What is the Heart 200?

The Heart 200 is a new, 200-mile touring route around some of central Scotland's most dramatic, beautiful, and storied landscapes – centred around the cities of Perth and Stirling as well as The Trossachs system of glens, hills and lochs, and the rugged Perthshire Highlands.

The route is crammed with interest – there are dramatic hill walks, historic golf courses, castles aplenty, whisky distilleries galore – as well as plenty of shopping, live music, family activities. Oh, and some of the wildest, remotest, and most imposing landscapes the British Isles have to offer – the perfect place for a classic car road trip!

You can follow the Heart 200 route to the last kilometre; you can select sections that appeal most to you; or there are numerous attractions just off the route all along the way. Start and finish wherever you choose – and travel whichever way round works best for you.

So, let's look at a few of the many attractions that await you en route. Use our guide to familiarise yourself with the Heart 200's dozens of fascinating destinations: then book yourself into some of the many inviting accommodations, load up the car, check your classic car insurance is fully prepared for any eventuality – and away you go!

We've divided our breakdown into the Heart 200's six distinct regions:

The west: woods, lochs and a film-star castle

Among the highlights of the Heart 200's western section we must mention Doune Castle, a medieval fortress midway between the historic towns of Stirling and Callander, which has made a few noted appearances on our screens. Doune doubled as Castle Swamp in Monty Python and the Holy Grail and, more recently, appeared as both Castle Winterfell in the Game of Thrones pilot episode, and Castle Leoch in Outlander.

This section of the route is also a must for anyone who loves beautiful woodland scenery, with the Trossachs National Park providing a breath-taking mix of hills, lochs and glens. Nearby Aberfoyle is your one-stop shop for woodland adventures, including canoeing and an assault course at the Forest Hills Water Sports Centre, Kinlochard; close by is Go Ape, a brilliant outdoor activity centre with two of Britain’s longest zip-wire rides that give you a commanding, eagle-eye view of the stunning forest scenery.

On your way into Doune you'll pass the David Stirling Monument, a memorial to the Colonel and founder of the Special Air Service (SAS). Nearby, you'll find Argaty Red Kites, Scotland's only feeding station for these majestic birds of prey, complete with hide and visitor’s centre.

In the town of Callander, if you and your travelling companions are of the two-wheeled persuasion you can hire bikes and ride the old Callander to Oban railway, as well as a section of the Rob Roy Way – a long-distance route through countryside travelled by the 18th Century outlaw and folk hero.

Accommodation options on this leg include Mains Farm Wigwams, where as well as the eponymous wooden huts you’ll also have the option of staying overnight in a Westland Sea King helicopter!

The north: remote outposts and roads to savour

The northern sections of the Heart 200 penetrate into the Highlands proper, and much of the landscape is correspondingly wilder, more desolate – and, often, simply breathtaking.

Seekers of ancient Scottish atmosphere should make for the village of Killin – and to the Falls of Dochart beside the village, a beauty spot where the River Dochart dashes downhill towards Loch Tay. If you're in search of a moment of calm and reflection, seek out the peaceful island of Inchbuie, beside the Falls, where you'll find a burial enclosure, containing the graves of some of the region's ancient clan chiefs.

The roads around some of this northern section of the route, the B846 south of Tummel Bridge, offer some incredibly arresting scenery – and are also noticeably narrow and winding. Our advice is to proceed with care through sections like this, to keep your eye firmly on the road ahead as well as the stunning scenery – and to come prepared with some good classic car insurance, to provide maximum protection. Above all, though, we'd recommend not hurrying this section of the route – take your time and savour those views!

Of the many beautiful lochs in this part of the world, we'd recommend a stop at Loch Rannoch. Make for the village of Kinloch Rannoch at the loch's eastern end, where you can enjoy some wonderful views of the loch and the nearby mountain of Schiehallion, where Astronomer Royal Nevil Maskelyne spent 17 weeks calculating, yes indeed, the weight of the earth (and where his companion, the mathematician Charles Hutton, invented the contour lines that still feature on maps to this day).

If you fancy deviating from the route here, you can also explore further up Lock Rannoch, all the way to Rannoch Station – one of Britain's remotest railway stations, serving the sparsely populated Rannoch Moor. You may feel at the edge of the world here – but the station has its own tearoom, where a cuppa and a slice of cake await weary travellers.

The east: a river runs through it

Several rivers, in fact, including the Tummel, Braan, Ericht and Tay. Yes, the drive around the Heart 200's eastern section – taking in the towns of Pitlochry, Dunkeld and Blairgowrie, and the graceful city of Perth – will provide oodles of beautiful riverside scenery.

The banks of the Tay are home to the wonderful Scone Palace, a red sandstone Georgian Gothic fantasy palace with an unmistakable castellated roof. The site of Scone is steeped in history: the Augustinian monastery that occupied the site before today's palace was the place where generations of Scottish kings were crowned.

You'll also pass through the town of Blairgowrie – once a centre of Scotland's flax industry, now the hub of Perthshire’s soft fruit-growing industry, famed for its raspberries and strawberries. Over the River Ericht, which runs through the town, runs Cargill's Pass, where in 1679 the minister Donald Cargill is believed to have leapt across dangerous rushing water to evade capture by dragoon guards.

Perth itself is a beautiful green city, famed for its two spacious parks, the North Inch and South Inch. Make time, too, for Balhousie Castle, the seat of the Earls of Kinnoull and now the Regimental Headquarters, Museum and Archive of the Black Watch, for decades the senior Highland regiment. Exhibitions, artefacts, interactive displays and first-hand accounts tell the story of army life throughout the regiment's 140-year history.

Don't miss the Loch of the Lowes Nature Reserve near Dunkeld, home to nesting ospreys in the spring and summer months, as well as red squirrels and beavers.

The south: lavish opulence… and skydiving?

Between Perth and Stirling, and with the lavish hotel of Gleneagles at its dead centre, the southern tranche of the Heart 200 takes you to some of the most remarkable places the route has to offer.

You'll definitely want to make time for Loch Leven, where Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned on Castle Island. Built on an island in the loch, the castle also has links to King Robert the Bruce, though it is best remembered as the place where Mary abdicated the throne of Scotland, passing it onto her infant son, King James VI.

If your budget stretches to it, look in at the historic, opulent and world-famous Gleneagles Hotel, which in 2024 will mark 100 years of offering sumptuous accommodation to its illustrious visitors. The hotel also boasts no less than three golf courses – and the British School of Falconry is also based in the grounds. The landscaped gardens are stunning, the fine dining top-drawer and the service second to none – this is a place to really kick back and be spoiled. We're sure your classic car would fit right in amongst Gleneagles' timeless surroundings, too. Just make sure you’ve got classic car insurance in place in case one of those golf balls goes slightly awry.

The pretty nearby town of Auchterarder has much to recommend it, too – not least for lovers of extreme sports. Skydive Strathallan, based just outside town, has over 60 years of providing skydiving experiences, and would be a perfect fit for any daredevils among your touring party. As long as you don't mind filling in another round of insurance forms, alongside your classic car insurance.

You can bring yourself back down to earth afterward with a visit to the nearby Tullibardine Distillery in Blackford – producers of handcrafted single malt Scotch whisky. Just the thing to calm those jangling nerves.

Stirling: a key place in Scotland's history

As we've seen, much of the appeal of the Heart 200 is found in its incredible landscapes – its remote moorlands, imposing mountain ranges, fast-rushing Highland rivers and deep Caledonian forests.A key link in the chain, though, is the city of Stirling, known to many as the ‘Gateway to the Highlands’, and a place that's played an indelible role in Scotland's national story. For one thing, it's a focal point for Scots national pride – thanks to the famous Battle of Stirling Bridge of 1297, where William Wallace and Andrew Moray masterminded the defeat of the advancing English army.

The Wallace Monument, built to commemorate the victory, is an essential element of Scottish identity. Not only that, but the view from the top of the four-storey tower, over the city of Stirling and the surrounding countryside, is one of those iconic vistas that no one – Scots or visitor – should deprive themselves of.

Be sure to visit Stirling Castle, dramatically poised on its basalt cliff above the River Forth. Stirling is one of Britain's best-preserved castles: it's been a royal residence since around 1100, was hugely important in the Scottish Wars of Independence of the late 13th and early 14th centuries, and later became the Stuarts' royal seat – both James IV and James V made their own additions to the castle buildings. It's still in fine condition today, and you can take in its courtyards, Great Hall, Chapel Royal, and the elegant Royal Palace.

When to go?

The infinite variety and majestic landscapes of the Heart 200 route mean that you are not going to find yourself starved of beautiful sights whatever time of year you choose to make your visit. However, that said (and with one eye on the weather), you may be best off choosing spring or summer to make your pilgrimage to Scotland's heartlands.

Spring will be a great time for wildlife lovers, who are in for a treat in this wild part of the world with its many unspoilt habitats. This is the time, for example, to catch the ospreys at Loch of the Lowes Nature Reserve nesting and feeding their young. The red squirrels found in the forests on the western side of the Heart 200 tour will also be at their most active in spring and summer. Spring is also peak time for the region's many wildflowers, from Scots Bluebells to the delicate Northern Marsh Orchid.

Summer is the time to catch several of the seasonal festivals and Highland games events that are so integral to life in this part of the world. The Highland Games at Kinloch Rannoch, for example, take place on the third Saturday in August. Piping, caber tossing, and a hill race are among the attractions. August is also the month for the annual Crieff Highland Gathering (cancelled in 2021 due to the pandemic), featuring Highland dancing, heavyweight events and more. If you come a little later, the Blairgowrie and Rattray Highland Games are normally a September fixture.

In truth, though, whatever time of year you choose to make your pilgrimage to the heart of Scotland, a wonderful array of landscapes, experiences and history awaits you.

Protect your Scottish road trip with classic car insurance

A trip around the Heart 200 touring route will be full of excitement and history – and a feast for the eyes.

And just as the monuments and landscapes that make up the Heart 200 are protected from development and modernisation; we know you'll want to protect your classic from everything that Britain's roads might throw at it.

We bring with us 35 years of experience with classic car insurance – and we are well placed to help you keep your beloved motor in the condition it deserves.

Contact us today for a classic car insurance quote.

Policy benefits, features and discounts offered may very between insurance schemes or cover selected and are subject to underwriting criteria. Information contained within this article is accurate at the time of publishing but may be subject to change.