Kinnoull Hill is a hill located partly in
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 i ...
and partly in
Kinfauns
Kinfauns was a large 1950s deluxe bungalow in Esher in the English county of Surrey, on the Claremont Estate. From 1964 to 1970, it was the home of George Harrison, lead guitarist of the Beatles. It was where many of the demo recordings for the ...
,
Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It shares its name with the nearby
Kinnoull parish.
Summit
In view from the -high south-facing summit is the
Friarton Bridge, a stretch of the
Tay Coast railway line and the
Sidlaw Hills
The Sidlaws are a range of hills in the counties of Perthshire and Angus in Scotland that extend for 30 miles (45 km) from Kinnoull Hill, near Perth, northeast to Forfar. A continuation of the Ochils, they separate the valley of Str ...
. Further to the south,
Moncreiffe Hill can be seen.
Kinnoull Tower
On an outcrop a few hundred yards to the east of, and several feet below, the summit is Kinnoull Tower, a
folly
In architecture, a folly is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or of such extravagant appearance that it transcends the range of usual garden buildings.
Eighteenth-cent ...
built in the eighteenth century, by
Thomas Hay, 9th Earl of Kinnoull
Thomas Hay, 9th Earl of Kinnoull (4 July 1710 – 27 December 1787), styled Viscount Dupplin from 1719 to 1758, was a Scottish peer, British politician, and scholar.
Family and education
Hay was the eldest son of George Hay, 8th Earl of Kin ...
, to resemble castles along the
Rhine
), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland
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, source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein
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, so ...
he had admired in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
during his
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...
of Europe. Kinnoull saw a similarity between the mountainous landscape along the Rhine and the rocky outcrops on his estate near Perth. On his return, to achieve a similar effect, he built a modest castle on the highest point of Kinnoull Hill, with its tower overlooking the River Tay. The tower is a
Category B listed structure.
Another of Hay's lasting legacies is the Perth Bridge over the Tay, which he helped fund.
Jane Austen visited Kinnoull Hill in September 1789. She described Kinnoull Tower in "Lesley Castle", one of two Scottish stories in her Juvenilia, as:
''An old and Mouldering Castle, which is situated two miles from Perth on a bold projecting Rock, and commands an extensive view of the Town and its delightful Environs.''
Today the tower is more easily accessible, via a winding footpath through the woodland park.
Awards
In 2009 and again in 2010, Kinnoull Hill was awarded
Green Flag
Green Flag or Green Flag Rescue, is a British roadside assistance and vehicle recovery provider, which is part of the Direct Line Group. Formed in 1971, as the National Breakdown Recovery Club, as an alternative to the AA and RAC, it used ...
status.
In 2010, Kinnoull Hill Woodland Park also came runner up in Scotland's Finest Woods Awards.
Management
Kinnoull Hill Woodland Park is managed in a partnership between
Forestry and Land Scotland
Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) ( gd, Coilltearachd agus Fearann Alba) is responsible for managing and promoting Scotland's national forest estate: land, predominantly covered in forest, owned by the Scottish Government on behalf of the nation. ...
and
Perth & Kinross Council. A Users Group has also been established for many years and supports the management of the Woodland Park through a Management Committee. Branklyn Garden was built by
Dorothy Renton and her husband on the hill. The house and garden are owned by the National Trust.
Sculptures
Woodland sculptures created by Pete Bowsher have been erected in the Woodland Park. There are 14 sculptures reflecting the animals and plants of the park.
Suicide location
The hill's summit has become well-known as a location for
suicides.
[ In 2015 it became "highlighted as a national area of concern for completed suicides". That same year, 20-year-old Forfar Athletic player Jack Syme committed suicide at Kinnoull Hill.
In early January 2002, Daniela Smith, a 31-year-old mother-of-two, pushed her infant children off the hill's summit while they were strapped in their ]pushchair
Various methods of transporting children have been used in different cultures and times. These methods include baby carriages (prams in British English), infant car seats, portable bassinets (carrycots), strollers (pushchairs), slings, backpack ...
, before throwing herself off. Their bodies were discovered on a ledge about below the summit on 15 January.
The bodies of two men were found below the hill in 2014.[Mystery over discovery of two bodies at Perth beauty spot]
'' The Herald'' 26 May 2014
Namesakes
The Kinnoull Campus of De La Salle College in Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Australia, is named after this hill. The property previously on the site of the College, built in 1856 by Sir James Palmer, was renamed ''Kinnoull'' by Sir Alexander Stewart (1874-1956) (former chairman of BHP
BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...
), who was born near Kinnoull Hill.
Abernyte Brewery released a beer called Kinnoull Red, named for the hill.Our Brews
– Abernyte Brewery
Gallery
File:Old Photograph Gatehouse Kinfauns Castle Perthshire Scotland.jpg, Kinnoull Tower, high above Kinfauns Castle West Lodge, in 1830
Image:Kinnoull Hill 2011 2.jpg, View over the River Tay, looking east
Image:England and Scotland 152.jpg, Looking north towards Scone
A scone is a baked good, usually made of either wheat or oatmeal with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often slightly sweetened and occasionally glazed with egg wash. The scone is a basic component ...
Image:England and Scotland 153.jpg, Looking north-northwest
Image:England and Scotland 155.jpg, Looking northwest
Image:England and Scotland 154.jpg, Looking northwest
Image:England and Scotland 158.jpg, Looking south from the summit
Image:View from Kinnoul Hill.jpg, Looking southwest from the summit, towards Friarton Bridge
File:Kinnoull Tower - geograph.org.uk - 957860.jpg, Kinnoull Tower
Image:Stone table on Kinnoul Hill.jpg, This stone table, a few yards back from the summit's cliff edge, marks views on the horizon
See also
*
Deuchny Wood
Deuchny Wood (also known as Deuchny Woodland Park) is a Forestry and Land Scotland site in Perth, Scotland.
References
External links
{{commons category, Kinnoull Hill
Descriptive Gazetteer - Kinnoull, Perthshire through timeWalk in Scotland's "Walk of the Month" - Autumn on Kinnoull Hill, PerthKinnoull.org.uk- ''Explore Kinnoull Hill Woodland Park''- Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust
Landforms of Perth, Scotland
Mountains and hills of Perth and Kinross
Sites of Special Scientific Interest in East Perth
Clan Hay