Glen Shee

Glen Shee (Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Sith) is a glen in eastern Perthshire, Scotland. Shee Water flows through the glen. The head of the glen, where Gleann Taitneach and Glen Lochsie meet, is approximately 2 km north-west of the Spittal of Glenshee; it then runs south-east to Bridge of Cally where it merges with Strathardle to form Glen Ericht. Once known as the glen of the fairies it takes its name from the Gaelic "sith" meaning fairy and the old meeting place at the standing stone behind the present day church is called Dun Shith or Hill of the Fairies. The main settlement is the Spittal of Glenshee, now by-passed, which has a historic hotel, first run by monks from Coupar Angus Abbey to provide shelter and hospitality for travellers, hence the name "Spittal", an outdoor activity centre, self-catering lodges, the church and an original General Wade humpback bridge. The first record of a refuge for travellers there dates back to 961 AD. Over the centuries it has had an unenviable record of being destroyed by fire and in 1959 it was destroyed to be rebuilt in a Scandinavian style only to completely destroyed again in 2014. Currently it is a burned out shell. Other old settlements are at Finegand, Dalnaglar, Lair where there is a craft shop, cafe and tourist information point known as The Wee House, Cray, Mountblair, Blacklunans, Glenkilrie, Dalrulzion, Blackwater and Persie. At the Spittal, the Allt Lochay and Allt Beag join to form the Shee Water, which changes its name at Blacklunans to the Blackwater and eventually joins the River Ardle to form the River Ericht. The A93 road, part of General Wade's military road from Perth to Fort George, runs north through the glen and on into Glen Beag, where it crosses the Cairnwell Pass, which at an elevation of 2,200 feet (670 metres) is the highest public road in the UK. The road climbing to the summit is now wide and straight but until the late 1960s included two notorious hair-pin bends with a 1 in 3 (33%) gradient known…