UP NEXT
Sat 13 Jun
Doss | Auditorium
19:00 - 23:00
Doors Open 19:00
What's on by date
What's on by genre
⨯
Sat 13 Jun
Doss | Auditorium
19:00 - 23:00
Doors Open 19:00
Find out how Beatrix Potter spent many of her childhood summers in Perthshire. Wee ones will enjoy spending time playing traditional games, dressing up as their favourite character & stepping back in time to visit our Victorian School Room! And for enthusiasts of the world she created, discover the story of where she sought inspiration for these much loved characters, as well as our collections of original memorabilia. Fun for all the family!
Our Shop has a unique selection of gifts sourced both locally and from throughout Scotland. With a range of design, jewellery and craft items there’s a little something for everyone. We also stock the largest range of Beatrix Potter merchandise in the country.
Info >
Located in the heart of Birnam Arts, our café is the meeting place and gathering space for everyone, from local friendly faces to new visitors from far and wide.
Info >
Birnam Arts delivers a programme of monthly exhibitions showing work by artists at varying stages of their careers within both solo and group exhibitions.
Info >
Can you do the laundry the way Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle does so carefully with her chores?
Have fun roleplaying in your very own fruit & veg shop!
Budding Florist's can also enjoy selling flowers from the Flower Cart.
Learn what it was like to go to School in the Victorian era and do your classswork on a chalk slate or sit at the teacher's desk! There are no calculators here so you'll need to do your counting on an abacus.
Discover Beatrix Potters' stories in our range of library books, enjoy playing with traditional toys or dress up as your favourite character & get a selfie with Peter Rabbit himself!
MORE
The beautifully carved stone column which use to stand on the lawn at Dalguise House, summer home for Beatrix Potter during her childhood, is elaborately carved, dating from the 18th century. The Corinthian details, spiral fluting and unicorn carving became the subject of drawings by Beatrix during her summer holidays.
Following its sad demise over time, the badly deteriorated column was dismantled in the 1980s. During the conservation efforts, each stone received attention, with the removal of previous repair efforts and consolidation of vulnerable sections, using threaded stainless-steel rods and lime fills, where needed.
The pillar now lives inside Birnam Arts, where it is protected, and supported by a stainless-steel stand, designed by Henry Boyd of Edinburgh.
Importantly, the illustrations young Beatrix completed in her holiday garden were invaluable for identifying the pieces during the different restoration projects.
We remain very grateful to the Beatrix Potter Society and PGL Adventures Limited for their support for the project.
Rabbit Family, Beatrix Potter Gardens Birnam
The Beatrix Potter™ Garden Trail is a celebration of Beatrix’s connection to Perthshire, where the timeless tales and talents of Beatrix Potter began to germinate. Part of the Beatrix Potter™ Perthshire Experience at Birnam Arts, the trail is a space where gardens, wildlife, art, science, history and imagination all come together.
Young Beatrix Potter thrived in the invigorating natural environment of Perthshire’s countryside. It is only fitting that the Scottish chapter of her story be told outside in the open air. After all, it was nature — every living thing from rabbits and caterpillars to fungi and lichen — that captured her interest and inspired her art.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The Beatrix Potter™ Garden Trail greets visitors with an engaging menagerie of sculptures and educational signage woven into a formal landscape of established trees, flowering shrubs and lush greenery. Each stop along the trail helps tell a story that connects the lives and landscapes of Perthshire to the life and works of the beloved children’s author and self-taught naturalist Beatrix Potter.
Cultural Heritage Landscape
The garden’s history stretches back to 1992, when the original garden was designed and created by members of Perth and Kinross Council Planning and Leisure and Recreation Departments (lead designer Michael Messenger) and a local steering group. The design included accessible footpaths, clay pavers, benches, grassy areas, a stone-walled garden, a pavilion, numerous established birch trees, flowering shrubs and other planting. It also featured a dry pond for drainage that made a perfect place for a certain frog named Jeremy.
Original bronze animal sculptures crafted and installed by Scottish sculptor David Annand, a member of the Royal Society of Sculptors, reflect the raw wildlife that fascinated Beatrix Potter. An alert fox, a hedgehog in hiding and five playful hares all blend discretely into the natural setting. Annand’s intricate bespoke archway adorns one of the garden entrances.
Old Meets New
Today, the Beatrix Potter™ Garden is an outdoor experience which is open 24/7 and free to the public inspired by the beloved author’s deep connection to the local landscape and its natural history. In 2026, the garden was enhanced by acclaimed trail company Brilliant Trails in conjunction with the Birnam Arts teamwith funding from the Scottish Government Place Based Investment Fund, Perth and Kinross Council’s Community Environment Challenge Fund and a sculpture of Jemima Puddleduck commissioned by The Ironmonger’s Company. The trail adjoins the Birnam Arts building and engaging activity books for children and self-guided tour books around the trail, exhibition and building can be purchased separately or are included in the admission price for the Beatrix Potter Perthshire Experience. The new Garden Trail is part of a wider licensed partnership with Penguin Ventures on behalf of Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd (an imprint of Penguin Random House Children’s UK and owner of the Peter Rabbit™ brand).
The Garden is owned and managed by Perth & Kinross Council.
Born into a wealthy London family in 1866, Beatrix had a privileged yet lonely upbringing. As a child she became interested in the natural world and spent much of her time drawing and sketching.. Untamed childhood summers spent in Perthshire nurtured her creativity.
These long summer breaks with her family in Dalguise, on the River Tay – usually from July to the end of the salmon season in October – started when Beatrix was quite young, and continued for a decade, into her mid-teens. It was during this time that she was free to explore the countryside around her, indulging her interest in the natural world. It was this time that was to be one of the most enduring influences on Beatrix's development, both as an artist and scientist.
Even when the family summered in the Lake District, Beatrix visited Dalguise in 1884 with her father.
It was in 1892, while the family was at Heath Park in Birnam, that Beatrix first met Charles Macintosh, postman for the Dalguise postal district. Beatrix's interest had turned to mycology, the study of fungi, and it was this shared interest which brought Beatrix Potter and Charles Macintosh together for the first time.Charles’ occupation was an ideal one for a budding natural historian, his daily walks delivering mail allowing him to study the local flora and fauna.
They had both been aware of the other’s interest in fungi, each approaching the topic from a different perspective: Charles, in his 50s, more scientific, and Beatrix, in her mid 20s, both scientific and aesthetic. This meeting led to a long collaborative correspondence which greatly benefited both.
In 1893, while staying in Eastwood House in Dunkeld, Beatrix wrote a 'picture letter' to the young son of her former governess. The letter became the basis for her first book 'The Tale of Peter Rabbit'. Similarly, a later book 'The Tale of Jeremy Fisher' also started life as a picture letter with characters clearly based on her study and exploration on the banks of the River Tay. Additionally, The tale of Mrs Tiggy Winkle' is thought to be inspired by the Potters' washer woman at Dalguise, Kitty MacDonald of Inver.
MORE
Beautiful space, lovely people, Beatrix Potter Gardens and a wonderful exhibition "Earthly Walks" by Grigorios Karastamatis until the 18th of July (2021)!
Stella Valvi | Google Reviews
Such lovely memories of coming to Birnam as a wee one, visiting the garden and the exhibition then exploring the woods that inspired Beatrix Potter.
Graham Webster | Crowdfunder #savebirnamarts 2020
There are two dedicated accessible car park spaces directly in front of the venue. There is a gentle slope from street level up to the accessible entrance.
Using the touch pad, enter via the large glass doors to the right of the main entrance.
There are two Accessible Toilets within the venue, one on each level.
There are ramps situated throughout the building to enable easy access from the Café to the Box Office and Shop, as well as on the first floor to go from the Gallery to the Meeting Room.
There is a lift between the ground level and first floor.
View our floorplan for more
detailed information.
Shop one of the largest selections of Beatrix Potter merchandise in the country! You'll find everything from books and figurines to soft toys and kitchenware.
Box Office
Open periodically throughout the week | Book online 24/7
Cafe
Daily | 10 - 4
Welcome to Birnam Arts, a boutique multi-purpose arts, conferencing and entertainment venue.
Pop in to the Foyer Cafe for breakfast, grab a delicious coffee with a selection of our homemade baking or enjoy a light lunch whilst browsing on the free WiFi. Wander upstairs to view the latest of our monthly art exhibitions before visiting the world of Beatrix Potter, or the Gift Shop to purchase a special gift for your loved ones or yourself!
Birnam Arts is a unique venue, contributing enormously to many aspects of our lives - social, cultural, educational.
Linda Wolfe | Crowdfunder #savebirnamarts 2020
|
What a warm and lovely welcome for this Yorkshire author. Thank you. Birnam Book Festival, author
Rose George | Birnam Book Festival 2018
Entrance
Kinnaird
Cafe
Beatrix Potter
Shop
Gallery
Studio
