A night at the Theatre in the Hills

Pitlochry Festival Theatre calls itself Scotland's Theatre in the Hills. It is also on the wrong side of the river from everything else, which shapes how an evening there works. This is the practical version: what is on, how to get there, where to eat first and how to get home.

A tent, then a building across the water

The theatre was the idea of John Stewart, a Glasgow amateur dramatics promoter, in the late 1940s. It opened in a tent on 19 May 1951 and moved into the present building at Port-na-Craig, on the south bank of the Tummel, on 19 May 1981, the 30th anniversary, according to Wikipedia. The old model was a summer repertory season, so a visitor staying a few days could see several plays. Wikipedia lists the main auditorium at 544 seats and the studio at 175.

2026 is Alan Cumming's first season. The theatre's own listings put him on stage as Professor Higgins in the winter musical.

What is on for the rest of 2026

As listed on the theatre's season page on 11 October 2026:

• Ceilidh, a new musical: 12 to 17 October, off site rather than in the main house. Limited availability.
• The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie: 4 to 7 November, in the auditorium. Sold out.
• My Fair Lady: 21 November to 31 December, in the auditorium. Limited availability.

Limited availability is the theatre's phrase, and it is worth taking at face value: book before you book a room. The box office is open from 9:30 to 17:00 and its phone line, 01796 484626, from 10:00 to 16:30.

Getting there from town

The theatre is at Port-na-Craig, across the River Tummel from Atholl Road. There are two ways over on foot.

The suspension bridge

From the bottom of Ferry Road, past the Recreation Ground, the footbridge crosses the river to the theatre side. The Enchanted Forest organisers put the theatre car park about fifteen minutes' walk from Fishers Hotel on Atholl Road by this route.

Over the dam

Further upstream, the top of Pitlochry Dam is a walkway between the visitor centre on the town side and the theatre side. In daylight, it is the better walk, because you pass the fish ladder on the way. The visitor centre itself shuts at 16:30 and is closed on Mondays from 14 September.

If you drive, the theatre has its own car park. The Enchanted Forest uses it as one of its overflow car parks between 8 October and 8 November, so expect it to be busier than usual on those evenings.

Eating first

The pre-theatre meal is part of the outing here. Three options, in order of distance from the theatre doors:

• Port-na-Craig Inn, at the river below the theatre. The inn says it is a three-minute walk up the footpath to the doors and calls itself renowned for pre-theatre dining. The pre-theatre menu starts at 16:30, and it does not serve food outside between 16:30 and 18:30. It is dog friendly.
• The theatre's own cafe bar, which opens 9:00 to 17:00 on non-performance days; the kitchen is closed on Mondays. Check what is served on a show evening when you book.
• Fern Cottage on Ferry Road, on the town side of the suspension bridge, which opens for dinner from 17:00 and asks parties of five or more to phone.

For a matinee, Hettie's Tearoom on Atholl Road does afternoon tea until 15:00, booked in advance, and Victoria's serves lunch until 17:00, though from November to April its kitchen may close from 15:00 to 17:00, Monday to Thursday, so phone ahead.

Before the show: the garden on the hill

The Explorers Garden is the theatre's woodland garden on the slope behind it, made with the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in the late 1990s to celebrate the Scottish plant hunters. Paths lead up to a pagoda, a pavilion and an amphitheatre. It is open from April to October, and the theatre says tickets are free for the rest of 2026. The theatre gives its hours as 10:00 to 17:00, last entry 16:00, daily except Mondays, although the site's own opening-times panel shows 9:00 to 17:00 daily, so check if you plan a Monday. It closes on 31 October, so for the winter musical the garden will be shut.

Getting home

After an evening show, the walk back to Atholl Road over the suspension bridge is in the dark. Take a torch; the Enchanted Forest organisers make the same point about the town's poorly lit stretches. If you are staying at Fonab Castle Hotel or Port-na-Craig, you are already on the theatre side of the river. Trains on the Highland Main Line call at Pitlochry in both directions, but check the last one for your direction on the ScotRail planner before you rely on it after a show.

Where to stay for a theatre trip

Port-na-Craig has rooms a few minutes below the theatre. Fonab Castle Hotel, which Crerar Hotels calls a five-star castle hotel, sits on the banks of Loch Faskally on the same side of the river. On the town side, the Old Mill Inn is in the middle of Pitlochry, and the Atholl Palace, the old Victorian hydropathic, and Knockendarroch are up the hill.