Dunkeld and Birnam are two adjacent towns in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. They lie on opposite banks of the River Tay, and were first linked by a bridge built in 1809 by Thomas Telford. The two places lie close to the Highland Boundary Fault, which marks the geological boundary between the Highlands and the Lowlands, and are frequently described as the Gateway to the Highlands due to their position on the main road and rail lines north. Dunkeld and Birnam share a railway station, Dunkeld & Birnam, on the Highland Main Line, and are about 24 kilometres north of Perth on what is now the A9 road.Dunkeld lies on the eastern side of the A9 on the north bank of the River Tay. The town is the location of Dunkeld Cathedral. Around 20 of the houses within Dunkeld have been restored by the National Trust for Scotland, who run a shop within the town. The Hermitage, on the western side of the A9, is a countryside property that is also a National Trust for Scotland site.Birnam lies opposite Dunkeld, on the south bank of the Tay, to which it is linked by the Telford bridge. It is the location of the Birnam Oak, believed to the only remaining tree from the Birnam Wood named in Shakespeare's Macbeth. The Highland games held at Birnam are the location of the World Haggis Eating Championships.
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