Braco ( ) is a village in

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. It is bordered by Highland (council area), Highland and Aberdeenshire to the north, Angus, Scotland, Angus, Dundee, and F ...

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

Dunblane Dunblane (, ) is a 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 to much of the Central Be ...

towards

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

off the A9 road.

History

Roman occupation along the

Gask Ridge The Gask Ridge is the modern name given to an early series of Castra, fortifications, built by the Roman Empire, Romans in Scotland, close to the Highland Boundary Fault, Highland Line. Modern excavation and interpretation has been pioneered by ...

stretched across Scotland and 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

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, visu ...

. In 1442 over thirty pieces of land were confirmed to Michael Ochiltree, the Bishop of Dunblane, 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 fathe ...

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

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

, William McGregor, computer game designer, Chris Sawyer and artist, Ronald 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 Literature, letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". ...

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 letter (message), letters and parcel (package), parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post o ...

two garages, 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 are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

. * Ardoch Church, part of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

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