climbing frame, swings and a sand pit, suited to smaller children rather than teenagers.

A large expanse of grass for football, rounders and running about, which is what most families actually use it for.

Benches and space to sit while children play, which is the feature parents mention most — it is a pleasant place to spend an hour rather than an equipment enclosure.

Toilets are about five minutes’ walk away at the Festival Theatre across the river, which is worth knowing before you arrive.

The Highland Games

The Recreation Ground is the venue for the Pitlochry Highland Games, held each year in September.

It is a proper Games: heavy events — the caber, the hammer, the stone — Highland dancing, piping competitions, a massed pipe band, hill running and track events, with the field ringed by spectators and the hills behind.

Pitlochry’s is one of the better-attended Games in Perthshire and is worth planning a visit around if you are in the area in September.

Where it fits

Pitlochry is a walking town, and the Recreation Ground is on the route between the high street and everything on the river.

The Aldour footbridge and the suspension footbridge cross to Port-na-Craig, where the Festival Theatre, its restaurant and the Explorers Garden are.

Pitlochry Dam and the fish ladder are ten minutes downstream.

The Loch Faskally circuit starts from here.

So the practical use of the Recreation Ground is as a stop: let the children run for half an hour on the way to or from something else.

Practicalities

Free, open at all times.

Location: Ferry Road, five minutes’ walk from the town centre, downhill.

Parking: on-street nearby, and the town car parks are a short walk.

Facilities: no toilets on site — the nearest are at the Festival Theatre, about five minutes across the river.

Access: level and grassy, with surfaced paths around it.

Weather: entirely outdoors.

Around it

The Festival Theatre and its café and restaurant, across the footbridge.

The Explorers Garden, beside the theatre.

Pitlochry Dam Visitor Centre — free, with a café and the salmon ladder — ten minutes downstream.

The high street, with its whisky shops, outdoor shops and cafés, five minutes uphill.

Faskally Wood and Loch Dunmore, a longer walk or short drive north.

Questions people ask

Is it free?

Yes, free and open at all times.

What is in the playground?

A climbing frame, swings and a sand pit, suited to smaller children, plus a large grass field.

Are there toilets?

Not on site — the nearest are about five minutes away at the Festival Theatre across the river.

Where is it?

Ferry Road, five minutes’ walk downhill from Pitlochry town centre, near the river.

What are the Highland Games?

Pitlochry Highland Games are held on this ground each September, with heavy events, piping, Highland dancing and hill running.