Birnam is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is located 12 miles (19 km) north of Perth on the A9 road, the main tourist route through Perthshire, in an area of Scotland marketed as Big Tree Country.[1] The village originated from the Victorian era with the coming of the railway in 1856, although the place and name is well known because William Shakespeare mentioned Birnam Wood in Macbeth:
MACBETH: Till Birnam wood remove to Dunsinane/ I cannot taint with fear.
Prior to the construction of the railway, the only substantial building on the site of the present village was the church of Little Dunkeld parish, which still stands in its ancient position within a graveyard within the village. Dunkeld, to whose monastery Kenneth MacAlpin, the first King of Scotland, moved the bones of St. Columba around the middle of the ninth century, and which is notable for its cathedral, lies on the opposite bank of the river.
John Everett Millais, who painted many local landscapes, and Beatrix Potter, with her family, often visited Birnam. Potter drafted her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, at Eastwood House whilst writing a story and picture letter to child friend Noel Moore on 4 September 1893.[12][13] There is an exhibition and garden dedicated to Potter and her characters in Birnam.[14]
Dr George SmyttanFRSE HEIC (1789-1863) was born and raised in Dunkeld, and retained links to Birnam all his life.
Attractions
There is an ancient tree, the Birnam Oak, standing a few hundred metres from the centre of Birnam on Murthly Estate. Traditionally, it was known as "The Hangman's Tree".[15] The Birnam Oak is believed to be the only remaining tree from the Birnam Wood of Macbeth.[16]
In addition to The Beatrix Potter Exhibition and Garden, Birnam also has a community-run arts and performance centre and library, Birnam Arts and Conference Centre.[17]
^Smout, T. C., MacDonald, R. and Watson, Fiona (2007) A History of the Native Woodlands of Scotland 1500-1920. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN978-0-7486-3294-7. p.78.
