Perthshire is where Morrocco Media is based, and after two decades working here we have come to know it as one of the most varied and rewarding regions for film and video production in Scotland. The best filming locations in Perthshire are not always the obvious ones, and the quality of the footage you get from them depends as much on timing and light as on the place itself. This is a cinematographer’s guide to the county we know best.
The Cateran Trail and highland Perthshire
The Cateran Trail winds through some of the most distinctive landscape in highland Perthshire, and it is terrain we know intimately. We filmed the Caterans Commonwealth series for Cateran Ecomuseum across this area over multiple shoot days. The combination of rolling farmland, heather moor and the foothills of the Grampians gives this part of Perthshire a layered quality that rewards patient filming. Glenshee, at the head of the trail, offers genuine mountain scenery and is one of the few places in Scotland where you can reliably film winter sport conditions.
The River Tay and Loch Rannoch
The River Tay is the longest river in Scotland and runs through the heart of Perthshire. It is a strong anchor for any film that wants to convey the region: wide and reflective in its lower reaches, fast and dramatic upstream. Loch Rannoch, further west, sits in a more remote and atmospheric setting, with Schiehallion rising to the south. The light on Rannoch Moor beyond it is some of the most cinematic in Scotland, particularly in the low sun of autumn and winter.
Forests, glens and the detail of the place
Perthshire is sometimes called “Big Tree Country,” and its woodlands are a genuine asset. Ancient forest around Dunkeld and The Hermitage gives texture and intimacy that contrasts with the open hill. For tourism and brand films alike, this variety means a single county can supply a remarkable range of looks without long travel between locations, which keeps shoot days efficient.
Filming locations in Perthshire: Perth, Blairgowrie and Glen Lyon
Beyond the hill and glen locations, Perthshire’s towns and working communities are filming locations in their own right, and they are the ones we know best because Morrocco Media is based among them, in Blairgowrie. Perth itself, the “Fair City” on the banks of the Tay, gives access to riverside, bridge and civic architecture within minutes of open countryside — we filmed the Fair City Enduro mountain bike event in and around the city for Muckmedden Events, a shoot that depended on knowing exactly where a fast-moving race would pass and how to position a small crew to capture it.
Grassroots sport is part of this local picture too. Our film for Perthshire Rugby was made close to Morrocco Media’s own base, and it reflects a long-standing connection to the county’s sporting clubs: the kind of access and trust that comes from filming a community’s teams and events over many years, not arriving for a single commission.
Further north and west, Glen Lyon is one of Perthshire’s most secluded glens, and it is home to Glen Lyon Coffee Roasters, a Perthshire speciality coffee business we have worked with on several brand films. Filming here shows a different side of the county: a working Highland business with a strong sense of place, where the landscape informs the brand rather than simply providing a backdrop.
Seasons and light in Perthshire
If there is one thing two decades here have taught us, it is that the season makes the film. Autumn is exceptional: the larch and birch turn, the light drops low, and the whole county takes on a warmth that no colour grade can manufacture from scratch. Winter brings snow to the high ground at Glenshee and a clarity to the air that summer rarely offers. Spring is excellent for fresh colour and long, soft mornings. Summer, counterintuitively, is often the hardest. Long days are useful but midday light is flat, and haze can rob distant hills of their definition.
Planning a Perthshire shoot
Because the county is compact, a well-planned shoot can move between glen, river, forest and hill in a single day, chasing the best light at each. That requires local knowledge: knowing not just where to point the camera but when. It is the kind of judgement that comes from having filmed a place across every season and every kind of weather.
Being based in Blairgowrie also means practical advantages that clients feel in the budget rather than just the footage. There is no travel day to build into the schedule, no unfamiliarity with which estates and landowners to approach for access, and no guesswork about which back road gives the cleanest line to Schiehallion at sunset. For productions centred on Perthshire, that local presence typically means more usable shooting time for the same budget.
If you are planning a production in the region, our tourism video production service covers how we approach destination and landscape work across Perthshire and the wider Highlands.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need permits to film in Perthshire?
It depends on the location. Public land and roadside viewpoints are often straightforward, but private estates, National Trust for Scotland properties and some managed sites may require permission, particularly for drone work or vehicle access. As a Perthshire-based company we know which locations need arrangements in advance and handle those permissions as part of the production.
What is the most cinematic time of day to film in Perthshire?
The hours around sunrise and sunset, the so-called golden hours, give the warm, low, directional light that models the Perthshire landscape best. In autumn and winter that quality of light extends through much of the short day, which is one reason the cooler months often produce the most striking footage.
Why is Perthshire such a varied region to film in?
Perthshire packs an unusual range of landscape into a compact area, which is a genuine practical advantage for filmmakers. Within a short drive you can move from the ancient woodland around Dunkeld to the open moor of the Cateran Trail, from the River Tay to the mountain scenery at Glenshee and the atmospheric expanse of Rannoch Moor. That variety means a single county can supply many different looks without long travel between locations, keeping shoot days efficient and productive. Combined with the warmth of Perthshire’s autumn light and the reliability of winter snow on its high ground, it is one of the reasons we have based Morrocco Media here for over two decades and continue to find fresh material in it.
Do you only film landscapes in Perthshire, or brand and sport work too?
Landscape is one part of it, but Perthshire is a working county as much as a scenic one, and much of our filming here reflects that. We have made brand films for Glen Lyon Coffee Roasters in the Highland glen the company takes its name from, a club film for Perthshire Rugby that captured grassroots sport close to our own base, and a promotional film for the Fair City Enduro mountain bike event in Perth. Being based locally means these projects benefit from the same access and local knowledge as the landscape and tourism work.
