Errol, Perth and Kinross, Scotland, United Kingdom

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Errol is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland about halfway between Dundee and Perth. It is one of the principal settlements of the Carse of Gowrie. It lies just north of the River Tay.

Errol village is in the Carse and Gowrie electoral ward of the Perthshire North Scottish parliamentary constituency and in the Tayside Health Board area.

Errol is surrounded by agricultural flat fields and has a prominent attractive location above the Firth of Tay within this setting. Errol is known for its reeds, which used to be collected up to a few years ago to make thatched roofs. These reeds grow in the banks of the River Tay and act as home to a fairly uncommon bird called the bearded tit. Errol has a large church, built in 1831, known as the "Cathedral of The Carse" which can be seen from most parts of the village and from far around.

Errol lies on the National Cycle Network NCN 77 from Dundee to Pitlochry and is situated about 1 mile (1.5 kilometres) from the A90 Perth to Dundee Road. This makes it popular for people who commute to work.

People have lived in and around Errol from prehistoric times. A ring ditch 450 metres (1,500 feet) east of Mains of Errol is thought to be the remains of timber roundhouse visible as cropmarks on aerial images. At Hill of Errol aerial images suggest a settlement, with a rectangular building, souterrain and pits. At Clashbenny there is a standing stone of Neolithic or Bronze Age.

Village and parish Errol Parish can be dated back to the creation of a barony by William the Lion granted to the Hay family in the twelfth century. A descendant, in James II's reign, was created Earl of Errol. The oldest surviving parish register of births and marriages in Scotland is for Errol parish and dates from 1553; it is a relatively complete record to 1855. Errol is mentioned as 'Arroll' in William Camden's Chorographicall Description published in 1607 and on Gerhard Mercator's Scotiae Regnum maps published in 1595.

In 1689, following the Glorious Revolution, Government troops arrived in Errol; the minister Dr John Nicolson would not recognise the new government and the religious settlement, which resulted in him being deprived of his parish in 1691 despite faithfully discharging his duties.

Port Allen Port Allen has been known by different names including Miln of Errol, Errol Pow and Harbour of Errol. It was granted a charter in 1662 and had its own meal mill, replaced with a horsemill by the 1870s. It is estimated around 200 people lived there in 1700s. The piers at Port Allen were associated with a toll house and an Inn (now a farmhouse). Herdman noted in 1791 that large quantities of grain were shipped from this port. 'Pow of Erroll' and the mill can clearly be seen on the Roy Military Survey map of 1747-1755 [grid ref NO 258 209]. The O.S. six-inch first edition map of 1861 shows a pier and pier crane associated with the port, and water-driven corn and barley mill with a dam and lead.

Errol aerodrome The pioneer Scottish aviator Preston Watson is associated with the early days of the airfield in the 1900s, which is located on flat land between Errol village and the hamlet of the Grange. After the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the Ministry of Defence requisitioned the land from local farmers and the aerodrome opened as an RAF station for training pilots on 1 August 1942. Errol aerodrome was in military use until the summer of 1948; material was brought in by transport planes with loading and unloading carried out by German prisoners of war held in camps nearby. From the late 1940s Errol was proposed as an airport but met with objections and the airfield was sold in 1961. In 1988 the RAF Errol Airfield was purchased by Morris Leslie to start auctioning plant and is now a mixed use business park and the Morris Leslie Group's headquarters. The main runway continues to be used for aviation.

Inchcoonans tile and brick works It is thought a clay works of some kind has operated at Errol for centuries; using local alluvial clay to make bricks was introduced by the Romans and revived in the sixteenth century. The site features two Beehive kilns, which are the only remaining examples of their kind in Scotland, and are category B listed. Inchcoonans Tile Works opened in 1855 producing mainly bricks for building and field drainage tiles. From the 1870s it was operated by the Pitfour Patent Brick and Tile Co., and from 1910 by A. Fraser Ltd.of Anniston Brickworks, Angus, until 1990. It was reopened in 1994 by Errol Brick, but was mothballed in March 2008.

Present-day Errol Errol is still known for its local factory; the brick factory premises have been taken over and modernised by the Mackie's company as a potato crisp manufacturing plant, which used to incorporate a "factory shop", but this has since closed. It also has a scenic farm track to walk or bike down, right beside the beautiful River Tay. While walking down the track you will find a rope swing which almost swings over the river. It is perfect for walking dogs.

Errol Park house and gardens is currently used as a wedding venue and filming location. Errol Estate is an agricultural enterprise around the village of Errol extending to around 3,500 acres of productive farmland and woodland adjacent to the River Tay estuary. it is operated by Errol Enterprises Ltd (EEL).

The main runway of Errol Aerodrome is used for commercial and recreational aviation and the surroundings for drone flying. The old airfield also hosts the Errol car boot sale and market, run by the Morris Leslie group, which claims to be 'Scotland's premier Sunday market'. The Morris Leslie group also hold auctions at the former airfield.

Errol School is a primary school with eight primary classes and a large nursery class; it was last extended in April 2017 to cope with increased numbers of pupils.

Errol has two general grocery shops; other local amenities include a chip shop, a post office, a pub, a community centre, a pharmacy and a hairdresser.

The local winery Cairn O'Mohr has won many awards for its wines made from local produce such as oak sap, rhubarb and brambles and is situated on the same farmyard at East Inchmichael Farm as Gillies & Mackay Ltd, a local shed company.

The paths in the path network around Errol are many and varied, with the most popular for leisure use probably being the Gas Brae path down to the river and the reed beds. Some of these paths belong to the Perth & Kinross Council Core Path Network. Maintenance is carried out by a combination of individual volunteers, the local land-owners such as Errol Park, and an organisation called Carse of Gowrie Group (CoGG). Expansion of the path network (as of 2020) remains an aspiration by the community.

On 27 April 2020, during a prolonged dry spell of weather, the River Tay reed beds at Errol caught fire and almost 2 miles (3 kilometres) of reeds were lost destroying the nests of rare bearded tits and marsh harriers. A local pilot dropped 77,000 litres of water from the river on the heart of the fire in an operation involving nine appliances directed by the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.