Braco ( ) is a village in

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross ( sco, Pairth an Kinross; gd, Peairt agus Ceann Rois) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dundee, Fife, Highland and S ...

, Scotland, with a population of 515. It is located north of

Dunblane Dunblane (, gd, Dùn Bhlàthain) is a small town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links ...

towards

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

off the

A9 road This is a list of roads designated A9. * A009 road (Argentina), a road in the northeast of Santa Fe Province * ''A9 highway (Australia)'' may refer to : ** A9 (Sydney), a road linking Windsor and Campbelltown ** A9 highway (South Australia), a l ...

History

Roman occupation on the Gask Ridge stretching across Scotland included the Roman Fort of Ardoch located to the north of Braco. The ramparts and ditches of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

camp are still plainly visible and it is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. In 1442 over thirty pieces of land were confirmed to

Michael Ochiltree Michael Ochiltree ''Ouchtre(d. 1445 x 1447) was a 15th-century Scottish prelate and administrator. A close associate of King James I of Scotland, from the late 1410s he rose in rank from canon to Dean of Dunblane and then Bishop of Dunblane. He ...

, the

Bishop of Dunblane The Bishop of Dunblane or Bishop of Strathearn was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunblane or Strathearn, one of medieval Scotland's thirteen bishoprics. It was based at Dunblane Cathedral, now a parish church of the Church of Scotland ...

, by King

James II of Scotland James II (16 October 1430 – 3 August 1460) was King of Scots from 1437 until his death in 1460. The eldest surviving son of James I of Scotland, he succeeded to the Scottish throne at the age of six, following the assassination of his father. ...

. These included the Braco estate, which at the time was known as Brecache. "Breac Achadh" means "Spotted Field" in

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

, i.e. a field partly cleared of bracken. A permanent fixture at the nearby Lodge Park is the Knaik or Knaick Bridge which dates from the 15th century. An interpretation board for the village and parking for the fort is also by the park entrance. The village of Braco was established in 1815 following the sale or feu of lands owned by James Masterson. The village marked the bicentenary in 2015 with events timed around the issuing of the first feus in May.

Notable residents

Famous past residents of Braco have included the founder of the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

, William McGregor, computer game designer,

Chris Sawyer Christopher Sawyer is a Scottish video game designer and programmer. He is best known for creating ''Transport Tycoon'', which has been considered "one of the most important simulation games ever made", and the bestseller '' RollerCoaster Tyc ...

and artist,

Ronald Forbes Ronald Joseph Forbes (born 5 April 1985) is a track athlete from the Cayman Islands. Forbes is an All American 110 meter hurdler and 60 meter hurdler who competed collegiality for Florida International University from 2005-2008 . Forbes ...

. The anatomist Robert Howden

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

was born here in 1856.

Amenities

Braco is home to a village shop, coffee outlet and outreach

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...

two

garage A garage is a covered structure built for the purpose of parking, storing, protecting, maintaining, and/or repairing vehicles. Specific applications include: *Garage (residential), a building or part of a building for storing one or more vehicle ...

s, including a

filling station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Gasoli ...

. * Ardoch Church, part of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

and linked with Blackford * The former Free Church on Church Street/ Feddal Road, * An artists' studio on Smiddy Brae which is home to Lys Hansen. * The Braco Hotel, as of March 2015, being restored and extended. * On Feddal Road there is Braco Primary School and nursery class (serving Braco and Greenloaning www.pkc.gov.uk/article/17513/Greenloaning-Primary-School) village hall, playpark and a bowling green. * There is also a recycling point, managed by Perth and Kinross Council. * The Lodge Park is home to the annual Braco Show, an agricultural event. * Braco and its immediate surrounds are part of a network of core paths and walking routes through Strathallan, one of which passes a picnic area by the Keir Burn.

Media coverage

Braco is served by four paid for newspapers: the Strathearn Herald, the Perthshire Advertiser and the Stirling Observer. It is also covered by the Perthshire edition of the Courier, based in Dundee. Because of its location it also receives local radio stations which cover both central Scotland and Perthshire, such as Central FM and Tay AM/FM.

Transport

Braco is served by buses run by Stagecoach, linking the village with Stirling, Dunblane and Crieff, and Docherty's Midland Coaches/Stagecoach to Perth, introduced in June 2014. The nearest train stations are south at Dunblane and north-east at Gleneagles.

References

External links

About Braco
at Perthshire-Scotland.co.uk {{Authority control Villages in Perth and Kinross