Tourist's guide to visit Kinross-shire

Visit Kinross-shire – things to do & explore

Overview of Kinross-shire history & facts by Walkfo

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Planning a visit to Kinross-shire?

The County of Kinross or Kinross-shire is a historic county and registration county in eastern Scotland, administered as part of Perth and Kinross since 1930. Surrounding its largest settlement and county town of Kinross, the county borders Perthshire to the north and Fife to the east, south and west. Scotland’s second smallest county, Kinross-shire is dominated by Loch Leven, a large inland loch, with two islands and an internationally important nature reserve. One of the islands contains a castle, where Mary, Queen of Scots was once held prisoner. Much of the land in Kinross-shire is fertile agricultural land and most of the inhabitants were originally employed in farming. The gently-rolling farmland surrounding Loch Leven gives way to steep, more rugged terrain at the outskirts of the county.

Kinross-shire history

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The shire or sheriffdom of Kinross was formed in the thirteenth century when the two parishes of Kinross and Orwell were removed from the Fothriff area of Fife. Cleish, Portmoak and Tullibole were added by act of parliament in 1685. As local government in Scotland evolved, Kinross-shire gained a county council in 1890, which was later amalgamated with Perth County Council under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929. Kinross County Council was based at County Buildings, High Street, Kinross. The county suffered a decline in population in the 19th and 20th centuries, as its inhabitants migrated to the cities to find work in manufacturing, etc. The population in 1891 was 6,673; in 1971 it was 6,423. The decline was hastened by the closure of the railways in the county soon after the Second World War. However, in recent years, construction of the M90 motorway north of the Forth Road Bridge has resulted in the area becoming more prominent. Tourism has increased, with visitors attracted by the unspoiled country villages and gently rolling hills reaching the shores of Loch Leven. The villages of Kinnesswood and Scotlandwell are attractive, and there are ancient standing stones at Orwell. The T in the Park music festival was held in Balado from 1993 – 2014. The economic outlook of Kinross-shire has improved and was recorded in 2009 as having an estimated population of 12,997. In addition, it outperformed both the Perth and Kinross area and Scotland averages in economic performance. The area is promoted by the Kinross-shire Partnership, a body bringing together local government, tourist organisations and local organisations.

Kinross-shire geography / climate

Kinross-shire is landlocked and is generally flat, except in the north-west where the Ochil Hills are located, and along the southern boundary where the Cleish Hills can be found. The Ochils contain Innerdouny Hill, Kinross-shire’s highest point at 497 m (1,631 ft). The most notable geographic feature of the county is Loch Leven which is also an important nature reserve; there are also several islands within the loch, the largest of which is St Serf’s Inch (the others are Alice’s Bower, Castle Island, Reed Bower, Roy’s Folly and Scart Island). A much smaller body of water – the Arnot Reservoir – is located to the east of Loch Leven. On the far northern border a portion of the Glenfarg Reservoir lies within the county.

You can visit Kinross-shire, COUNTY/BOROUGH & use Walkfo to discover the best walking places with our free digital tour guide app created especially for Kinross-shire. Walkfo Kinross-shire has 300 locations with history, culture & travel facts, that you can explore the same way you can a museum or art gallery with information audio headset. With Walkfo, you can travel by foot, bike or bus throughout Kinross-shire, being in the moment, without digital distraction and no limitations to a specific walking route – you choose where you want to go, when you want to go and Walkfo Kinross-shire will keep up.

When you visit Kinross-shire

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When you visit Kinross-shire, Walkfo is your digital tour guide while exploring by foot, bike or bus. With numerous walks, hikes, tourist locations & travel destinations available in Kinross-shire, our travel AI guide helps you get the best from your visit to Kinross-shire & the surrounding areas. Our explore Kinross-shire app for iPhone & Android, allows you to experience the hidden history, culture and amazing facts throughout Kinross-shire whilst out walking. The digital tour guide creates interactive audio stories driven by where you walk, so you can exploration Kinross-shire’s National Heritage sites, tourist attractions, historic locations or city streets freely, without the restrictions of a predefined walk & walk map.

“The Walkfo AI has curated content for millions of locations across the UK, with 0 audio facts in Kinross-shire alone that form an interactive Kinross-shire walking map for you to explore.”

Best Kinross-shire places to visit

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Kinross-shire has hundreds of places to explore by foot, bike or bus. Below are five of Kinross-shire’s best destinations to visit when exploring the area. We have condensed the information with much more detail available within Walkfo when you visit the destinations.

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Visit Kinross-shire plaques

Experience Kinross-shire audio walks & tours

Visiting Kinross-shire with Walkfo’s things to do interactive map
The “Kinross-shire things to do map” below is a preview of the places you can visit in Kinross-shire and surrounding areas with our digital audio tour guide app. Each spot has content for a plaque, a building, a street or general area, providing history, culture or tourism information the you can explore.

Interactive ‘Explore Kinross-shire Map’     This Kinross-shire tourism map shows points of interest within a 4km radius of Kinross-shire centre

Walkfo App     Walkfo

Walkfo is free to download & use (for a limited time period), so if you are looking to explore Kinross-shire, go to your App Store to search for “Walkfo” or follow a links below and install on your mobile phone. Walkfo is designed for use with headphones or AirPods, so you can walk & explore whilst learning about the things around you without digital distraction.

  Apple App Store

  Google Play Store

Things to do & visit in Kinross-shire and surrounding areas

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Getting to / around Kinross-shire – transport links, stations, streets & traffic map

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Getting around in Kinross-shire using public transportation may include roads, streets, trains, undergrounds, buses or trams. Walkfo has the following important Kinross-shire public transport locations with historic / cultural / factual content when you visit:

Kinross-shire Notable Public Transport Stations		Kinross-shire Notable Streets & Roads

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Attention local Kinross-shire historians, tour guides & Kinross-shire tourism agents