Spotless medieval town with riverside town is the ‘cleanest in the UK’

The town of 10,000 people was home to one of Scotland’s greatest ever sports stars, has a particularly old library and some of the cleanest air you’re like to find

A small town with medieval charm and a charming riverside has the country’s cleanest air.

The UK may be a place beset by sewage-swamped rivers that struggles to control its town centre air quality, but there are a few places that buck that trend.

One of them is Dunblane, a small but elegant town in Stirlingshire, central Scotland. The town of 10,000 had the cleanest air of anywhere in the UK last year, according to air monitoring firm IQAir.

Aside from a lovely lungful of O2, there are plenty of other reasons why Dunblane has a reputation as a lovely place to stop if you’re travelling between Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Highlands, or a peaceful destination in its own right for a weekend break.

What to do in Dunblane

1. Dunblane Cathedral The Cathedral dates back to the 13th century, with a small section of one tower 200 years older than that. Its highlights include fragile blue-purple stained glass and delicately carved pews, screen and choir stalls, as well as a tenth-century Celtic cross-slab standing stone. The church is dedicated to the 6th-century saint, St Blane, who gave the town its name: Dunblane, meaning hill of St Blane.

2. The Leighton Library Scotland’s oldest private library building might not look like much from the outside, but there are treasures within. It dates back to the death of Archbishop Robert Leighton in 1984, who left his book collection and £100 to the Cathedral, along with orders for a library to be built. Today, it holds over 4,500 rare books and manuscripts covering theology, medicine, law and classical literature. Stepping inside feels like entering a scholarly time capsule, with oak shelves and leather-bound volumes.

3. Andy Murray’s Gold Postbox Dunblane is the hometown of tennis star Sir Andy Murray. Locals celebrated his gold medal win at the 2012 London Olympics by painting the town’s Royal Mail postbox gold. It is proudly displayed outside the Dunblane post office on the High Street.

4. Kippenrait Glen Right on Dunblane’s doorstep is the ‘wildwood’ of Kippenrait Glen. The extensive woodland clothes the steep-sided banks of the Wharry Burn, much of which is thought to have been continuously wooded since the last ice age. Given how little ancient woodland remains anywhere in the UK, Kippernrait Glane is arguably more exciting than it first sounds. In spring, bluebells, white wood anemones, and wild garlic are particular highlights.

5. Deanston Distillery Deanston Distillery sits by the River Teith, ten minutes from Dunblane. Having been a cotton mill for 180 years, it was transformed into a distillery in the 1960s and has been producing whisky using traditional methods ever since, with a visitor centre and café on site.

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6. The Battle of Sheriffmuir & Clan MacRae Monument Those interested in Scottish Jacobite history can visit the scene of the 1715 Battle of Sheriffmuir. An obelisk monument to the Clan MacRae erected in 1915 stands on the battlefield, alongside the Gathering Stone (a block of grit enclosed in an iron cage since 1840) where the standard of the Scottish clans is said to have been placed.

7. Argaty Red Kite Feeding Station Argaty is central Scotland’s red kite feeding station, offering daily ranger-led visits to a hide where you can watch these birds flying without disturbing their fragile population. There are beavers and red squirrels living on the site, with a good chance of spotting both.

8. The Allan Water & River Walks A visit to Dunblane is not complete without a walk along the beautiful River Allan, which runs through the middle of the town. Paths can be accessed from the cathedral or either end of the bridge in the town centre.

9. Blair Drummond Safari Park A short distance from Dunblane is Blair Drummond Safari Park, home to 350 rare and exotic animals including Scotland’s only giraffes and Chimp Island, which visitors can reach by boat.

10. Independent High Street Dunblane’s High Street is compact and full of independent shops, bakeries, gift stores, and bookshops. There’s also a regular farmers’ market with local produce, crafts and street food. Getting there is easy: Dunblane is on the main railway line through Scotland, with regular direct services to Stirling (7 mins), Edinburgh (1 hr) and Glasgow (40 mins).