Alyth

 

Alyth is a small town in Perth and Kinross that lies near the Hill of Alyth, five miles northeast of Blairgowrie. The nearby settlement of New Alyth lies on the A926 road southwest of the main village.  Alyth in Bloom was formed in 2000 to improve the appearance and environment of the town. Below are details of  their recent projects, at Alyth Burn Side, Toutie Street and at the entrance to the town. 

Contact us via the telephone number or email address at the top of this page if you'd like to know more.

Official Opening of Burn Side 
23 July 2022

We were delighted to join volunteers from Alyth in Bloom to watch our Chairman Bill Ronald cut the ribbon to celebrate the official opening of the revitalised Alyth Burn Side. The Burn Side improvement project was an ambitious and exciting community-led initiative to transform and improve the appearance, access and biodiversity of the burn side at Pitnacree Street in Alyth.

Previously the site was overgrown with head-high bamboo with no suitable pedestrian path, forcing people to walk along the road. Five years on, the site has been transformed into a scenic and fully accessible area that has vastly improved the look of the burn side, as well as creating a safe pedestrian pathway. In addition to the ground works, the area has been further enhanced by the planting of ten new trees, the installation of a listening post and an information board, seating and floral display planters, with the finishing touch of a unique stained glass and timber sculpture by local artist Lesley Garside. 

Bill Ronald said: “Having been closely involved with this challenging project over the last five years, I’m delighted that the Burn Side is now officially open – this is one of the most ambitious projects the Association has supported and its success is thanks to the hard work, commitment and perseverance of the Alyth in Bloom volunteers. It is a great example of what can be achieved by a small group of enthusiastic volunteers with the support of their local community.”

Alyth in Bloom volunteers said: “We are thrilled the Burn Side has been officially opened – this marks the end of a real labour of love. Although we always knew this project was going to be a huge undertaking, we also had to contend with some unexpected challenges including having to repair a crumbling burn retention wall, coping with a flood that washed out recently laid hardcore, and dealing with the effects of a global pandemic that stopped work for several months and resulted in cost increases and material shortages.”

Take a Pride in Perth and Kinross Association provided project management support and helped to fundraise over £155,000 from a range of generous funders, including the Scottish Landfill Community Trust, SSE Drumderg, Perth and Kinross Council, Alyth Development Trust, Tesco, Thomson Charitable Trust and Airlie Estates. Alyth in Bloom also carried out fundraising activities in which they were generously supported by the local community. Landscape architect, Chris Palmer, produced the designs, specifications, costings and contract documents for the project.

The Alyth Burn Side Project
March 2022
After frustrating delays caused by Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions in 2020 and 2021, the fruits of Alyth in Bloom's labours on the Alyth Burn Side project have finally come to fruition! This was the most ambitious project ever undertaken by Alyth in Bloom and it was delivered in partnership with ourselves in the Take a Pride in P&K Association. The project has transformed the area alongside Alyth Burn, which runs though the heart of the town.

Overgrown vegetation (above) was cleared, walls repaired, new paving laid and planters installed (below).

The picture on the left shows the new Burnside, with seating and lighting and a public information board. A sculpture has also  been commissioned with the hope that it will be installed in the not too distant future. All in all, the Burnside has become an attractive public space from which the natural and built heritage of this historic town can be enjoyed. 

A Case Study outlining the process of delivering the Alyth Burnside Project can be found here.

Toutie Street transformed

During 2019-2020 Alyth in Bloom volunteers took on the challenge of changing a piece of waste ground at the top of Toutie Street into a Community Garden. This was done at minimal cost (less than £1,500) with assistance from a building development company who kindly offered to help in any way possible. They say a picture tells a thousand words, so here is the site beforehand

And here it is afterwards:

What an amazing transformation. Well done to everyone involved!

Entrance to Alyth - drystone wall project
The main road entrance to Alyth was greatly enhanced in 2018 by a project that brought together Alyth in Bloom and Alyth Arts & Crafts Guild. They worked together to create a lovely feature to welcome locals and visitors to the town (pictured top left). The drystone wall complements the Bloom group's new planting at the entrance to the town. The striking central stone features a bull in the Pictish style, carved by local artist David McGovern of Monikie Rockart. It reflects the fact that Alyth lies in the centre of the area of Scotland historically occupied by the native Picts. It also echoes Alyth’s long association with cattle droving. Members of Alyth Youth Partnership and Aylth in Bloom helped with the building of the wall.