The current chairman of the Auchterarder and District Local History Association, Robin Bell, is a historian who has written over twenty books dramas and documentaries, including a global history which presents a new perspective  as viewed from Auchterarder. The book, entitled "Set on a Hill - A Strategic View over Scottish History", looks outwards from our ridge on the wild frontier of the Roman Empire, the many developments in the Strathearn valley to where world leaders met at the G8 Summit Conference 2000 years later.

This strategic ridge rises from the Strathearn valley, where the Scottish Highlands and Lowlands meet. The ancient Royal Burgh of Auchterarder and the modern Gleneagles Hotel stand on its slopes. Across the centuries, politicians and armies have learned that you cannot control Scotland for long without holding this ridge. It has seen times of extreme poverty, growth in the Victorian era today the wealthy and famous build homes on its green slopes. Britain's future king, Prince William was created Earl of Strathearn in 2011.