A Bookish Day Out in Birnam
Towards the last half of the summer holidays it often gets a bit tricky to think of fun things to do that are a bit different, but curating a day out around a theme can be a fun solution. As an acknowledge bibliophile, I did this some time ago for Birnam, which has several literary associations. And I’ve been told that it works! So here’s my bookish Birnam itinerary for you to try as well:
My bookish day out starts with exploring the Beatrix Potter Garden. It’s not a big garden, but it’s very charming, with the best part of course being spotting the various Beatrix Potter characters while wandering around—look out for Jeremy Fisher, Peter Rabbit (of course), Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, and Mr Tod Fox.
If you’re not quite sure of Beatrix Potter’s connections to Birnam, there’s a helpful information board in the garden, but in short, she holidayed nearby as a child, staying mostly in neighbouring Dalguise, but also at Eastwood House and Heathpark.
It’s in Birnam that the London-born Beatrix likely developed her love for nature and wildlife, able to roam around the countryside with her brother and making friends with locals—a contrast to her much more formal life in London.
Some of the locals Beatrix met on her holidays inspired characters later—perhaps most famously, Mrs Tiggywinkle was almost certainly drawn from Dalguise washerwoman, Kitty Macdonald. And it was from Eastwood House that Beatrix wrote and sent a picture letter detailing the adventures of Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter Rabbit.
Once you’ve read up on Beatrix Potter and Birnam, you’ll be ready to go inside Birnam Arts and enjoy the Beatrix Potter Exhibition, followed by lunch or coffee and cake. There’s usually an art exhibition upstairs that’s also well-worth looking at if you don’t mind it not being strictly literary…
After your stop at Birnam Arts, the next item on your bookish tour should be taking the short walk along the River Tay to see the Birnam Oak. This is said to be the last survivor of the Birnam Wood made famous in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Did Shakespeare ever visit Birnam? No one knows, but it’s fun to speculate that you might be treading the same path as the great playwright himself.
Finally, finish off your bookish day with a visit to the Birnam Reader, a wonderful independent book shop just up the hill from the Birnam Arts Centre (note that it is closed Mondays and Tuesdays). You can get a coffee here as well, then you could each choose a book to read in the evening when you get home. Because you should definitely finish such a literary day with a bookish souvenir!
