Perthshire but also partly within Forfarshire until 1891 when, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, it was moved wholly within Perthshire. In 1894, Alyth became a civil parish and later, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929, a 'small burgh' following the abolition of Scotland's parish councils. Almost 80 years later, the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 created Alyth Community Council with boundaries taking in the minor settlements of Tullymurdoch and Bamff to the north, Shanzie to the east, and New Alyth, Balhary and Leitfie to the south. Geography Alyth lies north of Edinburgh and north of London. The town straddles the burn which bears its name, at the point where the burn descends from the Perthshire Highlands to the lowland Vale of Strathmore. Most of the town lies in a shallow, sheltered basin around 330 feet (100 metres) above sea-level, nestled under the Hill of Alyth (970 feet or 295 metres) which is part of the southern edge of the Perthshire Highlands. The underlying geology is Devonian-age Old Red Sandstone ( 400 million years old) overlain by glacial deposits left behind by the Pleistocene ice ages. Alyth lies just a few miles southeast of the Highland Boundary Fault which divides the Scottish Highlands from the Scottish Lowlands. The Alyth Burn bisects the town and is crossed by two road bridges and four footbridges, including the 17th-century Packhorse Bridge. Alyth’s built environment comprises the mediaeval street pattern northeast of the burn where the ancient drove roads converge on the river crossing, and the more planned nineteenth-century street grid to the south and southwest of the crossings. The town is the only significant built-up area within the Alyth Community Council boundaries, most of which is upland pasture and grouse moor or lowland arable land. Three golf courses occupy a significant area of land to the south and east of the town. Apart from the extension of the golf courses, land-use around Alyth has changed only marginally in the past 80 years. Den of Alyth The Den of Alyth is a wooded gorge lying on either side of the Alyth Burn northwest of the village. Just under 33 hectares (82 acres) of the Den are designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), important for its upland mixed ash woodland. It is also part of the River Tay Special Area of Conservation, designated for its importance to Atlantic Salmon, otter and