County Dossier
Perthshire
Great Highland-Lowland county of kings & rivers.
Perthshire is a large inland county straddling the boundary between the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands. Its principal towns lie in the south-east, nestled in the dales of the Rivers Tay and Earn.
At a glance
Perthshire at a glance
Great Highland-Lowland county of kings & rivers.
- Heart of medieval Scotland
- Sheriffdom by 12th century
- Perth: early capital city
- Area: 2,493 sq miles / 6,457 sq km
- Population: 156,371
- County Top: Ben Lawers (3,983ft / 1,214m)
County Geography
Perthshire meets Angus, Aberdeenshire, and Inverness-shire to the north and east, Argyllshire and Dunbartonshire to the west, and Stirlingshire, Clackmannanshire, Kinross-shire, and Fife to the south. The county is shaped by the Tay and Earn, the Grampian mountain mass, the great inland lochs, and the western moor and hill country.
Strath, loch, and mountain give Perthshire one of the clearest inland county forms in Scotland.
Map Reference
View Perthshire on the map
Perthshire is the county. The map also shows lieutenancies and council areas that use the county name.
The county.
The lieutenancy.
Council areas.
Places and routes
Perth, Crieff, Aberfeldy, Pitlochry, and Crianlarich show the county from its south-eastern river centre to Highland lochside and far western mountain approach.
Connections
The county’s routes have long followed the Tay and Earn, crossed the straths and passes, and run west through loch and mountain country. Movement follows the same river, strath, loch, and mountain pattern.
Names
- Perthshire
- County of Perth
- Perths
- Siorrachd Pheairt
Siorrachd Pheairt is the Gaelic form of Perthshire. County of Perth is the formal historical style, Perths is the shortened documentary form, and medieval charters preserve forms such as Perthe.
The county was a sheriffdom by the twelfth century in what became the heart of medieval Scotland, with Perth long central to royal and national life. The Tay, Earn, straths, lochs, and mountain interior still define Perthshire clearly.