Perth has an extraordinary free experience tucked into its urban landscape — a public art trail that weaves alongside the River Tay and through the heart of the city. The River Tay Public Art Trail is a celebration of creativity, colour, heritage and community that invites everyone to explore both sides of the river at your own pace. Whether you’re out for a couple of hours or happy to wander longer, this trail is perfect for art lovers, curious visitors and locals wanting to see Perth through a new lens.
First a little bit on Perth
The River Tay is the longest river in Scotland and the most powerful in Britain. It flows directly through the heart of Perth, and it is to this river that the city owes its very existence. During the Middle Ages, Perth developed around the lowest point at which the Tay could be bridged. Making it a vital crossing point for trade, travel and communication.
In the later medieval period, Perth was widely known in Scots as St John’s Toun or St Johnstoun. A name that came from the town’s principal church dedicated to St John the Baptist. This was a long used local name rather than the city’s formal title, but it became deeply rooted in Perth’s identity. The historic connection still lives on today through the city’s football club, St Johnstone FC. St Johnstone FC name preserves this link to Perth’s medieval past.
Perth’s name is believed to have Pictish origins, later carried into Gaelic, referring to woodland beside the river.
The Official Trail Story Map of the Sculpture Trail
The official Trail StoryMap — the interactive guide created on ArcGIS. This map is the best resource to follow the artworks in order and learn about them in depth:
https://www.arcgis.com/apps/MapJournal/index.html?appid=f69cfc5a10ba4d11aab7c005fa771657
I absolutely loved this day wandering, discovering hidden corners and sculptures that really bring Perth’s outdoor spaces to life. In April the colours were stunning, and the art felt so accessible. For children its a treasure hunt, for adults, like me, it’s also a treasure hunt involving pathways, parkways and waterways. Everyone, whether walkers, cyclists or those simply looking to be inspired. Enjoy urban exploring while weaving their way along this winding trail.
This isn’t just a list of sculptures. It’s a chance to discover Perth old and new, the layers of its history, the parks and riverbanks. The stories behind the art and the artists who made them. I’m capturing this trail now because it deserves to be seen. Also the official website is now difficult to find.
So let’s begin…
How to Experience the Trail
You can start the trail on either side of the river, but a popular way is to begin at near Queens Bridge. Here the ‘first’ sculpture on the trail is situated and walk along the riverfront. This lets you take in the river side promenade in a wide circular route, with the riverside parks and the scenic bridges before ending in the city centre.
The whole walk can take anywhere from 2–4 hours, depending on your pace. How much you stop to read, reflect and photograph, and whether you pause for a coffee or picnic along the route.
Wear comfortable shoes. Bring water. And let yourself slow down, the art is meant to be discovered, not rushed.
1. The Dark and Singing Tide
By David Annand (2002)
From Tay Street in winter, goldeneye ducks can often be seen diving beneath the surface of the river in search of food. This movement and energy inspired The Dark and Singing Tide. It draws directly from a poem titled The River by the Perth born poet William Soutar.
Rather than simply representing the river, the artist set out to symbolically “extract” a cubic metre of the River Tay itself. Within this imagined section of flowing water, a goldeneye duck is captured mid dive. Plunging down in pursuit of molluscs, bringing a fleeting natural moment into permanent sculptural form.
2. Access Gates
By Malcolm Robertson (2011)
The River Tay has long been famous for its salmon fishing,. These beautifully crafted access gates celebrate that deep connection between river, people and wildlife. Set along the riverside, the three fishermen’s gates are far more than practical entrances. Each one is a piece of art in its own right. Filled with flowing shapes and cut metal scenes inspired by life on and around the Tay.
Look closely and you will spot the surrounding landscape brought to life through silhouettes of fish moving through the water, birds in flight and seals resting along the riverbanks. Together, the gates form a visual story of the Tay’s natural richness. Centuries old fishing heritage, blending everyday function with creativity in a way that feels perfectly at home beside the river.
3. Wall Sculptures
By Gillian Forbes (1998)
Set into the wall along Tay Street, this series of ten stone carvings. Each sculpture is individually titled and together they create a varied sequence of images drawn from Perth and its surrounding area.
The ten carvings are named. Unthank, Macnab, Blue Kinnoull, Ecce Tiber, Heart of Scotland, Douglas, Tayberry, The Earth, Gibraltar, and Cream of the Well.
Several of the carvings reflect the richness of the local landscape and agriculture. With natural forms symbolising the fertile land shaped by the river. One also references Gibraltar, the former ferry crossing point on the opposite bank of the River Tay. Highlighting how important the Tay once was for movement and trade before modern bridges connected the city. The title Heart of Scotland reflects Perth’s long held reputation as the geographical and historic heart of the country.
4. Eagle of Perth
By Shona Kinloch (2002)
This striking riverside sculpture was inspired by a moment in Perth’s trading history. In 1839, the city’s Merchant Guild built a ship called The Eagle. The aim of the ship to strengthening trade links, particularly with the Baltic. The sculpture reflects that ambition and optimism.
At the base of the piece sits a large, plump fish, symbolising the prosperity the merchants hoped this new trading route would bring to Perth. Perched above it is the bird itself, solid and well fed. A visual suggestion of wealth and success flowing into the city.
Officially titled Eagle of Perth, the bird has a fun presence. Although many visitors (myself included) are reminded of an osprey, a species strongly associated with fishing along Scottish rivers. Whether eagle or simply a stylised bird of prey, it feels perfectly at home beside the water. Linking Perth’s natural world with its commercial past.
5. River Tay Themes
By David Wilson (1999)
This large sculpted barrier is as much about feeling as it is about form. Its sheer size immediately gives a sense of the immense power of the River Tay. Particularly at times when the river has burst its banks and surged through the city.
The flowing relief patterns and dynamic figures suggest movement, turbulence and force. The structure itself speaks of resistance and protection. Together, they hint at both the strength of the river and the resilience required to contain it. Reflecting Perth’s long relationship with a waterway that has brought prosperity, beauty and, at times, destruction.
6. Giant Thistle
By David Wilson (2007)
The thistle, long recognised as a national emblem of Scotland, is reimagined here in bold, contemporary form. Crafted in stainless steel and copper, this striking sculpture rises above the surrounding gardens.
The piece was commissioned by the local charity Beautiful Perth, formerly known as Perth in Bloom. It feels like a living expression of their mission to celebrate and enhance the city’s green spaces. Set against open parkland, the Giant Thistle blends art, landscape and local pride into one powerful visual statement.
According to long held tradition, the plant became a symbol of the nation after a barefoot Viking is said to have stepped on a thistle and cried out in pain. The shout is believed to have alerted the Scots to their approaching attack, helping to save them from surprise.
7. Two Buoys Playing
By Chris Biddlecombe (1997)
This imaginative riverside sculpture invites you to think about storytelling and how stories travel through time. Just like the flow of the River Tay itself. Some tales drift forward and are retold across generations, while others sink into obscurity before resurfacing years later.
The references to flotsam and jetsam echo the constant movement of the river. Whilst the shapes of musical instruments woven into the design reflect the enduring pull of traditional storytelling, song and shared memory. Together, the piece beautifully links the rhythm of the Tay with the rhythm of human stories passed along its banks.
8. Thocht Stane
By Donald Urquhart (1998)
Crafted from sandstone and granite, the Thocht Stane, meaning Thought Stone, is set in a quiet, slightly hidden corner of the riverside.Iinviting visitors to pause and reflect. Its simple, solid form feels deliberately removed from the busier paths nearby, creating a small space for calm and contemplation.
The bold word carved into the stone can be read as both an invitation and a command to stop, look and consider not only the artwork itself but the surrounding landscape too. It encourages awareness of the immediate moment and, perhaps, of the wider world beyond it.
9. Benchmark
By John Creed
This striking riverside sculpture is built around a strong central form that conveys a sense of permanence and stability. In contrast, the sweeping spiral shapes around it symbolise the constant movement and force of the River Tay.Hhighlighting the tension between what endures and what is always changing.
Further up the slope, smaller sculptural elements represent the datum points used by the Ordnance Survey to measure and record river levels. Together, the artwork connects natural power with human attempts to understand, monitor and live alongside the river.
10. Perth Sundial II
By David Lovejoy Partnership (1970)
This imposing sundial is built around a solid concrete base and a strong. An upward reaching gnomon that immediately draws the eye skyward. Its bold scale and uncompromising form serve as a reminder of time’s constant presence and its quiet but relentless influence over everyday life.
Set within the riverside landscape, the sculpture invites visitors to pause and reflect on the passing of hours, days and generations. Bringing the ancient measurement of time into a modern public setting.
11. The Dance Within
By Paul Eugene Riley (1998)
Best viewed from a little distance and set against the open sky, this tall glass resin sculpture invites slow observation. At first glance, its segmented form appears almost as if it might topple or separate. Yet the artist has carefully engineered each curve and vertical element so that the whole structure remains perfectly balanced.
Described as a symbolic totem pole that “celebrates the rhythm of life itself”. The sculpture plays with movement, tension and harmony in a way that feels both fragile and strong. The Dance Within was presented to the city of Perth by Sir Stanley Norie-Miller, adding a lasting gift of contemporary art to the riverside landscape.
12. Deschampsia Flexuosa
By Phil Johnson (1992)
These three tall sculptures immediately catch the eye with their elegant, triple pointed Celtic inspired forms. Designed to be visible from a distance as you move through the park. Their flowing shapes echo elements of the surrounding landscape, including the nearby river, local birdlife and the plants and flowers that grow along the riverbanks.
What makes them even more delightful is their hidden practicality. Each sculpture also functions as a litter bin, cleverly blending beauty with everyday use. It is public art doing its job quietly and creatively. I love them! What do you think? Do you agree? If only every bin could look this good.
And yes, the name does translate. Deschampsia flexuosa is the scientific (Latin) name for wavy hair grass. A fine, graceful grass common in Scotland and across northern Europe. The swaying, curved metal forms mirror the natural movement of this plant in the wind, linking the sculpture directly back to the local landscape.
13. Blooming Lovely
By Richard Powell (1998)
The setting of this sculpture plays a huge role in how it is experienced. Placed among grass, trees and dense foliage, its sharp edged, tilted metal form feels deliberately out of balance, almost as if it has paused mid movement.
The hard, industrial surfaces contrast strongly with the softness and life of the surrounding greenery. Drawing attention to the tension between the natural world and human made structures. That contrast is what gives Blooming Lovely much of its power, inviting viewers to reflect on how built environments sit within living landscapes.
Can I call it the wonky chair? Or the broken bird table? Or maybe the robot at rest?
14. Foxtrot Ridge
By David Annand (1992)
This wonderfully lifelike fox feels as though it has stepped straight out of the wild and into the carefully tended setting of Rodney Gardens. Its body is caught mid stride. While the slight turn of its head suggests alertness, as if a sound or movement has just drawn its attention.
There is a beautiful sense of stillness and tension in the sculpture, frozen in time yet full of life. Follow the fox’s gaze, and take in the wider scene around you. Blending wildlife, art and landscape in a way that feels both natural and quietly magical.
15. Evergreen
By Kenny Munro
Rising from a circular bed of planting, Evergreen is formed from granite and bronze and was designed to echo the many church spires that shape Perth’s skyline. Its tall, vertical structure feels both architectural and organic. Linking the built heritage of the city with the natural world around it.
The bronze finial at the top, along with the carved words and imagery on the stone, allude to the environmental ideas of Sir Patrick Geddes. Geddes a pioneer in thinking about cities as living, connected places. Adding a deeply human touch, the stones also feature handprints from members of the local community. Making the sculpture not just something to look at, but something shaped by the people of Perth themselves.
16. Outwith Within, Seed, Leaf and Bud
By David Wilson (1998)
This group of three sculptures is closely connected to the surrounding gardens, with each form representing a seed, a leaf and a bud. Together they reflect growth, renewal and the natural cycles unfolding around them.
They also speak to why so many people are drawn to gardens in the first place. For many of us, these spaces offer peace, quiet and time for reflection, and the sculptures can be read as gentle waymarkers through life itself. David Wilson drew inspiration from the ideas of Sir Patrick Geddes. Particularly his writing on The World Without and the World Within. Where he suggested that walking in a garden could stimulate thought, imagination and deeper awareness of both nature and self.
17. Millais’ Viewpoint
By Tim Shutter (1997)
Carved from warm St Bees sandstone, this large sculptural frame and seat marks a viewpoint once favoured by the Victorian artist John Everett Millais. Millais had strong family connections to Perth. The piece invites visitors to sit, pause and experience the landscape much as Millais himself would have done. As the city and gardens unfolding below.
When viewed from just the right position, the sculpture neatly frames Kinnoull Kirkyard, where Millais’ wife, Effie Gray, is buried. It is a quietly moving link between art, memory and place, blending Perth’s creative history with one of its most beautiful outlooks.
18. River Arch
By Doug Cocker (1998)
This monumental sculpture invites you to move around it. Beneath it and through its sweeping form, making you part of the artwork rather than just an observer. Its two towering elements are deliberately different in character.
The softer, flowing curve of one vertical form echoes the circular movement and constant motion of the River Tay itself. In contrast, the harder, more angular profile of the other suggests the solid presence of the bridges that span the river. Together, they reflect Perth’s long relationship with the Tay and the role it has played in shaping the city’s history, connection and prosperity.
19. Vortex
By Malcolm Robertson (1994)
This striking, twisting sculpture takes its name from a vortex. The swirling motion of water often seen in whirlpools and fast moving rivers. Its spiralling form echoes the powerful movement found in nature, particularly in flowing water such as the River Tay.
20. Torse de Femme
By Bill Hepworth in 1994, after an original design by J. D. Fergusson from 1918.
This powerful modernist sculpture stands on Marshall Place outside the former Fergusson Gallery. With its smooth surfaces and flowing curves, it presents a bold and confident vision of the female form. The figure arches backwards, her rounded belly emphasised, conveying strength, vitality and fertility rather than delicacy. Fergusson’s work was influenced by movement, rhythm and the energy of the human body. Torse de Femme captures this sense of life and motion in solid bronze, celebrating womanhood as dynamic and enduring.
In case you are wondering…The Old Perth Water Works (1852)
This impressive circular stone building was constructed in 1852 as part of Perth’s first modern water supply system. Designed during the Victorian era of major public health reform. The Perth Water Works helped bring clean, reliable drinking water to the growing city at a time when outbreaks of disease were common in towns without proper sanitation. Its solid classical architecture was intended to reflect strength, progress and trust in new engineering.
Water was pumped and stored here before being distributed across Perth, marking a turning point in everyday life for residents. Long before running taps became normal in homes, this site represented innovation and improved living conditions for the whole community. In the twentieth century, the former waterworks found a new purpose as the Fergusson Gallery. Linking this historic piece of infrastructure with Perth’s cultural life and the surrounding public art you see today.
21. Soutar’s Menagerie
By Rhonda Bayley (2004)
This playful sculpture is inspired by the work of William Soutar, one of Perth’s best known poets. After serving in the First World War, Soutar developed a chronic spinal illness that left him disabled for much of his life. Yet he continued to write with remarkable warmth, humour and imagination.
This piece reflects the lighter side of his writing, drawing on the quirky animal characters from his poem Bairn Rhymes. The small, expressive creatures capture the spirit of childhood wonder that runs through much of Soutar’s work.
22. Salmon Run
By Lee Brewster (2004)
This flowing steel sculpture reflects the course of the River Tay as it winds its way towards the sea, punctuated by the salmon for which the river is famous. The Tay has long been nicknamed the “Silvery Tay”, a phrase popularised in verse by Victorian poet William McGonagall.
William (Topaz) McGonagall – Scotland’s Most Infamous Poet
William McGonagall is one of Scotland’s most well known literary figures, though not for the reasons most poets are usually celebrated. Writing in the late nineteenth century, he produced hundreds of poems about disasters, historic events and everyday life, all with great enthusiasm and sincerity.
However, his awkward rhythms, forced rhymes and overly literal style earned him a lasting reputation as Britain’s “worst poet”. During his lifetime he was frequently ridiculed, and he died in poverty in 1902.
Ironically, in the years since his death, McGonagall’s work has been remembered with a mixture of amusement and affection. Today he remains a curious, memorable and oddly beloved part of Scotland’s cultural story.
23. St John Street Artworks
By David Wilson
These striking sculptural forms by David Wilson bring a touch of the natural world into the heart of Perth’s streetscape. Their exaggerated, flowing shapes echo leaves, seed heads and organic movement, standing in deliberate contrast to the straight lines of the lamp posts and the solid geometry of the surrounding buildings.
By lifting the eye upwards, the artworks subtly reconnect the busy shopping street with sky, light and open space. They soften the urban environment and create a sense that nature is still present, even among stone façades and pavements, blending countryside inspiration with everyday city life in a beautifully understated way.
24. The Fair Maid of Perth
By Graham Ibbeson (1992).
The Fair Maid of Perth is a historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, published in 1828 and set in fifteenth century Scotland. Its central character, Catherine Glover, is the daughter of a Perth glove maker whose beauty and independence draw her into a world of political intrigue, clan rivalry and violence. The bronze sculpture presents her in a quiet, reflective pose, offering a calm contrast to the dramatic events of the story and placing one of Scottish literature’s best known heroines into the modern streetscape of Perth.
The novel is inspired by the real historical event known as the Battle of the North Inch, a dramatic clan combat fought in Perth on St Valentine’s Day in 1396. Scott drew on medieval Scottish chronicles and poems to create a vivid picture of life in fifteenth century Scotland. Praised for its strong characters, romance and historical atmosphere, The Fair Maid of Perth is widely regarded as one of Scott’s finest works of historical fiction.
25. Nae Day Sae Dark
By David Annand (1992).
This sculpture is inspired by the work of William Soutar and is the third piece in Perth linked to his writing, alongside Soutar’s Menagerie and The Dark and Singing Tide. The two bronze figures represent contrasting emotional states, one uplifted and hopeful, the other burdened and withdrawn.
Echoing Soutar’s poem of the same name, the sculpture reflects the idea that no darkness lasts forever. Even in moments of deep hardship, light and hope continue to exist, a quiet but powerful message captured in the tension between the two figures.
Thank You
By Alexander Stoddart (2018)
This war memorial sculpture, not a named part of the trail, stands near the South Inch and forms part of Perth’s wider remembrance landscape, linking the city to the experiences of soldiers and civilians during the Great War.
It shows a young girl offering a flower to a returning First World War soldier, a quiet, powerful moment meant to symbolise gratitude, relief and the cost of conflict felt by families at home. Rather than heroic battle imagery, Stoddart chose a human, emotional exchange, focusing on innocence meeting sacrifice.
Looking Closer: Perth Beyond the Trail
Beyond the sculptures themselves, Perth reveals its character through the details woven into everyday streets, vennels and closes. Ornate stone carvings, historic façades, decorative murals and carefully crafted architectural features appear throughout the city, quietly telling stories of craftsmanship, industry and local pride. Taking time to look up and wander these smaller spaces uncovers layers of history and artistry that might otherwise be missed, adding depth and richness to any walk through Perth.
WOW You Did It
If you’ve followed the River Tay Public Art Trail from start to finish, you’ve just experienced one of the best free ways to explore Perth. Along the way you’ve seen how art, history, nature and everyday city life sit side by side along the River Tay, from large landmark sculptures to small details hidden in parks, streets, vennels and closes.
Whether it took you two hours or a full afternoon, the trail shows Perth as a place to slow down, look closely and enjoy discovering things you might otherwise walk straight past. It works just as well for locals as it does for visitors, and no two walks ever feel quite the same.
Next time you’re in Perth, take the trail again, wander a different route, and keep looking up. There is always something new to spot.
For more wee wild Scottish adventures
A Journey to the Stone of Destiny
River Tay Public Art Trail | Wheelchair Accessible Walk in Perth, Scotland