Innerpeffray Library

Scotland's oldest lending library sits quietly beside the River Earn, a few miles south of Crieff, and it's proper worth the detour if you're into books or just Victorian curiosity. Innerpeffray has been circulating volumes since 1680 - that's older than most people's surnames - and the original reading room still stands, lined with leather spines and that particular smell of aged paper that makes you feel smarter just by breathing it in.

You'll walk through a small chapel first, then into the library itself. It's intimate rather than grand, which somehow makes it feel more genuine. The collection runs to rare editions and manuscripts, though much of what you see depends on what's on display that day. History buffs will spend a solid hour here; kids under ten might manage twenty minutes before getting restless.

The real appeal is the atmosphere - this place hasn't been tarted up into some heritage centre with a gift shop. It remains exactly what it was meant to be: a working library with genuine historical bones. Free entry, though donations are welcome. Allow an hour if you're thorough, half that if you're just passing through.

If you're staying at Braidhaugh Holiday Lodge or Broadslap Farm caravan parks nearby, Innerpeffray makes for a pleasant wet-weather morning combined with a proper walk along the river. Pair it with a coffee in Crieff itself - that's where you'll find actual facilities. It won't be the highlight of your Perthshire trip, but it's the sort of thing you'll remember weeks later.