Free for everyone; the tower key is lent free by the Museum of Abernethy during its opening hours (Wednesday to Sunday 1pm to 4pm, first Saturday in May to the last Sunday in September). No membership card is needed.
The Trust's page does not say how parking is charged.
Historic Scotland names no parking. Perth and Kinross Council's Abernethy page says there is a car park behind the Inn, signposted from Main Street; no charge or free statement was found, so the status is recorded as unknown. Parking in the small square by the tower is limited.
Driving pin: the Inn Close car park, 110 m south-west of Historic Scotland's own pin. Abernethy is off the A913 east of Bridge of Earn. Collect the key first from the Museum of Abernethy in School Wynd, a few minutes' walk away. Historic Scotland gives journey planners only.
Abernethy's round tower rises about 22 metres above the village square and churchyard, one of only two Irish-style round towers in Scotland, with Brechin's, and one of only three outside Ireland. It probably dates from about 1100, judging by the carving of its doorway and four belfry windows, and nobody knows how Abernethy came to have one. Abernethy had a church from at least AD 600 and was a centre of the Pictish church until St Andrews overtook it in the 1100s. A Pictish symbol stone fixed to its base shows a hammer, an anvil and a crescent and V-rod. A tight spiral stair and a ladder through a hatch lead to the top, with sweeping views towards the Firth of Tay. The key is collected from the Museum of Abernethy, open Wednesday to Sunday afternoons from May to September; at other times the tower is seen from outside. Park behind the Inn.
Historic Scotland: 'The tower can be accessed during the summer. A key can be collected from the Museum of Abernethy during their opening hours. The grounds (not in our care) are accessible throughout the year.' The museum, a local charity in School Wynd, opens on the first Saturday in May and then every Wednesday to Sunday from 1pm to 4pm until the last Sunday of September, so the next chance to climb is from Saturday 1 May 2027. The key used to be kept at a tearoom beside the tower; Historic Scotland now names only the museum.
Inside, a tight spiral stair and a short steep ladder lead through a hatch to the top, with wide views towards the Firth of Tay; not suitable for limited mobility and best avoided in high winds. The tower stands at the edge of the churchyard on the village square. No toilets at the tower.
Photo: Abernethy's slender stone round tower with its clock and belfry window, rising behind the stepped war memorial in the village square. Bill Harrison, CC BY-SA 2.0. Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abernethy_round_tower_-_geograph.org.uk_-_7488036.jpg. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0. Resized and cropped for display; derivatives retain the source licence.
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Dog access not confirmed
A 3 mile walk that 'climbs steeply from the Kirk Wynd', crosses the burn in Craigden, reaches Pitmedden and returns via the Rough Glen; signed paths on the council's Abernethy Glen leaflet; paths may occasionally close for events. Free public route.
