Dunkeld House Hotel has raised over £50,000 to help conserve Perthshire’s remarkable trees.

With over 200,000 acres of stunning woodlands, which include more champion trees than anywhere else in the UK, Perthshire is Big Tree County.

Beyond its generous financial support, Dunkeld House Hotel is an important Perthshire Big Tree Country site. Its magnificent grounds are home to the Dunkeld House Tree Trail, which features dozens of unique and impressive heritage trees and over 30 stunning examples of other internationally threatened trees.

In recent years, the hotel has raised £50,000 towards Perthshire Big Tree Country from a £1 optional donation per overnight stay from its guests since it joined the Supporting Perthshire Big Tree Country Scheme in 2012.

The scheme – administered by Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust (PKCT), who manage Perthshire Big Tree County – allows hotels, B&Bs and businesses of all sizes across Perthshire to broaden their green credentials and help conserve Perthshire’s tree heritage and improve access to it for everyone to enjoy now and in the future.

Dunkeld House Hotel is also an active supporter of the Perthshire Conifer Conservation Programme, which works to conserve some of the world’s most threatened conifer species by planting their saplings in safe-havens across Perthshire’s gardens, woods and forests. The value and special nature of the hotel’s trees is also recognised by its membership to the National Tree Collections of Scotland.

Arnold Schnegg, Managing Director of Dunkeld House Hotel, said:

Dunkeld House Hotel appreciates all the effort and hard work that the Perth and Kinross Countryside Trust do for our beautiful area. Our tree history stems back to 1737 and 1830 when the Dukes planted up to 27 million conifers at Dunkeld House Hotel. They also funded plant-hunting expeditions around the world, the results of some of which can still be seen on the grounds today.  So, 284 years on, we still believe we must look after and maintain all the beautiful species of trees that we have on our 280-acre estate.  However, we could not have done this without our wonderful guests. Each guest that has contributed to the Trust over the years, we would like to put out a massive thank you to every one of you.

Peter Quinn, PKCT’s Trust Director, commented:

We really cannot thank the Hotel and all its guests over the years for their ongoing support of the supporter scheme, dedication to Perthshire Big Tree Country and for working with us, especially given the difficult times that have faced the hospitality industry in 2020.

£50,000 is an outstanding sum to have raised and has allowed us to develop access to and look after Perthshire’s incredible trees – stunning examples of which can be found in the hotel’s grounds.

Since its launch in 2007 at Gleneagles, the Supporting Perthshire Big Tree Country scheme has raised over £400,000 towards conservation and access project works. Other members of the scheme currently include Crieff Hydro, Gleneagles, CLC Duchally Country Estate, Ballathie House Hotel and The Comrie Hotel.

To learn more about Perthshire Big Tree Country, visit www.perthshirebigtreecountry.co.uk or visit the online interactive map to watch the seasons change across the area http://map.pkct.org/.

Hotels, B&Bs and businesses wishing to also help support Perthshire Big Tree Country can get in touch with Peter at PKCT: [email protected].