Take a five-minute stroll and bounce back in time along Crieff’s old-worldly High Street. You’ll find loads of independently owned Scottish businesses, and some of them have been here almost as long as us.
Of course it’s got all of the fundamental essentials we just couldn’t live without – we’re not living in the stone age here, we’ve got a hole in the wall. But there’s a traditional, unspoiled feel to the high street which makes for a really unique and enjoyable shopping experience.
You won’t find any clones of these wee shops elsewhere, and there’s no need to look any further than our high street to find some award-winning, celeb-recommended bites to eat.
We’ve got Fish in Crieff reeling in the Fishmonger of the Year Award, and Campbell’s Bakery carrying the stamp of approval from Crieff’s very own Ewan McGregor. He tweeted about them serving the “the pie of all pies” for almost a century.
It wouldn’t be a trip to the High Street without nipping in to Gordon and Durward’s sweetie shop. Opened in 1925, the traditional confectioner lets you watch the sweets being made in the back of the shop. Think Willy Wonka’s factory minus the Oompa-Loompa’s with a tartan vibe, and you’ve got it.
Now that you’ve got the kids sorted out with some sweets, it’s time to seek out the adult treats. Next in line is J.L. Gill’s – specialising in high end Scottish food and drink for over 125 years – this is an ideal stop for gifts… or maybe just to top-up the alcohol cupboard with some quality liquor.
After all of this shopping, stop in at one of the bars for a more contemporary vibe. They’re a little more this century but still fit in nicely along the quaint street.
The Square Bar and Kitchen offers delicious cocktails from all over the globe. It’s one of the High Street’s newest developments and is run by none other than Fran, our Terrace former cocktail-maestro.
The town has a bit of a history of taking a modern approach. Back in the day, while the town was being predominantly used as the meeting point for exchanging cattle between the highlands and lowlands of Scotland, Crieff became home to Scotland’s first ever lending library in 1680 – the Innerpeffray Library. And you can still visit the library museum today.
If all this wasn’t enough for you, who knows… you might even bump into Ewan McGregor.
