Small village with no train station and roots dating back to the Iron Age
- UK Hidden Gems
- Aug 4
- 2 min read
The small village of Dunning sits in Perthshire, Scotland, around 10 miles from the city of Perth. While Perth has nearly 48,000 people, Dunning is home to just 950, based on the 2020 Census.
Even though it’s a tiny place, its history goes all the way back to the Iron Age, when there was believed to be a fort on the site.
The village’s name may come from the Old Irish word dúnán, which means “little fort”. In the first century, the Romans set up a camp in Dunning. It’s also said to be the place where Saint Serf, a saint in several Christian churches, killed a dragon.
Because of that legend, the village church is named St Serf’s. The church was first built in the 1100s, though most of what you see today is from the early 1800s.
St Serf’s Church no longer holds services and officially closed in 1972. Today, it is looked after by Historic Scotland and is open to the public for free.
Inside, you’ll find the Dupplin Cross, a large carved Pictish stone from around the year 800. There were plans to move it out of Dunning, but locals spoke out and the cross stayed where it was.
Another well-known site in Dunning is a group of tall stones, about 20 feet high, with a cross on top and gifts left by visitors. Painted in white letters are the words: “Maggie Wall burnt here 1657 as a witch.”
This memorial, called the Maggie Wall monument, is on the edge of the village in what used to be the park around Duncrub Castle.
The memorial has puzzled many people, because even though around 1,500 people were killed for witchcraft in Scotland between the 1500s and 1700s, no records show anyone named Maggie Wall was ever tried or executed.
Some people think Maggie Wall stands for all the women accused of being witches. Others believe she might have been real, but her story was simply never written down.
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Litter tends to spread, so if you see any and are able to pick it up and dispose of it outside the hidden gem, it will help keep the area tidy.
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