Stirling Castle & Argyll’s Lodging · Stirling Castle & Argyll’s Lodging Stirling Castle is one...

The Clan Gregor Society 2014 – Tours

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Stirling Castle & Argyll’s Lodging

Stirling Castle is one of the largest and most important castles in Scotland.

The castle is surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs, giving it a strong defensive position. Its strategic location, guarding what was, until the 1890s, the farthest downstream crossing of the River Forth, has made it an important fortification from the earliest times. Upstream of Stirling, until the 18th century was an almost impenetrable morass.

Most of the principal buildings of the castle date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. A few structures of the fourteenth century remain, while the outer defences fronting the town date from the early eighteenth century. Several Scottish monarchs have been crowned at Stirling, including Mary Queen of Scots in 1542. There have been at least eight sieges of the Castle with the last being in 1746.

Early history

The rocks of Castle Hill are about around 350 million years old. The present appearance is the result of erosion by the glacier which flowed down the Forth valley until around twelve thousand years ago.

The rock may have been occupied by the Iron Age tribe called the Maeatae at this time. The westernmost of the Ochil Hills to the North is known as Dumyat, or Dun Maeatae after the same tribe. It was later a stronghold of the 6th century Manaw Gododdin, and has also been identified with a settlement recorded in the 7th and 8th centuries as Iudeu, where King Penda of Mercia besieged King Oswy of Bernicia in 655. The area came under Pictish control after the defeat of the Northumbrians at the battle of Dun Nechtan in 685.

The first historical record of Stirling Castle dates from around 1110, when King Alexander I dedicated a chapel here. Alexander died here in 1124. In the reign of David I, Stirling became a royal burgh, and the castle an important administration centre. King William I formed a deer park to the south-west of the castle, but after his capture by the English in 1174 he was forced to surrender Stirling and Edinburgh to English garrisons. It was formally handed back by Richard I, Lionheart, of England in 1189. Stirling continued to be a favoured royal residence, with William himself dying there in 1214, and Alexander III laying out the New Park, for deer hunting, in the 1260s.

Wars of Independence


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Stirling remained a centre of royal administration until the death of Alexander III in 1286. His passing triggered a succession crisis, with Edward I of England invited to arbitrate between competing claimants. Edward came north in 1291, demanding that Stirling, along with the other royal castles, be put under his control during the arbitration. Edward gave judgement in favour of John Balliol, hoping he would be a "puppet" ruler, but John refused to obey Edward's demands. In 1296, Edward invaded Scotland, beginning the Wars of Scottish Independence, which would last for the next 60 years. The English occupied Stirling Castle but were dislodged the following year, after the victory of Andrew Moray and William Wallace at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. Many of the garrison were killed during the battle, after which the remainder retreated into the castle. However, they were quickly starved into surrender by the Scots. Next summer, the castle changed hands again, being abandoned by the Scots after the English victory at Falkirk. Edward strengthened the castle, but it was besieged in 1299 by forces including Robert Bruce. King Edward failed to relieve the garrison, who were forced to surrender.

By 1303, the English again held the upper hand, and Stirling was the last remaining castle in Scottish hands. Edward's army arrived in April 1304, with siege engines. The Scots, under Sir William Oliphant, surrendered on 20 July, but the garrison were ordered back into the castle by Edward, as he had not yet deployed his latest engine, “Warwolf” ". Warwolf is believed to have been a large trebuchet, which destroyed the castle's gatehouse. Edward died in 1307, and Robert Bruce was now King of Scots.

By 1313, only Stirling, Roxburgh, Edinburgh and Berwick castles were held by the English. Edward Bruce, the king's brother, laid siege to Stirling, which was held by Sir Philip Mowbray. Mowbray proposed a bargain: that he would surrender the castle, if it were not relieved by 24 June 1314. Edward Bruce agreed, and withdrew. The following summer, the English headed north, led by Edward II with a powerful army. On 23–24 June, King Robert's forces met the English at the Battle of Bannockburn. The resulting English defeat was decisive. King Edward attempted to take refuge in the castle, but Mowbray was determined to keep to his word, and the English were forced to flee. Mowbray handed over the castle, changing sides himself in the process. King Robert destroyed the defences of the Castle to prevent future reoccupation by the English.

The war was not over, however. The second War of Scottish Independence saw the English in control of Stirling Castle by 1336 and extensive works were carried out, still largely in timber rather than stone. Andrew Murray attempted a siege in 1337, when guns may have been used for one of the first times in


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Scotland. Robert Stewart, the future King Robert II, retook Stirling in a siege during 1341–1342. Stirling remained Scottish until the end of the war in 1357.

Early Stewarts

Under the early Stewart kings Robert II, who reigned 1371–1390 and Robert III, who reigned 1390–1406, the earliest surviving parts of the castle were built. Robert Stewart, Earl of Menteith, Regent of Scotland as brother of Robert III, undertook works on the north and south gates. The present north gate is built on these foundations of the 1380s, the earliest surviving masonry in the castle. In 1424, Stirling Castle was part of the marriage settlement given to the wife of James I, Joan Beaufort, establishing a tradition which later monarchs continued. After James' murder in 1437, Joan took shelter here with her son, the young James II. Fifteen years later, in 1452, it was at Stirling Castle that James stabbed and killed William Douglas, the 8th Earl of Douglas. James III, who reigned 1460–1488, was born here, and later undertook works to the gardens and the chapel royal. The manufacture of artillery in the castle is recorded in 1475. James' wife, Margaret of Denmark, died in Stirling Castle in 1486, and two years later James himself died at the battle of Sauchieburn, fought over almost the same ground as the Battle of Bannockburn, just to the south of the castle.

Renaissance palace

Almost all the present buildings in the castle were constructed between 1490 and 1600, when Stirling was developed as a principal royal centre by James IV, James V and James VI. The architecture of these new buildings shows an eclectic mix of English, French and German influences, reflecting the international ambitions of the Stewart dynasty.

James IV who reigned 1488–1513, kept a full Renaissance court and established a palace of European standing at Stirling. He undertook building works at the royal residences of Edinburgh, Falkland and Linlithgow, but the grandest works were at Stirling, and include the King's Old Building, the Great Hall, and the Forework. He also renovated the chapel royal, one of two churches within the castle at this time, and in 1501 established a college of priests The Forework, of which little now remains, was derived from French military architecture, although military details were added more for style than for defence. If a satirical account in two poems by the poet William Dunbar is based in fact, the castle walls may have been the site of an attempt at human powered flight, in.1509, by the Italian alchemist John Damian. James also kept an alchemist called Caldwell at the castle.

The building works begun by James IV had not been completed at the time of his death at the Battle of Flodden. His successor, James V who reigned 1513–


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1542, was crowned in the chapel royal, and grew up in the castle. In 1515, the Regent Albany brought 7,000 men to Stirling to wrest control of the young king from his mother, Margaret Tudor. James V as monarch was said to have travelled in disguise under the name "Gudeman of Ballengeich", after the road running under the eastern wall of the castle. Ballengeich means "windy pass" in Gaelic. He continued and expanded his father's building programme, creating the centrepiece of the castle, the Royal Palace, built under the direction of Sir James Hamilton of Finnart and masons brought from France.

James V also died young, leaving unfinished work to be completed by his widow, Mary of Guise. His infant daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots, was brought to Stirling Castle for safety, and crowned in the chapel royal on 9 September 1543. She too was brought up here, until she was sent to France in 1548. In the 1550s, during the Regency of Mary of Guise, Anglo-French hostilities were fought out in Scotland. Artillery fortifications were added to the south approach of the castle, and these form the basis of the present Outer Defences.

Queen Mary returned to Scotland in 1561, and visited Stirling Castle frequently. She nursed Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, through an illness here in 1565, and the two were soon married. Their son, James VI, was baptised here the following year. James' guardian, the Earl or Mar, was made hereditary governor of the castle in 1566. Mary was travelling from Stirling when she was abducted by the Earl of Bothwell, beginning the chain of events that led to her forced abdication and her flight to England.

The young King James VI was crowned in the Church of the Holy Rude, and grew up within the castle walls under the tutelage of the humanist scholar George Buchanan. Frequently used as a pawn in the struggles between his regents and the supporters of Mary, the young king was closely guarded. Stirling became the base for James' supporters, while those nobles who wished to see Queen Mary restored gathered at Edinburgh, under William Kirkcaldy of Grange. Grange led a raid on Stirling in 1571, attempting to round up the Queen's enemies, but failed to gain control of the castle or the King.

James' first child, Henry, was born in the castle in 1594, and the present Chapel Royal was constructed for his baptism on 30 August. The Chapel completed the quadrangle of the Inner Close. Like his predecessors Henry spent his childhood here until the Union of the Crowns of 1603, when his father succeeded as King of England and the royal family left for London.


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Military fortress

After their departure, Stirling's role as a royal residence declined, and it became principally a military centre. It was used as a prison for persons of rank during the 17th century, and saw few visits by the monarch. James returned to Scotland in 1617, staying in Stirling during July.

From 1625, extensive preparations were made for the anticipated visit of the new king, Charles I. including works to the gardens and painting of the Chapel Royal. Charles finally arrived in 1633, and only stayed in the castle for two days.

Following the execution of Charles I, the Scots crowned his son Charles II and he became the last reigning monarch to stay here, living at the castle in 1650. General Monck laid siege to the castle on 6 August 1651, erecting gun platforms in the adjacent churchyard. The Castle surrendered on 14 August. Damage done during the siege can still be seen on the church and the Great Hall.

After The Restoration of Charles II, the castle was frequently used as a prison. James Duke of Albany, later King James VII, visited the castle in 1681. During this time, the castle's military role became increasingly important, a powder magazine being built in the castle gardens, and a formal garrison installed from 1685.

At the accession of King George I in 1714, John Erskine, 6th Earl of Mar was deprived of the governorship, as well as the post of Scottish Secretary. In response, he raised the standard of James Stuart, in the First Jacobite Rising. The Second Jacobite Rising of 1745 saw Charles Edward Stuart lead his army of Highlanders past Stirling on the way to Edinburgh. Following the Jacobites retreat from England, they returned to Stirling in January 1746. The town soon surrendered, but the castle governor refused to capitulate. Artillery works were set up on Gowan Hill, but were quickly destroyed by the castle's guns.

From 1800 until 1964 the Castle was owned by the War Office and run as a barracks and recruiting depot for the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders. Many alterations were made to the Great Hall, which became an accommodation block; the Chapel Royal, which became a lecture theatre and dining hall; the King's Old Building, which became an infirmary; and the Royal Palace, which became the Officer's Mess. A number of new buildings were also constructed, including the prison and powder magazine, at the Nether Bailey, in 1810.

Twentieth century


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Efforts to restore the buildings to their original state are still ongoing. The Great Hall has been restored.

The Royal Lodgings have now been returned to something approaching their former glory. A major programme of research and re-presentation, lasting 10 years and costing £12 million, was completed in summer 2011. Since January 2002, the Tapestry Studio has been working on a recreation of The Hunt of the Unicorn tapestries, which are now hanging in the restored Queen's Presence Chamber in the Royal Palace. Some of the weavers are working in a studio at the Castle.


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To be read outside entry to Castle

Outer Defences

The Outer Defences comprise artillery fortifications, and were built in their present form in the 18th century, although some parts, including the French Spur at the east end, date back to the regency of Mary of Guise in the 1550s.

Following the attempted Jacobite invasion of 1708, improvements to the castle's defences were ordered. A scheme of new defences was proposed and completed by 1714. The main front wall was extended outwards, to form Guardhouse Square. This had the effect of creating two defensive walls, both of which were fronted by ditches defended by covered firing galleries. One of the caponiers survives and is accessible from Guardhouse Square by a narrow staircase.

To the rear of the walls, chambers called casemates were built to strengthen the wall, and to provide gun emplacements. The French Spur was modified slightly to allow more cannons to be mounted. The buildings within Guardhouse Square date from the 19th century.

Forework

The gatehouse providing entry from the outer defences to the castle proper was erected by King James IV, and was probably completed around 1506. It originally formed part of a Forework, extending as a curtain wall across the whole width of Castle Hill. At the centre is the gatehouse itself, which now stands to less than half its original height. The round towers at the outer corners rose to conical roofs, with battlements carried around the tops of the towers. These were flanked by more round towers, of which only traces now remain, and mirrored by further rounds at the rear of the gatehouse. The overall design, shows French influence, and has parallels with the forework erected at Linlithgow Palace.

Like the Linlithgow structure, the Forework was probably intended more for show, than for defence, as it would have offered little protection against contemporary artillery. The entrance was via a central passage, flanked by two separate pedestrian passages. This triple arrangement was unusual in its time. The gatehouse was dismantled gradually, and was consolidated in its present form in 1810. At each end of the crenellated curtain wall was a rectangular tower. The west tower, known as the Prince's Tower, probably after Henry, Prince of Scotland, survives to its full height, and is now attached to the later palace. At the east end, the Elphinstone Tower contained a kitchen and possibly an officer's lodging. It was cut down to form a gun battery, probably in the early 18th century when the Outer Defences were rebuilt.


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Outer Close

Within the Forework is a courtyard known as the Outer Close. To the south-east are Georgian military buildings; the late 18th-century Main Guard House, and the early 19th-century Fort Major's House. The early North Gate, giving access to the Nether Bailey, contained the original castle kitchens, which were probably linked to the Great Hall. The small building above the North Gate is traditionally said to have been a mint, known in Scots as the Cunzie Hoose or "coining house". To the west of the Outer Close, the main parts of the castle are arranged around the quadrangular Inner Close: the Royal Palace to the south, the King's Old Building on the west, the Chapel Royal to the north, and the Great Hall to the east.

Modern use

Outside the castle is the early 19th-century Esplanade, used as a parade ground, and now as a car park and performance space.

The castle esplanade has been used as an open-air concert venue, some of whom have used Stirling Castle and the surrounding scenery to film "in concert" DVDs. The Regimental Museum and Home Headquarters of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders are located in the King's Old Building.

The castle is open to the public year round. Stirling Castle is a popular place for tourists, and according to figures released by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, nearly 380,000 people visited in 2010.

Due to its similar appearance to Colditz Castle in Saxony, Germany, the castle was used to film the exterior shots for the 1970s TV series Colditz, a drama about the many attempts of Allied POWs to escape from the castle during its use as a military prison in the Second World War.

Gardens

There are two gardens within the castle, the southern one including a bowling green. Below the castle's west wall is the King's Knot, a 16th-century formal garden, now only visible as earthworks, but once including hedges and knot-patterned parterres. The gardens were built on the site of a medieval jousting arena known as the Round Table, in imitation of the legendary court of King Arthur.


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To be read in the Inner Close

King's Old Building

The oldest part of the Inner Close is the King's Old Building, on the western side, which was complete by around 1497. It was begun as a new residential range by James IV, and originally comprised an L-shaped building. The principal rooms were on the first floor, over cellars, and included two chambers with wide open views to the west, although the interiors have been much altered. The projecting stair tower has an octagonal upper section, which was copied for a second, later stair tower on the same building. In 1855, the north end of the building burned down, and was rebuilt in a Baronial style. At the south-west end of the range is a linking building, once used as kitchens, which is on a different alignment to both the King's Old Building and the adjacent Royal Palace. It has been suggested that this is an earlier 15th-century structure, dating from the reign of James I.

Great Hall

On the east side of the Inner Close is the Great Hall, or Parliament Hall. This was built by James IV following on from the completion of the King's Old Building in 1497, and was being plastered by 1503. Described as "the grandest secular building erected in Scotland in the late Middle Ages", it represents the first example of Renaissance-influenced royal architecture in the country. It includes Renaissance details, such as the intersecting tracery on the windows, within a conventional medieval plan. Inside are five fireplaces, and large side windows lighting the dais end, where the king would be seated. It is 42 by 14.25 metres (137.8 by 46.8 ft) across, making it the largest such hall in Scotland.

The original hammerbeam roof was removed in 1800, along with the decorative crenellated parapet, when the hall was subdivided to form barracks. Two floors and five cross-walls were inserted, and the windows were altered accordingly. When the army left in 1965 the opportunity arose for a Restoration of the Great Hall and works began which were only completed in 1999. The hammerbeam roof and parapet were replaced, windows reinstated, and the outer walls were limewashed.

Royal Palace

To the left of the gatehouse, and forming the south side of the Inner Close, is the Royal Palace. The first Renaissance palace in the British Isles, this was the work of King James V. With its combination of Renaissance Architecture, and exuberant late-Gothic detail, it is one of the most architecturally impressive


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buildings in Scotland, covered with unique carved stonework. It was begun in the 1530s, and was largely complete by the time of James' death in December 1542. Further work was carried out during the regency of Mary of Guise, and the upper floor was converted to provide an apartment for the castle governor in the 18th century.

The architecture is French-inspired, but the decoration is German in inspiration. The statues include a line of soldiers on the south parapet, and a series of full-size figures around the principal floor. These principal figures include a portrait of James V, the Devil, St Michael, and representations of Venus and several planetary deities. Their arrangement on the north, east and south faces of the Palace has been interpreted in relation to the quarters of the heavens. The west façade is undecorated and incomplete.

Internally, the Palace comprises two apartments, one each for the king and queen. Each has a hall, presence chamber, and bedchamber, with various small rooms known as closets. The Renaissance decoration continued inside, although little has survived the building's military use, excepting the carved stone fireplaces.

The ceiling of the King’s Presence Chamber was originally decorated with a series of carved oak portrait roundels known as the Stirling Heads, described as "among the finest examples of Scottish Renaissance wood-carving now extant." The carvings were taken down following a ceiling collapse in 1777, and of an estimated 56 original heads, 38 survive. Most are now preserved in the castle, and three more are in the National Museum of Scotland. Some of the portraits are believed to be of kings, queens, or courtiers, and others are thought to show classical or Biblical figures.

A £12 million project to recreate the grandeur of the Royal Palace, re-opened to the public during in 2011. The work which has taken a decade of research and craftsmanship, restored six royal apartments, to how they would have looked in the 1540s, when this was the childhood home of Mary Queen of Scots as well as the ongoing restoration of the seven hand-woven tapestries.

Chapel Royal

The collegiate chapel established by James IV in 1501 lay between the King's Old Building and the Great Hall, but was further south than the present building. This was the chapel in which Queen Mary was crowned in 1543. However, when James VI’s first son, Prince Henry was born in 1594, it was decided to rebuild the chapel as a suitable venue for the royal christening.


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The new building was erected within a year, north of the old site to improve access to the hall. The chapel, has Italianate arched windows. The interior was redecorated prior to the visit of Charles I in 1633. The chapel too was later modified for military use, housing a dining room. The wall paintings were rediscovered in the 1930s, and restoration began in the 1940s.

Nether Bailey

Beyond the North Gate, the Nether Bailey occupies the northern end of Castle Hill. Surrounded by defensive walls, the area contains a 19th-century guard house and gunpowder stores, and the modern tapestry studio. There was formerly access to the Nether Bailey from Ballengeich to the west, until the postern was blocked in response to the threat of Jacobite rebellion.

Argyll’s Lodging

Argyll's Lodging is a 17th-century town-house in the Renaissance style. It is regarded as the most important surviving town-house of its period in Scotland.

It is thought that the house was built originally by the wealthy merchant John Traill and comprised two storeys with a hall on the first floor and a kitchen on the ground floor. In 1559 Traill sold it to Adam Erskine, of nearby Cambuskenneth Abbey who converted it into an L-shaped tower house on four floors.

In 1629 Sir William Alexander bought the house from the Erskines. He was one of several tutors to Prince Henry, heir to the Scottish throne. He was knighted in 1609 and in 1626 was appointed principal Secretary for Scotland for life. He is chiefly remembered today for his settlement of Nova Scotia under a royal charter granted in 1621. In 1630 he was elevated to 1st Earl of Stirling and Viscount Canada.

Sir William died insolvent in 1640, leaving the house to his son Charles, but the town of Stirling claimed the property in lieu of his unpaid debts and in the 1660s, sold it to the Duke of Argyll.

An armorial tablet on the wall above the main entrance displays Alexander's coat of arms. The shield is supported by a Native American and a mermaid. A scroll above displays his family motto Avt Spero Avt Sperno and a scroll below the motto of Nova Scotia per mare per terras. The crest is believed to be the first armorial representation of a beaver.

Archibald Campbell 9th Earl of Argyll was born in 1629 and bought the house in 1666. He extended it outwards to the north and south, while enclosing the


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courtyard behind a screen wall with an elaborate entrance gate. He also had the interior walls decorated with paintings, some of which have survived.

In 1680, the Earl opposed the oath attached to the Test Act, which demanded conformity with King Charles II’s ideas on forms of church government and religious worship. The earl’s refusal to take the oath led to him being declared a traitor in 1681. His estates were confiscated. The Earl had possessed the foresight, however, to have an inventory drawn up of all the belongings in his house in Stirling and had assigned them to his wife, Lady Anna Mackenzie, daughter of the Earl of Seafield, whom he had married in 1670. Due to the fact that her first husband, the Earl of Balcarres, had remained loyal to the King, the latter granted her a pension and allowed her to keep her personal property.

In February 1685 Charles II died and was succeeded by his brother James VII. Argyll returned to Scotland intending to lead a rebellion against the King to coincide with the Duke of Monmouth’s revolt in England. In June, shortly after landing, Argyll was captured and beheaded in the Edinburgh .

The house remained in the hands of the Campbells for the best part of a century. In 1746, during the Duke of Cumberland resided in the house.

Military Hospital

In 1764 the 4th Duke of Argyll sold the house to Robert Campbell and James Wright, who in turn sold it to McGregor of Balhaldie. Around 1800 the Army bought the house for use as a military hospital, because of lack of space in Stirling Castle. During the Napoleonic Wars the army was greatly expanded, from 40,000 to 225,000 men, and the small hospital in the castle proved inadequate. The house remained in use as a military hospital until 1964 when it was turned into a youth hostel. In 1996 Historic Scotland took it over as museum and have refurnished the rooms using the inventory prepared by the 9th Earl.

Building

The north wing contained the kitchen on its ground floor, the eastern half being the original building with its early kitchen. The first floor contained the private rooms. The main entrance which is in the central east wing led directly into the Laigh Hall (ground-floor cellar). The first floor of the east wing contained the High Dining Room for entertaining guests and, on the south side, the more private Drawing Room. The ground floor of the south wing contained rooms for the head of the household and the eldest son. The southeastern corner of this wing housed the Lower Dining Room. The first floor of the south wing housed


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the bedrooms of the Lord and Lady of the house (My Lord and Lady's Bed Chamber) and My Lady's Closet, the private salon of the lady of the house.


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Church of the Holy Rude

The Church of the Holy Rude is the second oldest building in Stirling after the castle. Founded in 1129 during the reign of David I (1124 - 1153) as the parish church of Stirling. Robert II, during his reign (1371-1390), founded an altar to the Holy Rude and thereafter the Church of Stirling became known as the Parish Church of The Holy Rude of the Burgh of Stirling. "Holy Rude" means Holy Cross, giving it the same origin as Holyrood in Edinburgh. David I's church was destroyed with much of Stirling by a catastrophic fire in March 1405. Shortly afterwards a grant was made by the Lord Chamberlain of Scotland to have a new church built. The Nave, South Aisle with rounded Scots pillars, Gothic arches and original oak-timbered roof and the Tower were completed c. 1414.

Tradition says that King James IV may have helped masons build the later eastern end during the early 16th century. In 1567 the infant King James VI was crowned here, by which time the church was a reformed place of worship. Bullet marks on the tower may date from a siege of Stirling Castle by Cromwell's troops in 1651.

Because of its close links with the castle, the church always had the support and patronage of the Stuart kings, especially in the 15th, 16th and early 17th centuries, and is reputed to be the only church in the United Kingdom other than Westminster Abbey to have held a coronation and still be a living church today.

On 24 July 1567 Mary, Queen of Scots, was forced to abdicate in favour of her one year old son, Prince James. In considerable haste, the coronation of James VI was duly held in the Church on 29 July 1567. John Knox preached the coronation sermon, presumably with some relish, on the slaying of Queen Athaliah and the crowning of the young King Joash. Hastily conducted in twenty minutes for fear of catholic counter attack, the Prince was then safely returned to the castle. The young King James received his education at Stirling Castle, under the famous scholar George Buchanan. During the winter of 1589 King James travelled to Denmark, where he married the Princess Anne (1574 - 1619), daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark.

On the 24 May 1997, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was present in the Church of the Holy Rude to witness a re-enactment of the coronation of her ancestor, and to unveil a commemorative inscription to mark the event.

Recently and extensively renovated, and now with an improved information service for visitors, the Church of the Holy Rude, a significant and living church, tells the story of a proud 800 year existence, playing its part in the growth of Stirling.


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Loch Lomond Tour

09.30 Dep Stirling,

Stirling Castle. To begin our journey we skirt the northern and western sides of the Castle Rock

The King’s Knot. Seen on our left immediately before we join the A811. The King’s Knot was a 16th-century formal garden, now only visible as earthworks, but once including hedges and knot-patterned parterres. The gardens were built on the site of a medieval jousting arena known as the Round Table, in imitation of the legendary court of King Arthur.

King’s Park. To the left of the A811 before the road rises to cross the M9 motorway.

We will travel by the A811, passing Fords of Frew, Kippen, Arnprior, Buchlyvie and Drymen. At Balloch we join the A82 along Loch Lomond, passing Arden.

The Carse of Stirling stretches westwards for some 17 miles from the Castle Rock to Gartmore, between Aberfoyle and Drymen (drimin) in the foothills of the Highlands. Carse is a Scottish term used to describe low alluvial land bordering a river near its mouth, in this case the River Forth.

On our left (south) are the Gargunnock Hills and Campsie Fells composed mainly of sandstones and volcanic lavas – look out for the horizontal layers of lava beds as we travel west – while on our right (north) the higher summits of the Highland Boundary Fault provides a contrasting backdrop to the flat lands of the Carse.

Carse of Stirling. Its origin is interesting. Imagine turning back the clock thousands of years to the time when Scotland was locked in ice during the Ice Age (actually a series of Ice Ages interspersed with warmer interglacial periods) which ended about 12,000 years ago. During that time a broad valley, the present Carse, was gouged out of the land surface by a large glacier moving from west to east. The land was depressed by up to 40 metres under the weight of, possibly, a mile of ice, consequently when the Ice Age drew to a close and the ice melted, sea levels rose allowing the sea to invade the land almost as far west as Gartmore. Subsequently, freed from the weight of ice, the land slowly rose, by just 3 or 4 mm per year, and the sea retreated leaving behind a water-


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logged tidal plain. Over many centuries the River Forth and its tributaries gradually raised the level of the plain by depositing great quantities of silt. This encouraged colonisation by plants and in time their remains were converted into an extensive peat bog covered in places with scrub woodland containing species like willow and alder tolerant of wet conditions. Much of Scotland is still rising by a millimetre or so a year, while England continues to subside – like a see-saw really.

Blair Drummond Moss. When Agatha Drummond inherited the Blair Drummond estate in 1766 she and her husband, the eccentric Henry Home (hyoom), Lord Kames, discovered the estate included some 1,500 acres of quaking bog. When he retired Lord Kames decided to attempt to reclaim the Moss, for under the peat was alluvial clay with the potential for rich farmland.

First, Kames hired workmen to dig a shallow drain, 3 miles long, to the River Forth. Water was then led to the drain from a mill lade drawing water from the River Teith. In time this water cut an ever deepening channel through the peat, in places 16 feet thick, thus increasing the gradient and by so doing the rate of flow of the water. By this method great quantities of peat were carried to the Forth.

Hired workmen were too expensive to see the project through so Kames advertised for tenants from the Callander area. Leases of 8 acres were offered for 8 years. Further, there would be no rent payable for the first 7 years but, thereafter, rentals would be fixed at a rate below those of tenants in existing farmland. Each tenant was also provided with timber to construct a house and enough oatmeal to sustain a family for one year.

Reclamation began along the northern edge of the Moss where the peat was thinnest – less than 3 feet. Peat was stripped off, flung into the drainage channel and carried away by the water. Additional channels were created and, by 1783, 29 tenants were living and farming on 400 acres of former moss.

Lord Kames died that year but his son, George Home Drummond, carried on the project on a much more ambitious scale. He hired engineers to create more channels and a pumping wheel was constructed at the former mill to greatly increase the volume of water extracted from the Teith. In turn the flow was controlled by a series of sluices.


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A sunken road approximately 12 feet. wide – the forerunner of the present B8075 (point this out in passing) map ref. NS7195 – was excavated across the Moss down to the clay and new tenants were recruited from among poverty-stricken, dispossessed Highlanders, largely from Balquhidder, who it was reckoned could endure living on the moss. Probably MacGregors and MacLarens.

During their first summer each tenant family was required to first excavate space for a house in the part of the peat bank allocated to them by the roadside. The first houses were, in fact, almost caves hollowed out from the peat. Timber was provided by the estate to construct a framework for a roof which was then covered in overlapping turves, also a framework for the wall and doorway facing the road. One can but hazard a guess at the horrendous conditions under which folk laboured using but basic implements while the rude damp huts could have provided little comfort.

By such means Blair Drummond Moss was slowly but steadily reclaimed. In the 1811 Census 764 men, women and children, are recorded as living on the Moss and by 1840 it had been entirely reclaimed. The new tenants, especially in the beginning, were ostracised by local farmers who mockingly referred to them as ‘The Moss Lairds’. The somewhat isolated life of the newcomers was further compounded by the fact that most could speak only Gaelic. With the passage of time living conditions improved with the construction of permanent and better appointed houses on land that had been cleared. Technically, at the end of their leases tenants were left with nothing, however, in practice since the land was of good quality, most of them made small profits which allowed them to buy or rent property in surrounding towns and villages where jobs were plentiful. Others successfully put in bids to amalgamate plots into larger units, a trend which has continued to the present time as witnessed by the large farms that now dot the Carse.

Other landowners followed the example of the Home Drummonds, so much so that in 1865 a stop was put to the dumping of unwanted peat in the Forth. The reasons – the salmon fisheries and oyster beds in the Lower Forth had been destroyed by the pollution while Stirling, for like reasons, had ceased to function as a seaport. Although land reclamation continued in the Carse – alternative uses for unwanted peat combined with better communications opened up new markets – it was on a smaller scale than hitherto. This is the


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reason why considerable areas of bog and dense marsh remain, especially in the western Carse, notably Flanders Moss (4), which provide a habitat for wildfowl.

[Among Peter Lawrie’s ancestors are Robert MacFarlane and Christian MacEwan who were Poldar moss settlers in the 1820s. ]

Today good quality hay (2 crops per year) is produced in large quantities in the Carse, much of it destined for the Highlands, notably the North West and the Isle of Skye.

Buchlyvie.

Edinbellie

Ballat Crossroads. Here we cross the A81 to Aberfoyle. This was and remains a popular route linking Glasgow and the general area of The Trossachs – see also Scott’s novel Rob Roy.

Drymen. drimin), in Gaelic Druiminn (droo-iminn), from druim, a ridge. This was the original territory of Clan Drummond which is said to have taken its name from the area. Drummond was a name commonly adopted by our clansfolk during proscription.

Unfortunately we by-pass Drymen but, in the centre of the village, there is a sloping green with a row of houses on the west side dating from about 1800 and a modernised 18th Century Inn on the north side which may originally have existed in the time of Rob Roy. A cattle market used to be held here and those of you who have read Nigel Tranter’s ‘MacGregors’ Gathering’ will recall that the book opens with a cattle sale in Drymen at which Rob Roy is present.

Buchanan Castle. Nearby is Buchanan Home Farm. Montrose’s farmlands were wide open to depredation by Rob Roy during his outlaw years. It is recorded that on at least one occasion Rob raided the girnal (grain storehouse) on the Home Farm. Before making for home Rob and his men are said to have shared out a sizeable proportion of their booty among the poor of the area most of whom were Montrose’s own tenants.


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Endrick Bridge. As the name implies we cross the River Endrick, a stream noted for its sea trout. The area round its mouth (Loch Lomond) is a National Nature Reserve.

Gartocharn. This the home town of Tom Weir, mountaineer, naturalist and writer. Although now retired, he is specially known for his past contributions, especially his monthly column, to The Scots Magazine, over a span of 50 years.

Duncryne. A mere 430 feet in altitude, this viewpoint of Loch Lomond on a clear day provides one of the finest views in the country.

Balloch is the headquarters of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, Scotland’s first national park, which was created in 2002. Located at the southern end of Loch Lomond, Balloch is a popular centre for sailing and related water sports. Balloch, in Gaelic Am Bealach, the pass. The bealach (byaluch, ‘ch’ as in loch) in this case is the Vale of Leven drained by the River Leven flowing from Loch Lomond to the Firth of Clyde.

Balloch to Tarbet. As we turn north on to the A82 we enter Colquhoun country. It is difficult to believe we are within 25 miles of the City of Glasgow. The land is so beautiful and unspoilt. For this legacy we owe thanks to local landowners and particularly Sir Iain Colquhoun, 31st Chief and father of the present Chief who, until his death in 1948, was Chairman of the National Trust for Scotland and did a great deal to curb the exploitation of Loch Lomondside, thus helping to preserve for posterity the beauty of the loch and its surroundings.

A82 The construction of a road from Dumbarton to Inveraray was initiated under General Caulfeild's command in 1743 but was then interrupted by the rebellion of 1745. The final section was not completed until 1749. Its 44 miles took it via the western side of Loch Lomond, Tarbet, Arrochar and Glen Croe. A stone seat was erected at the summit of the 860-foot high pass at the head of Glen Croe bidding travellers to Rest and be thankful, hence the modern name. Subsequent maintenance was undertaken by the 93rd Regiment, the Sutherland Highlanders until in 1814 the route was handed over to the civilian authorities.

It has been said that Loch Lomond is only one foot long – because it has twelve inches in it! The word ‘inch’ is the Gaelic for an island. In fact there are up to


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60 islands, some very small and covered when the loch is high. So it is actually up to five feet long!

The biggest island, Inchmurrin is the largest freshwater island in the British Isles. Inch Cailleach once had a nunnery on it and a number of Macgregors are buried there, including some of the chiefs since Clachan Diseart at Dalmally was forbidden to them after 1603. Inchconnachan is home to a colony of wallabies!

Loch Lomond is a freshwater loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault. It is 24 miles long and between 0.75 and 5 miles wide. It has an average depth of about 121 feet, and a maximum depth of about 620 feet. Its surface area is 27 sq miles. Of all lochs and lakes in Great Britain, it is the largest by surface area, and the second largest after Loch Ness by water volume.

Loch Lomond is the result of glaciation. During the last ice age, which ended 10,000 years ago Rannoch moor was covered by a mile high ice cap which fed the glacier to the south. The natural lie of the land is NE to SW, but the glacier cut a north-south path for itself, scouring out the hole which became Loch Lomond. The islands are terminal moraines of this glacier.

The well-known song ‘Loch Lomond’ has the words -

Oh, ye'll tak' the high road, and I'll tak' the low road,

And I'll be in Scotland afore ye;

But me and my true love will never meet again

On the bonnie, bonnie banks o' Loch Lomond.

One story is that during the 1745 Rising a Highlander on his way back to Scotland during the retreat from England wrote this song. The "low road" is a reference to the belief that if someone died away from his homeland, then the fairies would provide a route of this name for his soul to return home. Thus the soldier awaiting death may have been talking to a friend who had been allowed to live and return home.

On the eastern shore is Ben Lomond, the most southerly of the Scottish Munros at 3195 feet. Arguably the most well-known mountain in Scotland.

From Milngavie, north of Glasgow, along the eastern shore of Loch Lomond and continuing on to Fort William, is the West Highland Way – the most


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popular long-distance path in Scotland. Most walkers (around 30,000 a year) take four to eight days to cover the 96 miles, but the record in the annual race, currently stands at 15 hours, 7 minutes and 29 seconds.

Since Victorian times there have been a series of steamers on Loch Lomond. The ‘Maid of the Loch’ was the last paddle steamer built in Britain. Built in 1953, she operated on Loch Lomond for 29 years. She is now being restored at Balloch.

Arden boasts Scotland's most beautiful Youth Hostel, housed in a grand turreted building complete with ghost. From here is a good view of Inchmurrin Island, the largest island on Loch Lomond which can be accesses by ferry from Arden. Roy Roy raided the island. At one point, his men came to control all the boats on the river Endrick and Loch Lomond which were later used to remove cattle from Inchmurrin. The island was used in the 19th century as a mental asylum, and also unmarried pregnant women were sent here to give birth.

Rossdhu House. Gaelic ros dubh for the 'Black Headland', At Rossdhu stands the stately Georgian house and romantic ruined mediaeval castle of the Chiefs of the Clan Colquhoun.

In the Middle Ages on Inchmurrin, the then chief, John Colquhoun 10th of Luss, was savagely murdered by a band of Hebridean marauders led by the Maclean chief with whom he was attempting to negotiate peace. Centuries later, Sir James Colquhoun 28th of Luss, with four of his gillies, drowned within earshot of Rossdhu while sailing homewards from stalking red deer on the Island of Inchlonaig.

The first Chief is only so reckoned because he is the first of his ancient line to be named in a surviving charter, when he was Dean of the Lennox in 1220. The Lennox was the earldom around the river Leven from Loch Lomond to the Clyde, roughly corresponding with modern Dunbartonshire.. His family were hereditary priestly guardians of St. Kessog's pastoral staff: so probably near kin to the mighty Earls of Lennox, who confirmed them in the lands of Luss. They claimed descent from the pre-Christian Irish royal house of Munster, to which the Saint himself had belonged. The holy Kessog dwelt in Glen Luss or on Inchtavannach, the 'monk's isle' in Loch Lomond and both places still belong to the Colquhoun family. Before 1368 the old Celtic sacred family's heiress, the Fair Maid of Luss, brought these beautiful mountains and islands to the armoured knight who won her hand, Sir Robert Colquhoun of that Ilk, chief of a clan that had fought for Robert Bruce and whose stronghold lay some miles away on the river Clyde. After that, the Colquhoun and Luss kindreds and followers merged to form the Clan Colquhoun.


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One of the greatest of their Chiefs was Sir John Colquhoun 11th of Luss, Great Chamberlain of Scotland and joint Ambassador to England. In 1457 his lands were erected into the free Barony of Luss, giving him local powers of life and death held by his successors until 1747. The Gallowshill across the main road from Rossdhu marks the site of their "dule-tree". Sir John also built the old castle of Rossdhu, whose ruins can be seen behind the present house, and the now roofless private chapel of St. Mary of Rossdhu. Its beautiful mediaeval illuminated MS Book of Hours has recently been re-discovered far away among the public treasures of New Zealand. The tomb effigy of Sir John's brother Robert Colquhoun, Bishop of Argyll, is now in Luss church. In 1478 Sir John himself was killed by a cannon ball while besieging a castle with the king.

In 1603 during the chiefship of Alexander Colquhoun 17th of Luss, the Clan Gregor made a raid into Glen Finlas on the Luss lands, when King James VI's sympathy was aroused by the frantic Colquhoun women bringing him the bloody shirts of their dead and wounded (some say a the shirts were dyed in sheep's blood). The MacGregor chief invaded again in person two months later and this resulted in a massacre of the Colquhouns at the Battle of Glenfruin, for which the whole Clan Gregor were outlawed by a special Act of the Privy Council. The MacGregor chief was captured by Campbell treachery, and executed with eleven of his principal clansmen. All others who dared call themselves MacGregor were hunted down with bloodhounds and put to death.

Sir John Colquhoun 19th of Luss was a necromancer, skilled in Black Magic, and the last known person to openly practise witchcraft. He was made one of the first Baronets of Nova Scotia in 1625, and married a sister of the Great Montrose, who frequently stayed at Rossdhu. But Sir John fell in love with his wife's pretty sister, Lady Katherine Graham, and after eloping with her fled abroad to die in exile in Italy. This sinister laird's successor, Sir John Colquhoun 20th of Luss, was so swarthy and haughty that he was nicknamed the "Black-Cock of the West". His portrait at Rossdhu is of unusual interest, as it shows him in his red baronial robes edged with white fur, and may be unique of this period. In his time Rossdhu Castle was twice occupied by the English Cromwellians for a short while.

The vast Colquhoun estates were inherited in 1718 by a new Fair Maid of Luss, Anne Colquhoun, whose husband also inherited the baronetcy in 1718 by a special arrangement but later became Chief of the Clan Grant in his own right. Their elder son carried on the line of the Grant chiefs, taking the old baronetcy with him, but the younger son became Colquhoun of Luss and was created a Baronet anew in 1786. This was Sir James Colquhoun 25th of Luss. He had been one of the earliest officers of the famous Black Watch and fought under King George II in person at the battle of Dettingen, the last battle in which a British Sovereign commanded in the field. He founded the flourishing modern


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town of Helensburgh, which he named after his wife Lady Helen Colquhoun, sister of the 17th Earl of Sutherland.

In 1772 the future Sir James had begun to build the present house of Rossdhu, which was originally what is now the central block, and completed it in the following year. Later that year the celebrated Dr. Johnson and Mr. Boswell were entertained at Rossdhu on their renowned tour of the Hebrides. Lady Helen Colquhoun was very house-proud, and was a very good housewife always seeing that nothing was wasted. Her ghost is reputed to have been seen several times in the staff quarters. We are told about Dr. Johnson that "having got himself drenched with water in some boating expedition on Loch Lomond, he came into the drawing-room with water splashing out of his boots. Lady Helen could no longer restrain her displeasure, muttering 'What a bear!' 'Yes', replied one of the company, 'He is no doubt a bear, but he is Ursus Major'." This referred, of course, to the Latin name for the celestial group of stars known as the Great Bear, but no Johnsonian fan would disagree.

Luss will be familiar to anyone who has seen the Scottish TV Soap "Take the High Road". Many of the cottages that distinguish Luss were originally erected to house workers in the cotton mill and slate quarries of the 18th and 19th centuries. The homes have all been fully restored and Luss has been designated a "Conservation Village".

On early records the village was known as Clachan Dubh, (the dark village) because of its mountain setting, giving two hours less sunlight in the evenings, particularly in the winter time.

The name Luss is considered by some to be derived from the Gaelic "Lus", a plant, although others have suggested that it comes from the French "Luce", a lily. Several stories exist about the derivation of the present name. One related to that of the Baroness MacAuslin, who died in France, whilst her husband was fighting at the siege of Tournay. Her body was brought back to Luss covered with flowers, especially the fleur-de luce. Some of the flowers grew to the surface of the grave " and became miraculously efficacious in staying a pestilence then raging through the countryside".

It is uncertain how long there has been a village at Luss, certainly a thousand years, possibly much more. Haekon of Norway undoubtedly passed through Luss in 1263. His Vikings dragged their ships over land from Arrochar to Tarbet, plundering the communities of the Islands and Loch-side. Only tantalising clues remain, like the 11th Century Viking Hog-backed grave stone now in the churchyard (at least one Viking never made it home).


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Inverbeg. There has been a drover’s Inn at Inverbeg since 1814. It was a welcome stopping place for food, drink and a bed for the night, providing traditional hospitality in an attractive low, long white-washed two-storey building. Until the post-war modernisation of that stretch of the road along the shores of the loch, traffic passed right by the door. Now it is set back behind trees (and flagpoles - a useful marker) from a fast stretch of the A82, but still has fine views down to the loch.

In recent years, The Inn at Inverbeg has seen a number of changes of ownership. Then in 2007 the Inn was bought by the Colquhoun family, who already operated the 4-star lodge at Luss, a few miles south of Inverbeg. With their local knowledge and a respect for the traditions of the building, they embarked on a major modernisation and expansion of the property but with the firm aim of retaining as far as possible the original feel of a drover's inn.

Tarbet. Tarbet is a placename found elsewhere in Scotland. It simply means a narrow isthmus of land between navigable waters across which galleys could be dragged. In 1263 before the Battle of Largs, on the Clyde coast in North Ayrshire, Vikings led by Magnus, King of Man, dragged their longboats across the isthmus between the two lochs and launched them on Loch Lomond. They took the inhabitants of Loch Lomond by surprise and made great plunder. It is said that Magnus reached the open sea by sailing his ships down the River Leven to rejoin the Viking Fleet. Later the Vikings were heavily defeated at Largs by a Scots army under Alexander III aided by bad weather accompanied by strong winds, which scattered the Viking ships and drove many of them ashore.

Tarbet was formerly the seat of The Clan MacFarlane. They are descended from Alwyn, Celtic Earl of Lennox whose younger son, Gilchrist received lands at Arrochar on the shores of Loch Long at the end of the 12th century. Robert the Bruce when forced to flee the Lochside and reach safety of the west Highlands was sheltered by Malduin, grandson of Gilchrist.

Clansmen fell at Flodden in 1513 along with the 11th chief and also at the Battle of Pinkie in 1547 with Duncan the 13th chief while opposing the invading English. After the murder of Lord Darnley (Mary Queen of Scots' second husband) the MacFarlanes opposed the Queen and were noted for their gallantry at the Battle of Langside in 1568. They fought at Montrose's great victory at Inverlochy in 1645. The clan does not seem to have played any major part in the Jacobite risings of 1715 and 1745

At Tarbet we will be cruising the loch.


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After the cruise we travel south back down the A82. After crossing the bridge over the Finlas Water near Rossdhu, immediately turn right (west) on to the A817. This road was constructed in the 1980s by the MOD (Ministry of Defence) for the passage of heavy vehicles between the A82 and Faslane (Gare Loch) and Coulport (Loch Long). In the 1990s it was opened to the public. We alight from our coach and make our way on foot to the Battle Cairn.

Glen Fruin is Gleann Freòin (gle-aunn fri-oon, ‘i’ as in) in Gaelic. Like Glen Coe and for like reasons, the name is commonly said to mean “Glen of Weeping”. However, the name is older than 1603. For example, in early records we find Glen Frone (1225) and Glenfreone (1250) which might suggest a derivation from the Gaelic frèoine meaning rage or fury, but if so, the reason is long forgotten. It has also been construed that since Highland glens are commonly called after their rivers this is how the glen got its name. However, close examination shows that the River Fruin is not a particularly turbulent stream by Highland standards. The late Professor W.J. Watson, an eminent Celtic scholar, in his book The History of the Celtic Place Names of Scotland, mentions the name Balfreoin which occurs in an old list of names in nearby Arrochar parish and suggests that freoin may be a personal name, here in the genitive case. If so Balfreoin, in Gaelic more correctly Baile Freòin (bal-i fri-oon, ‘i’ as in) would mean Freòn’s town or stead, and Gleann Freòin, Freòn’s glen. This seems to be the best available information to date. Unfortunately, we can do no more than speculate who Freòn may have been.

Glen Fruin (stop for 60 mins) This was the site of the battle in 1603 at which a band of 200 MacGregors defeated a considerably larger force led by Colquhoun of Luss. Many of Colquhoun’s men were killed for the loss of two of the MacGregors. However, as a result Clan Gregor was proscribed and the very name banned until 1774. The Chief and many of the clan were hunted down and killed by Campbells & others acting with Crown authority.

The battle actually took place over a considerable area. The stone marks the spot where Iain dubh nan Lurag (Black John of the mailcoat) is reputed to have been killed by an arrow shot by one MacLintock.

The background to the Battle, lay in the raid by Iain Dubh on Glen Finlas in late 1602 encouraged by the Earl of Argyll who reset the livestock booty among Campbell lairds. As Justice-General for Scotland Argyll, could not be seen


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actively prosecuting his feud with the Duke of Lennox and the Colquhouns, but the MacGregors had been placed in his hands by the King, so why not use them.

After the Glen Finlas raid, Argyll found himself under criticism for his suspected involvement, so he encouraged Glenstrae to meet with Colquhoun to make peace and agree compensation. The agreement was that the two men would meet in Glen Fruin with an escort of no more than 100 men each. Glenstrae brought 200, not all of them MacGregors, but left 100, under the command of his brother at Allt a Cleidh, about 4 miles to the north on the boundary of the Luss estate. Colquhoun brought somewhere between 400 and 800 including cavalry and hid most of them to ambush the MacGregors after the meeting.

The meeting was probably not expected to achieve anything and it did not. Instead of returning by the track closer to the Gare Loch, as expected, Glenstrae retreated over the hill to the North, thus avoiding Colquhoun’s ambush. Colquhoun’s men emerged and gave chase. Once they reached Allt a cleidh, Glenstrae stopped and offered combat, while Iain Dubh’s archers shot from cover, killing a number of the Colquhouns.

The Colquhouns then found themselves in retreat, to more or less the position of the stone and formed up their cavalry to attack the MacGregors. This stage of the battle lasted just minutes, before Colquhoun’s men fled. Most of the killing took place in the pursuit, including some of the mounted militia who found themselves trapped in boggy ground. Estimates of the dead vary from 40 to 200, with just two MacGregors killed.

However, victory was short-lived, as the King order the MacGregor name to be abolished and all combatants hunted down and killed. Glenstrae himself was captured and executed in Edinburgh in 1604 with eleven of his men. The last active fighting group of the clan faced down a group of Campbells at Tomzarloch. But thereafter individuals had to make do as best they could, and find friendly lords who would protect them despite the heavy penalties for doing so. The true number of MacGregors who died between 1603 and 1611 may never be known, but the spirit of the Clan did not die and out Gathering today is proof of that.

After Glenfruin we pass close to Faslane, on the Gare Loch, the base of Britain’s nuclear submarine fleet, which virtually nobody in Scotland ever


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wanted, but as it’s a long way from London, it didn’t matter what the natives thought.

Return via Helensburgh on the A814. Helensburgh was founded in 1776 when Sir James Colquhoun of Luss built spa baths on the site of Ardencaple Castle, which dated back to about 1600. Ardencaple had formerly been the seat of the Clan MacAulay. Sir James then had the seaside resort town constructed to the east of the spa on a formal layout, and named it after his wife Helen. A ferry service he arranged across the Firth of Clyde to Greenock was successful in attracting residents who could commute from jobs there to attractive homes in the new town. Helensburgh became a favourite place of residence for shipping tycoons and tobacco merchants from Glasgow. At one point the small town had one quarter of Britain's millionaires living there.

In 1808, Henry Bell bought the public baths and hotel, which his wife superintended while he continued his interest in early steamboats such as the nearby Charlotte Dundas and the North River Steamboat which Robert Fulton had just introduced at New York. To improve hotel trade, he had the paddle steamer Comet constructed and in 1812 introduced Europe’s first successful steamboat service, bringing passengers down the River Clyde from Glasgow to Greenock and Helensburgh.


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West Tour to Kilmartin and Dalmally

Due to the numbers we are running this tour on both Monday and Tuesday. The Central Tour will also run on Monday and Tuesday. The West tour price includes the cost of admission to Kilmartin museum.

09.30 Dep Stirling,

Stirling Castle. To begin our journey we skirt the northern and western sides of the Castle Rock. We will be following the same route as on Sunday to Tarbet as far as the Haul road past Glen Fruin. However, we can talk about some of Rob Roy’s exploits.

We will travel by the A811, passing Fords of Frew, Kippen, Arnprior, Buchlyvie and Drymen. At Balloch we join the A82 along Loch Lomond, passing Arden.

Carse of Stirling. This stretches westwards for some 17 miles from the Castle Rock to Gartmore, between Aberfoyle and Drymen (drimin) in the foothills of the Highlands. Carse is a Scottish term used to describe low alluvial land bordering a river near its mouth, in this case the River Forth.

On our left (south) are the Gargunnock Hills and Campsie Fells composed mainly of sandstones and volcanic lavas – look out for the horizontal layers of lava beds as we travel west – while on our right (north) the higher summits of the Highlands provide a contrasting backdrop to the flat lands of the Carse.

Carse of Stirling. We spoke about the carse on our Loch Lomond trip on Sunday.

Until the late 18th century, the Carse proved a serious barrier to north-south communications in Central Scotland. In the Middle Ages, as we learned yesterday, the only place where it could be conveniently crossed in most weather conditions was by the bridge and causeway at Stirling. That is why Stirling Castle was regarded as the “Key to the Kingdom” for, whoever held it, held Scotland.

But that was not quite true because, about 7 miles west of Stirling there was another place where the Carse and the River Forth could be crossed with care, although not in wet weather. This was at the Fords of Frew. For instance in


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1645 the Marquis of Montrose passed this way with his Highland army on his way to victory at the Battle of Kilsyth, while 100 years later Prince Charlie led his army south by this route on his way to take the capital. By so doing both armies avoided Stirling Castle.

Fords of Frew. In April, 1717, a troop of well-armed men under the command of the Duke of Montrose had surprised Rob Roy while he was asleep in Balquhidder and made him prisoner. Montrose was elated. For once luck was on his side.

Bound and mounted on a horse Rob Roy was taken south. The journey to Stirling Castle took longer than expected and night was falling when the party reached the Forth crossing at the Fords of Frew. The river was running high and, as a safety precaution, Rob Roy’s arms and legs were untied before he was remounted behind one of the troopers to whom he was secured by a stout leather thong. The trooper’s name was James Stewart, one of Montrose’s own tenants. What the Duke did not know was that Stewart was indebted to Rob Roy for a past favour which Rob quietly reminded him of while persuading him to help him escape.

The result – when Stewart was ordered to cross the river with his prisoner, he spurred his mount forward abruptly and, amidst the resultant splashing, allowed the thong binding Rob to his person to slacken which enabled Rob Roy to slip off the rear of the horse into and under the water. As he did so, Rob released his plaid and, as it floated downstream, it immediately attracted the attention of the troopers firing the musket balls. Aided by this distraction and the current, Rob continued swimming downstream under water until he deemed it safe to break the surface for air. All was clear and Rob reached one of the banks chilled but a free man. The thick scrub fringing the river and the failing light undoubtedly aided his escape.

The Duke, however, was not so easily fooled by Stewart’s antics. Calling the trooper before him to explain why he had lost his prisoner, and dissatisfied by Stewart’s reply, the Duke raised himself in his stirrups and, on drawing his pistol, dealt the unfortunate trooper such a mighty blow to the head that he suffered permanent injury.

In his novel Rob Roy Sir Walter Scott relates how he had met the grandson of James Stewart who confirmed how his grandfather had enabled Rob Roy to


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escape and, for his pains, had suffered the severe injury, as described, at the hands of Montrose.

(Before relating the tale of the Herschip of Kippen point out Kippen on our left just beyond the junction of the A811 and B822 – there is now a roundabout here – also the position of the Fords of Frew where B822 crosses the River Forth. The coach also passes through Buchlyvie).

The Herschip of Kippen. The date was September 1691, and Donald Glas (means having a sallow complexion, pale-faced) MacGregor of Glen Gyle and father of Rob Roy, having been detained soon after the Battle of Killiecrankie (1689), has been languishing in Edinburgh’s Tolbooth for two years. As yet there was no word when he would be released. The 1691 harvest had been poor and the Clan was greatly in need of money to procure supplies of grain to eat during the winter.

If there was one commodity that could be readily turned into cash it was black cattle and, of course, MacGregors were well versed in the cattle trade. Word reached Rob Roy at Glen Gyle that a valuable herd of cattle belonging to Sir Alexander Livingstone, a former Jacobite but now a prominent Whig, was about to be driven from The Lennox to Stirling. Rob sent men to monitor the situation and, on learning of the impending movement of the herd, gathered his men together and led them by devious routes, by-passing Aberfoyle, to the northern edge of Flanders Moss. Then, by following secret and little known paths and natural causeways, they crossed the Moss (the third way of crossing the Carse!) to the outskirts of Buchlyvie where they took up position to await the herd’s arrival.

Except for a few women and children Buchlyvie was deserted but, when the men of the village returned from the fields they were dismayed to see so many clansmen close to their homes and, fearing the worst, set off to Kippen for help. Wondering what was afoot and not wishing to become embroiled with local people, Rob and his men followed at a distance, only to find as they neared Kippen a large body of men from both villages, but mainly from Kippen since it was the larger village, armed with cudgels and an assortment of farm implements, advancing towards them.


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Rob Roy did not want any bloodshed and, as he watched the men from Kippen advance, his scouts sent word that the Livingstone drove had been sighted. As the MacGregors moved to intercept the drove the Kippen men endeavoured to block their advance. Ever mindful of the need to avoid bloodshed – they had no quarrel with these men – the MacGregors used the flat of their broadswords. However, they made little progress against swinging cudgels and well-handled scythes so they began to cut and thrust. The effect was almost immediate. The Kippen men broke ranks and fled leaving the MacGregors free to devote their full attention to acquiring the herd. This they achieved with little difficulty although one drover, who had rather rashly resisted, was killed.

Rob Roy now split his force into two. One group was dispatched with the Livingstone sprèidh (spray) – this is a collective word for cattle in Gaelic – back home to Glen Gyle by way of Flanders Moss and Loch Ard. But Rob Roy was in an angry frame of mind. His men had suffered attack by the men of Kippen and several had been wounded so he took the others to teach the Kippen folk a lesson. The Kippen people had wisely made themselves scarce and the township was deserted, so Rob and his men rounded up a herd of Kippen beasts and set off by way of Callander and Glen Artney for the Crieff Tryst (market). However, this was not the end of the story. On reaching the Fords of Frew the MacGregors were surprised and attacked by a party of dragoons. The MacGregors were in no mood for further delay and soon put their assailants to flight but not before Rob Roy was struck on the head by a trooper’s sword and forced to his knees by the force of the impact. It is said he only averted death by the iron plate he wore inside his bonnet. Stunned, Rob was temporarily defenceless and was only saved from certain death when the trooper was shot dead by one of his closest followers, a man named Fletcher, or in Gaelic Mac an fhleisdeir (machk un layscher, second ‘ch’ as in church), which means son of the arrow maker.

Although only 20 years of age, Rob Roy’s name was now on everyone’s lips as the tale of how he had lifted the cattle of a prominent Whig was told and re-told round cèilidh (kaylie) fires along either side of the Highland Line.

Buchlyvie.

Edinbellie Located in the Endrick Valley about 3 miles due south of Buchlyvie. Here in 1750 Robin Òg, Rob Roy’s youngest son, aided and abetted by his elder


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brother James Mòr, abducted the widowed heiress Jean Key of Edinbellie in a bid to take a wife and a fortune in one fell swoop. The two were married at Rowardennan on Loch Lomondside. James Mòr was arrested for his part in the abduction but escaped from Edinburgh Castle dressed in women’s clothes and made his way to France. However, Robin Òg was less fortunate. He was condemned to death for abducting Jean Key and was executed in the Grassmarket, Edinburgh. Robin Òg seems to have been a rather rash, headstrong person but, at his execution, was ‘genteelly dressed and behaved with great decency’. Later his body was conveyed to Balquhidder and interred by the side of his late father. Jean Key died before this, some claim this was a result of her experience, but elsewhere it is said she died of complications from measles. She was buried in Kippen Churchyard.

Ballat Crossroads. Here we cross the A81 to Aberfoyle. This was and remains a popular route linking Glasgow and the general area of The Trossachs – see also Scott’s novel Rob Roy.

Drymen. drimin), in Gaelic Druiminn (droo-iminn), from druim, a ridge. This was the original territory of Clan Drummond which is said to have taken its name from the area. Drummond was a name commonly adopted by our clansfolk during proscription.

Buchanan Castle. Nearby is Buchanan Home Farm. Montrose’s rich farmlands were wide open to depredation by Rob Roy during his outlaw years. It is recorded that on at least one occasion Rob raided the girnal (grain storehouse) on the Home Farm. Before making for home Rob and his men are said to have shared out a sizeable proportion of their booty among the poor of the area most of whom were Montrose’s own tenants.

Endrick Bridge. As the name implies we cross the River Endrick, a stream noted for its sea trout. The area round its mouth (Loch Lomond) is a National Nature Reserve.

Gartocharn. This the home town of Tom Weir, mountaineer, naturalist and writer. Although now retired, he is specially known for his past contributions, especially his monthly column, to The Scots Magazine, over a span of 50 years.


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Duncryne. A mere 430 feet in altitude, this viewpoint of Loch Lomond on a clear day provides one of the finest views in the country.

Balloch is the headquarters of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, Scotland’s first national park, which was created in 2002. Located at the southern end of Loch Lomond, Balloch is a popular centre for sailing and related water sports. Balloch, in Gaelic Am Bealach, the pass. The bealach (byaluch, ‘ch’ as in loch) in this case is the Vale of Leven drained by the River Leven flowing from Loch Lomond to the Firth of Clyde.

Balloch to Tarbet. As we turn north on to the A82 we enter Colquhoun country which we covered on the Loch Lomond tour.

Tarbet. In 1263 before the Battle of Largs, on the Clyde coast in North Ayrshire, Vikings led by Magnus, King of Man, dragged their longboats across the isthmus between the two lochs and launched them on Loch Lomond. They took the inhabitants of Loch Lomond by surprise and made great plunder. It is said that Magnus reached the open sea by sailing his ships down the River Leven to rejoin the Viking Fleet. Later the Vikings were heavily defeated at Largs by a Scots army under Alexander III aided by bad weather accompanied by strong winds, which scattered the Viking ships and drove many of them ashore.

Arrochar. Across the loch a fine view may be had of Ben Arthur, more commonly known as the Cobbler on account of the likeness of the outline of the summit to a shoemaker’s last. As aforesaid we are in MacFarlane Country. Like the MacGregors, the MacFarlanes were masters at cattle reiving, so much so that the full moon was spoken of as MacFarlane’s lantern. Indeed, their Gathering pipe tune is called Togail nam Bò (tokel num boe), lifting the cattle.

The name Loch Long has nothing to do with its length but is Gaelic for loch of the ships. The Norse called it Skipa-fjordr (skeepa feeordir) meaning ship fiord. Far more dangerous sea-raiders now lurk in the loch. Coulport further down the loch is the nuclear weapons store and weapons loading facility for the Trident fleet.

Ardgarten. After leaving Arrochar we round the head of Loch Long and, on passing Ardgarten, the road turns sharply up Glen Croe. Below the coach on the left can be seen the route of the former road, originally a military road.


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Rest and Be Thankful, as the name implies. Beyond is Loch Restil with the rugged slopes of Beinn an Lochain rising above it. From here the road descends and makes a sharp turn to the left on entering Glen Kinglas. Shortly after crossing the modern bridge over the River Kinglas the former bridge, map ref. NN 234095 may be seen on the left. On first thoughts the name Butterbridge may sound peculiar until one is aware that this was shieling country in the past where local people herded their animals on the summer hill pastures and, from the cream of cow’s, goat’s and sheep’s milk, made butter in the shieling huts during the summer months. Indeed, the name of the highest hill in the area Beinn Ìme (29) (bine eem) means butter mountain. The map reference of Beinn Ìme is NN 2508.

Ardkinglas. Prior to 1603 Campbell of Ardkinglas and Alasdair of Glen Strae had for long been on good terms and, immediately following the Battle of Glen Fruin, Campbell of Ardkinglas was among those who shared in some of the plunder the MacGregors had brought back from Colquhoun lands. By contrast Ardkinglas had for long been at odds with the Earl of Argyll, his overlord as well as his Chief. By late summer relations with his Chief had worsened. Ardkinglas was at his wits end wondering how to amend matters when word reached him that Argyll wanted Glenstrae taken. Here was a way of regaining the Earl’s favour. Without further ado he sent a message to Glenstrae inviting him to meet him at his house on Loch Fyne.

Glenstrae never suspected that by accepting Ardkinglas’s invitation he was walking into a trap. Instead he was curious to know what the other had to offer. He seems to have travelled alone for, as soon as he reached the house, he was seized by armed men and made prisoner. There is no record that Ardkinglas met Glenstrae. Considering the circumstances this is unlikely.

The next step was to convey the prisoner to Argyll at Inveraray Castle. Rather than march Glenstrae round the head of the loch for fear of a rescue attempt by armed MacGregors, his arms were tied and he was bundled into a boat. With five men to guard him the boat set off across the loch.

Glenstrae was in the prime of life and fit. Somehow he managed to free his arms and, biding his time, suddenly took his warders completely by surprise by leaping to his feet and diving overboard. A strong swimmer, he reached the shore and was soon lost to view among the undergrowth that clothed the loch shore. The date was 2nd October, 1603.


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Luck had been on his side but for how long? Glenstrae could not have foreseen that, in three months time, he would again be betrayed, this time by Argyll himself. Sadly, on this occasion, there would be no reprieve. MacGregors may take some consolation in knowing that Ardkinglas is no longer in Campbell hands.

Across the other side of Loch Fyne is the village of Ardno. Gregor Ghlun dubh, nephew of Rob Roy and the Jacobite commander of Doune Castle during the ’45 rising, ventured into Argyll in November 1745 on a recruiting drive. At Ardno he was surprised by the Argyll militia under General Jack Campbell. Most of the MacGregors escaped, but eleven were captured and Imprisoned in Dumbarton Castle. We are not sure how, but some of them broke out of captivity in February 1746.

Dunderave Castle, map ref. NN 1409. The MacNaughtons are an ancient clan at one time holding extensive lands in Argyll, also in Strath Tay and Strath Spey. Like their neighbours the MacDougalls of Lorne, they had opposed Robert the Bruce and when he became King many of their lands were forfeited and granted to the Campbells. MacNaughton history is not unlike that of the MacGregors. Both lost out to Clan Campbell and again in the Jacobite Risings each fought on the losing side. When the Chief fled to Ireland Campbell of Ardkinglas gained control of what remained of MacNaughton land.

Glen Shira. Rob Roy’s house is at NN 151170. In 1716 Rob Roy’s fortunes were at a low ebb. Following the unsuccessful Jacobite Rising of 1715 Rob, along with some 48 other prominent Jacobites, were listed to stand attainted of high treason unless they surrendered by 30th June, 1716. His house at Auch (och), near Bridge of Orchy, had been burned in the spring by Swiss mercenaries and his livestock driven off, while in September his house at Inversnaid, which he had rebuilt over the summer, was again burnt by Government soldiers. Further, his aged, ailing protector, Campbell of Breadalbane, was under house arrest for his part in the Jacobite Rising of 1715. Little wonder Rob Roy felt compelled to turn to Argyll for help. After all the two men were distantly related (Rob’s mother was a Cambpell).

Inveraray, seat of the Campbell Dukes of Argyll, but we won’t be stopping here.


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From the late 18th century until the first half of the 20th century, fishing boats operating from the harbour cashed in on the herring boom in Loch Fyne and the Firth of Clyde. With improvements in road communication – a military road was built in the 18th century linking Inveraray via the Rest and Be Thankful with Dumbarton Castle and thence to Glasgow – and the development of steamer services in the 19th century linking a range of ports around the Clyde estuary and Loch Fyne, tourism took off. With the decline of fishing and increasing mechanisation in agriculture and forestry which resulted in fewer jobs, the holiday trade – day, weekend and long stay, including an increasing number of coach tours – has become the mainstay of the local economy.

There is much to see both in the town and in the surrounding countryside, e.g. the Auchindrain (pronounced as spelt) Folk Museum, around 3.5 miles south of Inveraray, provides an insight into how rural communities lived between the 18th and mid 20th centuries.

Continuing along Loch Fyne side with spectacular views over the loch.

Auchindrain. Once, Scotland had thousands of “townships”, small farming communities where groups of families worked together. Then, two hundred and fifty years ago, the world began to change. The townships were replaced by modern farms worked as single units, crofting and large estates. In some places the process was known as the Highland Clearances. A few townships remained, but most of these had gone by 1900. Auchindrain was the last to survive, until 1963. Today it is far and away the best remaining example of a type of settlement that was once typical and common, and which was very important within Scotland’s history

Lochgilphead Ceann Loch Gilb with a population of around 2,300 people. It is the administrative centre of Argyll and Bute. Lochgilphead was created in 1790 as a planned settlement, shortly after the completion of a road from Inverary to Campbeltown. After the completion of the Crinan Canal in 1801 the town became more important as a shortcut across the long Kintye peninsula.

Dunadd.. This is an Iron Age hillfort which was the chief site of the Kingdom of Dalriada. As the Clan Gregor motto is Royal is our Race, this is the Royal site we derive from. Dunadd is a rocky crag that may have been one time an island and now lies inland near the River Add, from which it takes its name. The surrounding land, now largely reclaimed, was formerly boggy and known as the Mòine Mhòr 'Great Moss'. This no doubt increased the defensive potential


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of the site. Originally occupied in the Iron Age, the site later became a seat of the kings of Dal Riata. It is known for its unique stone carvings below the upper enclosure, including a footprint and basin thought to have formed part of Dal Riata’s coronation ritual. On the same flat outcrop of rock is an incised boar, and an inscription in the ogham script, dated to the late 8th century or after.

Dunadd is mentioned twice in early sources. In 683 the Annals of Ulster record: 'The siege of Dún At and the siege of Dun Duirn' without further comment on the outcome or participants. (Dun Duirn is a hillfort by St Fillans near Loch Earn) In the same chronicle the entry for 736 states: 'Aengus son of Fergus, king of the Picts, laid waste the territory of Dál Riata and seized Dún At and burned Creic and bound in chains two sons of Selbach, i.e.Donngal and Feradach.'.

The site was occupied after 736, at least into the 9th century. It is mentioned twice in later sources, suggesting that it retained some importance. In 1436, it is recorded that "Alan son of John Riabhach MacLachlan of Dunadd" was made seneschal of the lands of Glassary; the chief place of residence of the MacLachlans of Dunadd lay below the fort. In June 1506, commissioners appointed by James IV, including the earl and bishop of Argyll, met at Dunadd to collect rents and resolve feuds

After Dunadd we travel through the world heritage site of Kilmartin Glen. There is an unrivalled concentration of monuments here dating from back around 5000 years with over 350 monuments within a 6 mile radius. It is probably the richest concentration of archaeological sites in Europe and has been the focus of sacred activity since the Neolithic.

Recent archaeological investigations have cast doubt on the previously accepted belief that the Dalriadic Scots (from whom Clan Gregor derive) came from Ireland around 400-500AD. Instead it is now believed we were the peoples, identified by the Roman writers as the Epidii, who may have been here since the Bronze Age, 2500-700BC, with a sea-going tradition which linked the North of Ireland and this area. If this is the case, here we can see all around us the sites which were special to the ancestors of Clan Gregor.

Clan Gregor interest in these sites is profound, as our male line ancestors, now probably proven by Y-DNA evidence are Bronze Age immigrants. Although our R1B1 Y-DNA has been in Scotland for no more than 4000 years, matrilineal descent is likely to go back even further to the earliest hunter-gatherers, 8000-9000 years ago. Once the nomadic hunter-gatherers settled


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down to early agriculture about 5000 to 6000 years ago they began to erect the earliest of the structures in Kilmartin Glen as home to their ancestors and their stamp on the land. Our Bronze Age ancestors may have found a place here in Kilmartin which was already sacred to the earlier peoples.

Kilmartin (Cille Mhàrtainn) is the centre of Kilmartin Glen. At Kilmartin museum we stop for 60 mins, Admission charge included.

The present Kilmartin Parish Church building was opened in 1835, though there had been earlier churches on the site. The churchyard has an important collection of early Christian and medieval carved stones, known as the Kilmartin stones. Some are displayed within the parish church itself, others have been gathered into lapidaria within the graveyard, others still remain lying within it.

The two most important monuments are the Kilmartin crosses, one 9th-10th century, the other late medieval in date, within the church. In the churchyard is a large collection of late medieval gravestones in the 'West Highland' style, dating between the 14th and early 16th centuries. Many are marked by figures of warriors in contemporary dress with spears and swords, along with figures of fantastic animals, foliage and interlace patterns. None are inscribed, so the identities of the persons commemorated are unknown. They can, however, be taken to be the monuments of the local landowning or minor noble class in late medieval times. Kilmartin Church was evidently an important burial site, and the graveslabs of the ‘Loch Awe school' of carving may have been carved in a workshop at or near Kilmartin. The swords shown on many of the stones refer to warrior (or, more broadly, social) status, and may be connected with the Templars. Workmen are commemorated on some of the stones, their symbol often being the shears (referring to household activities). Some of these stones were later inscribed by the up and coming landowning family the Malcolms (MacCallums) of Poltalloch to give their family a spurious antiquity.

Kilmartin House Museum of Ancient Culture is an award winning museum which interprets the monuments of the area for visitors, and has a selection of excavated artefacts of various periods. It is located within the village within a group of converted buildings.

Kilmartin Glen is the location of several important Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age sites, including including Temple Wood (a henge monument), several burial cairns, chambered cairns, cists, standing stones and cup and ring marked


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rocks. Over 350 ancient monuments lie within a 10 km radius of Kilmartin village.

The Neolithic and Bronze Age sites of Kilmartin Glen, near Kintyre in Argyll, are one of Scotland’s richest prehistoric landscapes.

The Nether Largie standing stones and Temple Wood site are among the finest standing stone monuments in Scotland.

Kilmartin has one of the finest concentrations of prehistoric sites in Scotland, and almost all are within an easy walk of the roads which criss-cross the valley. One of the burial cairns has been rebuilt, with access through an opening in the top down stairs to the base of the cairn and a stone burial cist. The two stone circles in Temple Wood have also been re-erected by archaeologists.

The most visible feature of the Kilmartin Glen is the linear arrangement of cairns, running over three miles south-by-south-west from the village. There are five remaining cairns in the alignment, although cropmarks and other traces suggest that there may originally have been more. The burial cairns are of Bronze Age origin, with the exception of Nether Largie South cairn, which is a Stone Age structure, rebuilt in the Bronze Age.

The most northerly cairn, Glebe is situated immediately to the west of Kilmartin Village. The cairn was excavated in 1864 and two concentric stone circles were found beneath the stones. At the centre were two cist burials, and finds recovered included a jet necklace and a decorated bowl.

Oban – a port and gateway to the Isles, The site where Oban now stands has been used by humans since at least mesolithic times, as evidenced by archaeological remains of cave dwellers found in the town. Just outside the town town stands Dunollie Castle, on a site that overlooks the main entrance to the bay and has been fortified since the 7th century. Prior to the 19th century, the town itself supported very few households, sustaining only minor fishing, trading, shipbuilding and quarrying industries.

The modern town of Oban grew up around the distillery which was founded there in 1794 Sir Walter Scott visited the area in 1814, the year in which he published his poem The Lord of the Isles, and interest in the poem brought many new visitors to the town. The arrival of the railways in the 1880s brought further prosperity, revitalising local industry and giving new energy to tourism.


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The town is an important ferry port, acting as hub for ferries to many of the Hebrides.

Oban was also important during the Cold War because the first Transatlantic Telephone Cable came ashore at Gallanach Bay. This carried the Hot Line between the US and USSR presidents.

Dunollie Castle: (Dùn Ollaigh) is a small ruin located on a hill north of Oban, The ruin is accessible by a short, steep path. As there is no space to park a coach, we will be unable to visit. There was a fortification on this high promontory in the days of the kingdom of Dal Riata which was the royal centre of the Cenél Loairn.

Ewan MacDougall, the third chief of the MacDougalls, probably built a castle there in the 13th century. The existing castle ruins date from the 15th century.

The MacDougalls, the Lords of Lorne, were direct descendants of Somerled, Lord of the Isles, at a time when the Western Isles were part of Norway. Dougall, Somerled’s son held most of Argyll and also the islands of Mull, Lismore, Jura, Tiree, Coll and many others in the 12th century.

The MacDougalls lost the land after siding with their kinsmen, the Comyns, for King John Balliol and fighting against Robert the Bruce. As a result of our ancestors probably being on the losing side, our lands around Loch Awe were granted to the Campbells. It appears, according to Dr Martin MacGregor, that we had a peaceful relationship with the early Campbells until Grey Colin of Glenurchy in 1560. However, the loss of our absolute title to our ancestral lands, meant that the Campbells could call on the power of the State against us, leading to the proscription of the name MacGregor from 1603 to 1774.

In 1746, Dunollie Castle was abandoned in favour of nearby Dunollie House.

North of Oban is the Connal Bridge over Loch Etive. Loch Etive has a spectacular tidal bore.

Our route takes us along the River Awe, the Northern outlet of Loch Awe. The Pass of Brander is the site of a major battle during the wars of Independence, where our ancestors found themselves on the losing side against Robert Bruce.

Ben Cruachan – its great bulk dominates the scene to the north-west.


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Cruachan (krooachan, ‘ch’ as in loch) is a pointed hill commonly standing atop a broader mountain mass as here, which is the highest of several summits and in this case best viewed from the west. Gaels call it Cruachan Beann (byownn, ‘ow’ as town but softer). The Campbells adopted the name as their slogan in time of battle. Ben Cruachan now has one of the largest hydro-electric pump-storage stations in Britain built into its heart.

Beinn a’ Chochuill (37) (bine uh hochull, ‘ch’ as in loch) and Beinn Eunaich (38) (eeaneech, ‘ch’ as loch) dominate the northern skyline.

15.30 Dalmally (stop 120 mins). Here we visit the church with the MacGregor stones, the nearby field which we believe is the site of the manor house of the Clan Gregor chiefs up to 1600. We may also visit nearby Kilchurn Castle, whose castellans until 1585 were the Macgregors of Brackley.

As the road descends the other side we catch our first glimpse of Loch Awe with its mountain backdrop which, for centuries, has provided a sheltered haven for man and best on the low ground where the three glens – Strae, Orchy and Lochy, meet near the head of the loch

Kilchurn Castle. Best viewed from Kilchurn Viewpoint, a layby, not very convenient for stopping coaches, around 0.5 miles. before the A819 meets the A85. Although the present Castle is Campbell in origin, it may have been built on the site of an earlier stronghold (MacGregor?). The present Castle was built about 1440 by Sir Colin Campbell, the first Campbell Lord of Glen Orchy. It is built on what was once a small island of rock which is now at the end of a peninsula created by the deposition of silt and other debris deposited by the River Orchy. The confluence of the Orchy and Strae is but a short distance upstream from the mouth of the former. Until 1585 the castellans of Kilchurn were the MacGregors of Brackley.

Stronmilchan is the ridge of high ground immediately ahead of us. We also cross the bridge over the River Orchy and, although not readily seen, Kilchurn Castle is off to the right. The site of the Tigh Mòr is fairly high up on the face of Stronmilchan. Here where the ground flattens out somewhat are traces of a house and outbuildings. Stronmilchan (stron milichan, pronounced as if there is an extra vowel between ‘l’ and ‘c’, ‘ch’ as in loch). Derived from Gaelic, the name means nose of the greyhound (hunting dog). In topography


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stron, from the Gaelic sròn (‘o’ is long), means a spur or terminal ridge, hence the likeness to a nose. Seemingly an incident long forgotten involving a greyhound is commemorated here. There is a settlement of the same name at the base of the hill. Last year we sponsored an archeological dig in the field by the White House, where evidence of a fortified wall and buildings have been found. Further excavations are planned for after the Gathering.

Dalmally. If time permitted there is much that could be said about Dalmally and St. Conan, since the area abounds in history, legend and story. The traditional Scottish calendar is dotted with saints’ days, many dating back to the early Celtic Church, also related fairs, St. Conan’s day is 20th March, and on the third Wednesday in March was held St. Conan’s Fair. This was held at Dìseart Chonnain. In its heyday the Fair continued for several days, the more serious business of buying and selling a large variety of goods, including craft work, and food and drink during the day, giving way each night to much ceilidhing (kaylee-ing) and revelry. Dalmally was also noted for its livestock market until improved transport and new regulations led to centralisation in fewer centres.

Brackley. Site not visible from coach. Once a MacGregor possession. This came to an end in 1686 when John MacGregor of Brackley, and Patrick Graham (alias MacGregor) his father, resigned the property to the Earl of Breadalbane (Campbell). In 1714 Breadalbane granted Rob Roy the tack (lease) of Brackley for life thus providing Rob with a safe haven to carry on his cattle business during his ‘war’ with Montrose. The distance between Brackley and his house at Beinn Bhuidhe in Glen Shira is around 7 miles. A convenient hill pass between them allowed Rob to work the two units as one for the holding and fattening of cattle destined for markets in Argyll, including nearby Dalmally.

17.30 dep Dalmally via Tyndrum, Crianlarich, Lochearnhead and Callander.

Glen Orchy, Glen Strae and Glen Lochy. In passing point out the junction with the B8074 which leads off up Glen Orchy (the road is unsuitable for coaches).

To explain even briefly why the glens contain so few people today we must turn to the sequence of developments which occurred over the past two and a half centuries.


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Between 1750 and 1830 there was some emigration but this was more than offset by improvements in living conditions which encouraged population growth. Further, the social fabric of the population remained largely intact – the same families with their Gaelic tradition and outlook on life continued to live on and work the land.

In 1834, with the accession of John Campbell, 5th Earl and 2nd Marquis of Breadalbane, a chain of events was set in motion which was to change things for ever. Many of the native population were given notice and evicted from their homes, and the land was let at greatly increased rentals to Lowland sheep farmers who brought with them shepherds and their families. Writing in 1843, the Rev. Duncan Maclean, who wrote the New Statistical Account of the parish, had this sorry tale to relate:

“There are a few, and only a few, shoots from the stems that supplied the ancient population. Some clans who were rather numerous and powerful, have disappeared altogether; others, viz., the Downies, Macnabs, MacNicols and Fletchers, have nearly ceased to exist”. Turning to our own Clan he laments, “The MacGregors, at one time lords of the soil, have totally disappeared”. As in so many other parts of the Highlands, the ancestral lands of the native inhabitants had been taken over by strangers.

In our own time the monetary and economic policies pursued by central government increasingly encourage changes in land use. Glen Lochy is a case in point. The coniferous plantations seen from the coach are a result of the financial incentives given to afforestation in the 1970s and 1980s. Much of Glen Orchy, and to a more limited extend Glen Strae, are also under conifers. The result – much of the land once inhabited by our forbears is now lost to view.

Fortunately, more enlightened forest practices are the norm today. These include the planting of mixed species including more hardwoods; greater concern for the natural fauna and flora; and care to preserve, wherever practical, man’s imprints on the land, including buildings and field patterns. By such means commercial forestry can be practised in harmony with the landscape.

Drumalbyn or Drumalban. Here at the head of Glen Lochy, we also cross the county march (boundary) between Argyll to the west and Perthshire to the east. Drumalbyn or Drumalban (drumalban). There is more than one English spelling. In Gaelic Druim Alban (droo-im alapan), ridge of Alba (alapa), i.e.


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Scotland. Here at the head of Glen Lochy we cross the west/east watershed of Scotland. As we descend the other side rivers (the headwaters of the Tay system) now drain east to the North Sea.

We are also now in the district of Breadalbane (bredalban) which extends east from here for some 40 miles to beyond the far end of Loch Tay. In Gaelic Bràghaid Alban (bra-ighedalapan, ‘igh’ as in high), upland of Alba. Here are to be found some of the highest hills in the Central Highlands, culminating in Ben Lawers which reaches nearly 4,000 feet above Loch Tay.

It is claimed the MacGregors were at one time the most numerous clan in the district. One writer in a poem in the Book of the Dean of Lismore describes the MacGregors as “na fir sin a Bràghaid Alban” (those men from Breadalbane).

Tyndrum. Today much geared to tourism. In the past things were very different. As we enter Tyndrum a minor road leads off to the left and this part of the village is known as Clifton. In 1731 an Englishman, Sir Robert Clifton, obtained a lease from the Earl of Breadalbane to drill for minerals – lead, silver, gold – in the hills to the west using imported labour which was housed in the newly created settlement of Clifton. For a time the enterprise proved economically viable. Sadly for Sir Robert he backed the wrong side during the Jacobite Rising of 1745-46 which resulted in the mining installations being destroyed by enemy soldiers (Argyll Militia) when they passed this way.

The mining potential is not entirely a thing of the past. In the hills to the west there are gold mines, currently mothballed, waiting for the price of gold to rise sufficiently to make extraction economic.

Dalrigh (dalree), in Gaelic Dail rìgh (dalree) which means the king’s field. Here in 1306 Robert the Bruce and his followers were ambushed and defeated by men under the command of MacDougall of Lorne. While fleeing from the field, Bruce was assailed by three of MacDougall’s men and was fortunate to escape with his life. During the fight a valuable brooch worn by the King was wrenched from his person. To this day the Brooch of Lorne, as it became known, remains in the possession of the Chiefs of the MacDougalls. A few years later, Bruce took his revenge on the MacDougalls at the battle of the Pass of Brander, near Loch Awe. Lame John MacDougall fled to England. It was in gratitude for the assistance of Diarmid O’Duine, the progenitor of the


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Campbells, that Clan Gregor found themselves vassals of Clan Campbell after the Wars of Independence .

Strath Fillan. Tradition relates that when Adamnan (Columba’s biographer) and Fillan during their mission from Iona reached Drumalbyn they decided to part and, as a result of drawing lots to determine which route each should follow, Adamnan turned first north and then east bound for Glen Lyon while Fillan turned south into Breadalbane.

Holy Pool. Location is by the east bank of the R. Fillan a little downstream from the bridge carrying the A82 over the river. Map ref. NN 350288 (approx.) Holy Pool in the River Fillan. Also sometimes referred to as St. Fillan’s Pool. A short projecting rock conveniently divides the pool into two, one half for men and the other half for women. Here, nearly thirteen centuries ago, St. Fillan baptised Christian converts. Until the 19th century the water in the pool was widely believed to have healing properties, notably for lunacy.

St. Fillan’s Priory. Remains are on the site of an Augustinian Priory founded in 1317 by King Robert the Bruce as a token of thanks for his epic victory at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Located on what is now Kirkton Farm, the original kirkton (kirk town) or Clachan as it is called in Gaelic, and which in earlier times was the main settlement in Strath Fillan. The Priory is said to be sited where Fillan erected his first church and where he himself is buried.

The surname Dewar (dyoo-ar) is of interest. Dewar derives from the Gaelic for a pilgrim, which later became an official designation and afterward a family name. In medieval times the dewar was the person who had custody of the relic of a saint. At one time there were several dewars each serving as custodians of one of the relics of St. Fillan. One of the dewars had within his care St. Fillan’s staff or crozier. He was known as the Dewar of the Quigrich (‘ch’ as in loch), a name derived from the Gaelic for crozier. In the 19th century this precious relic was taken to Canada but in the 20th century was returned to Scotland and is currently on display in the Royal Museum in Edinburgh.

Crianlarich. Today a mecca for hill walkers and climbers. The high ground to the south includes several ‘Munros’ – summits over 3,000 feet, culminating in Ben More, (big mountain), which rises to 3,852 feet. At Crianlarich we continue east on the A85 (the A82 branches off south for Glasgow by way of


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Loch Lomond. The river on our left is the Fillan but on issuing from Loch Iubhair is named the Dochart.

Glen Dochart is part of a major west-east route across the Highlands which historically linked the ecclesiastical centres of Iona in the west and Dunkeld, Arbroath and St. Andrews in the east and now, in a wider sense, the west coast mainland and islands with the cities of the east. This, combined with its natural fertility by Highland standards, has ensured that the glen has been inhabited by man for several thousand years as witnessed by the numerous sites of historical interest which dot the landscape. If one has the inclination and can spare the time, a closer study in the field, supplemented by documentary research, can be most rewarding.

Loch Dochart. Also a river and glen of the same name. Dochart is a descriptive river name and means evil scouring one (in Gaelic river names are sometimes personified). The river is subject to spates and during severe flooding large areas of the valley floor may be inundated. This can cause scouring of the surface and/or deposition of water borne sands and gravels both of which are detrimental to agriculture.

As we pass by Loch Dochart we may catch a glimpse of Loch Dochart Castle, now a ruin, which is located on an island. Although there is the tradition that there was once a MacGregor castle on the island, the present castle was first erected (it has been rebuilt since) by the infamous Black Duncan (Campbell), 1st Baronet and 7th Laird of Glen Orchy, who succeeded his father in 1583.

Like all castles, this one is steeped in history and local tradition. For instance, one winter’s night when the loch was frozen over, MacGregors are said to have crossed the ice and, taking the garrison by surprise, successfully attacked the Castle and set it on fire.

During the Civil War the Royalist army under Montrose swept through Breadalbane in December 1644 leaving such a trail of desolation behind that many Campbells and their tenants were reduced to dire straits. The Macnabs of Glen Dochart, along with others who supported the Royalist cause, took the opportunity to attack and capture Loch Dochart Castle. Sadly this was to prove their undoing a decade later when, in turn, the Campbells took their revenge on the Macnabs by destroying their castle at Eilan Ryan (various spellings in English) near Killin and laying waste much Macnab property.


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Loch Iubhar (yoo-er), yew loch.

Coire Chaorach (kori heurach, ‘eu’ as in French peur but softer, ‘ch’ as in loch).

Site of a house leased by Rob Roy in the early 18th century, and named after the coire (corrie), a large hollow, on the hill above. Although the name as written is commonly translated as sheep corrie, local pronunciation suggests the Gaelic root may be caoir (keu-ir) meaning a flashing torrent (the way such waters sparkle in sunlight) which well describes the scene of innumerable falling waters (waterfalls) in the corrie above following a period of prolonged rainfall.

Coire Chaorach Map ref. NN 457275. As we pass by you may catch a glimpse of the gable end of a two storey building which guide books and tour coach operators commonly refer to as Rob Roy’s house. This is nonsense for this building was erected in the 19th century. We do know, however, that in 1711 Rob held the tack (lease) of Coire Chaorach from the Earl of Breadalbane for, in September of that year, he addressed a letter from there to the Earl. Despite the traumas of the intervening years Rob also wrote a letter from this address in 1718 to Bailie Buchanan, Buchan of Arnprior’s Chamberlain, requesting the Bailie’s help as an intermediary in a dispute with a former tenant.

Ardchyle, in Gaelic Ard Choille (ard ho-illi, ‘i’ as in), wooded height, is a name well-known to MacGregors since it is the slogan of our Clan. In our Clan history the name is most closely with Duncan Ladasach, Duncan the Bold, MacGregor of Ardchyle who, for some forty years in the first half of the 16th century, led the life of an outlaw, ranging over a wide area extending from Lochaber (Fort William area) in the north to the Carse of Stirling in the south. He held a particularly strong resentment against the Campbells largely, it is alleged, because of their expansion into territories formerly held by other clans, including Clan Gregor. By feigning a spirit of forgiveness, Sir Colin Campbell, 6th Laird of Glen Orchy, tricked Duncan into meeting with him in May, 1552. The outcome, although details of his capture are unknown, was that in 16th June, 1552, Duncan and his sons Gregor and Malcolm Roy were executed, most probably at Kenmore (east end of Loch Tay).

Ardchyle. In earlier times the settlement was situated a little further south on rather higher ground. Immediately south again there is a small but fairly steep-sided hill (it looks higher as you look uphill towards it) bounded by the Ardchyle Burn. Is this the wooded height referred to in our slogan?


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Bovain. Location is on the far side of the glen opposite the road junction at Lix Toll. Unfortunately it cannot be seen because of a coniferous plantation on our side of the glen. Bovain, in Gaelic Both Mheadhain (boe vain), middle/mid town. It was here that the Chiefs of the Macnabs resided. Like so many other places Bovain passed into the hands of the Campbells (Breadalbane Estates) in the 19th century. The Macnabs are an ancient clan and claim descent from the hereditary secular abbots of St. Fillan’s Priory in Strath Fillan. Macnab, in Gaelic Mac an aba, means son of the abbot.

We now proceed south by way of Glen Ogle to Lochearnhead from where we follow the road (A 84) back to Stirling.

To your right as we pass through Glen Ogle you will see the disused railway viaduct, now used as a walking/cycle path. In the 19th century the North British Railway company built a line from Edinburgh via Callander, through Glen Ogle, with a branch line to Killin, then on to Crianlarich, Tyndrum and Oban. At the same time its great rival, the Caledonian railway built a line from Glasgow to Crianlarich, Tyndrum, Fort William and eventually Mallaig over the famous GlenFinnan viaduct (which featured in the Harry Potter film alongside a flying Ford Anglia!). Although the Callander and Glen Ogle to Crianlarich line closed in the 1950s, the other lines still operate. It was more than 20 years after the two lines reached Tyndrum that the rivalry between the two companies permitted a link, so that Edinburgh trains could go direct to Fort William, or Glasgow trains proceed to Oban. Tyndrum remains the smallest place in Britain with two railway stations.

Lochearnhead is the site of the annual Lochearnhead Games which the Clan Gregor usually attend, however, due to the vagaries of the calendar this year it takes place on the 26th July, not the 19th. In 2013 it was on the 20th.

As we continue on the A84 we come to King’s House, Strathyre and Callander.

Drip Moss and Blair Drummond Moss . Notice how flat the ground is. We are crossing the carse lands bordering the Forth.


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Blair Drummond Safari and Adventure Park. Look out for the entrance on the left. As the name implies the park provides for those seeking to do something different while on holiday.

As we approach Stirling we get a magnificent view of the Castle built on its rocky outcrop (geologically a volcanic plug) while, to the left of the Castle, is the Abbey Craig crowned by the Wallace Monument. Even from this distance one can appreciate why Stirling became a readily defended site which, allied to the bridging of the River Forth in the Middle Ages, explains why, as we learned earlier, the Castle came to be regarded as the “Key to the Kingdom” for, whoever held it, held Scotland.

19.00 arr Stirling


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Central Tour to Finlarg, Fortingall, Kenmore and Aberfeldy

Due to the numbers we intend to run this tour on both Monday and Tuesday. The West Tour will also run on Monday and Tuesday. The tour price includes admission to the Crannog and Aberfeldy distillery.

09.30 dep Stirling University Travel by the A820 ‘Gauger’s Pass’, to Doune.

We travel through Bridge of Allan to briefly join the A9 at the Keir roundabout. At the next junction we take the A820 to Doune.

Braes of Doune. Provide the backdrop to the north. Now Given over to hill farming, sporting interests (mainly grouse shooting), a wind farm, and increasingly afforestation.

Gauger’s Pass. This road was once known as the Gauger’s Pass.

In line 7 of the praise poem to Clan Gregor we read of the importance of cleaving to one’s tradition. History and tradition are closely intertwined and we can obtain a ‘feel’ of the illicit whisky trade from the many tales which have come down to us through oral tradition. Distilling in the Highlands has a long pedigree and it is only within the past 200 years that the government of the day chose to regulate the trade by taxing the end product and licensing all stills. Gaugers or excisemen were appointed – Robert Burns was one – to uphold the law. Interestingly, just before he died Burns was planning to move to a new excise post at Dunblane. Had he lived he might well have been involved in counter measures against the illegal whisky trade in the Doune area.

Distilling and trading in spirits, like hunting and fishing, were once the free activities of free men and important sources of income to tenant Highland families endeavouring to eke out a living at a time of rapidly increasing rents. The government took no account of the economic importance of the whisky trade in this respect. Lured by the spice of excitement as well as by monetary gain, people pursued their calling with vigour and determination. Excisemen and their assistants combed the hills and woods and, in an effort to stamp out the trade, arrested and detained where they could. However, with the people almost universally arrayed against them, including landowners who usually turned a blind eye since it helped tenants to keep up to date with their rent, they made little impression over all. Encounters with smugglers usually resulted in


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victory for the latter, while those who tried to enforce the law frequently suffered bodily harm.

“Such is our tale from Strathyre as Miller Mòr MacGregor and his companion, returning through the strath with two horseloads of illicit whisky, came face to face with the exciseman from Callander and several assistants. It was already dark that late December afternoon and Miller Mòr was in no mood to be trifled with at this late stage of the journey. A man of great stature and strength, he smiled grimly as he beheld the approaching enemy. Turning to his companion, Dugald, he hurriedly whispered his plan of action.

As the parties came face to face and the exciseman’s challenge rang out in the clear frosty air, Miller Mòr responded by seizing him in a grip of iron, and lifting him in the air, hurled his adversary into the icy waters of a nearby burn. Simultaneously, Dugald urged the pack horses on and, as the nearest assistant lunged to grapple with him, struck the fellow such a severe blow to the wrist with his bludgeon (a short, heavy, wooden club) that his arm was all but broken. Shaken by the unexpected turn of events, and seeing the Miller’s huge form advancing upon them, the others scattered into the darkness. While they were thus employed Miller Mòr broke off the encounter and, catching up with Dugald, the pair hastened south as fast as the horses would allow to the safety and sanctuary of their respective homes in the hamlet of Drumvaich. Another round had been won by the smugglers”.

Doune Castle is a much visited 15th century Castle. Although restored, the stonework is largely original. Monty Python and the Holy Grail was filmed here. The Castle can be seen as we pass, but the coaches will not stop.

The Castle was first built by Robert Stewart, first Duke of Albany with a design then common in the Loire valley of France. In 1425, with the forfeiture and execution of Murdoch, Duke of Albany, the Castle and Strathearn earldom passed into the hands of the Crown. It served as a Hunting Seat, also a Dower House for Scottish queens including Mary I, Queen of Scots. In 1570 it came into the hands of the Earls of Moray who still own it and much of the surrounding land (Moray Estates). During the ’45 Rising, Hanoverian prisoners were held here under the command of Gregor Glùn Dubh (gloon doo), MacGregor of Glen Gyle.

A certain Thomas Caddell from Muthill (myoothill) near Crieff arrived here in 1648. He set up business as a gunsmith initially based on horse-shoe nails from


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which he fashioned a uniquely Scottish all-steel pistol some 14 in./35 cm. in length. Caddell also embellished his pistols with oriental and Celtic designs. The weapons were deadly accurate and made in pairs. They were without trigger guards and designed to take varying sizes of flint. Caddell’s fame as a gunsmith spread far and wide. While he had a steady outlet on his doorstep, he also supplied customers as far afield as the Continent. Pistol making continued in Doune until about 1800 when mass produced low priced imitations in the English Midlands swamped the market and brought about its demise.

Drumvaich is about midway between Doune and Callander.

Lanrick Castle was an 18th-century country house which was demolished in 2002 despite being protected as a category B listed building. Once spelt Lanarkyngs, this name is taken as coming by metathesis from the old Brittonic word 'Llanerch' which meant a clearing in a forest.

The Lanrick estate was originally the property of the Haldane family. The estate was purchased by Sir John Murray MacGregor, Chief, in the late 18th Century. Later, in 1830, it was sold by his son, Sir Evan Murray MacGregor, when he bought Edinchip, near Lochearnhead, which remained the home of the Chiefs of Clan Gregor until the early 1980s.

Jardine, Matheson and Co. was founded in Canton, China on 1 July 1832 by Scots William Jardine and James Matheson. With the cession of Hong Kong in 1842, the firm set up its headquarters on the island and grew rapidly. Initially trading in opium, tea and cotton, Jardines soon diversified into other areas including insurance, shipping and railways. By the end of the 19th century, the company had become the largest of the ‘’hongs’’ or foreign trading conglomerates with offices in all the important Chinese cities as well as Yokohama, Japan. The company shipped huge quantities of Indian opium to China to pay for tea. When the Chinese objected, Britain went to war and forced the continuation of the trade.

Sir Evan sold Lanrick to the William Jardine. His son Robert Jardine became MP for Castlemilk in Glasgow. James Matheson bought the Isle of Lewis with his fortune.


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Alistair Dickson inherited Lanrick in 1984. In April 1994 the castle was gutted by fire and lost its roof. On 16 February 2002 the remaining structure was demolished. Dickson was prosecuted for demolishing a listed structure without the necessary consent, and was fined £1,000 in January 2003.

Of particular interest to MacGregors is the Lanrick MacGregor Monument, was erected by Sir Evan John Murray MacGregor in the earlier 19th century. It is a 60 ft./18m. high monument built of stone in the shape of a broken oak complete with the stumps of snapped-off branches and scars. The top of the ‘tree’ supports a crown, while rising from the crown are three pillars which in turn support a small circular platform. From the platform rises a single pillar which once held an acorn.

The lopped branches and scars signify those who perished during the Clan’s turbulent history: the crown the Clan’s claimed royal descent: the oak tree the tradition why it is incorporated in the Chief’s Arms. In view of the publicity which followed from the demolition of the Castle, the future of the edifice as a listed building would seem assured.

Callander and Kilmahog. The area’s sheltered location, and a meeting place of several long established routes, are among reasons for its rich historical legacy. Here are some examples:

Early saints – Cùg in Kilmahog and Ceasag, in English Kessog, in Callander.

Roman remains – a fort (NN 214079), a camp (there is a Roman Camp Hotel in Callander), and a road. None appear to have been occupied or used for very long. It is likely they were constructed to help protect areas further south from incursions by Caledonian tribesmen from the hill country to the north.

Kilmahog. Once a larger and more important settlement than Callander based on several mills, including weaving mills. The mill shops are all that remain of that earlier industry.

Leny House. In 1745 there was much local support for Prince Charles, and Stewart of Glen Buckie in Balquhidder, who had raised a detachment of men


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from his clan in support of the Jacobites, had occasion to stay the night at Leny House with Francis Buchanan of Arnprior. Next morning Glen Buckie was found dead in his bed. It was never proved who was responsible and Buchanan, throughout his life, pleaded his innocence of the crime.

Pass of Leny on the Highland Boundary Fault. As we cross the Highland Boundary Fault and enter the pass, the change in landscape is indeed dramatic. To most visitors this is the place where the Highlands really begin.

A fault is a fracture in the earth’s crust along which movement has taken place such that the rock strata on either side no longer match. It is this which results in the dramatic change of scenery we shall witness as we continue our journey north.

Now for a Geology lesson!

The Highland Boundary Fault is a major fault that traverses Scotland from Helensburgh on the Clyde to Stonehaven in the east. It separates two distinctly different geological terrains: the Highlands and the Midland Valley of the Lowlands, and in most places it is recognisable as a change in topography. To the north and west lie hard Pre-Cambrian and Cambrian metamorphic rocks and to the the south and east softer, sedimentary rocks of the Devonian and Carboniferous periods, principally the Old Red Sandstone.

Active during the Caledonian mountain-building episode, a plate tectonic collision which took place between 520 to 400 million years ago, the Highland Boundary Fault allowed the Midland Valley to descend as a major rift by as much as 13,123 feet.

Scotland is a collection of terranes that were formed at different times and locations. The Highland Boundary Fault was formed approximately 500 million years, and it marks the boundary between the Midland Valley region and the Highland region. Prior to the ‘Caledonian Orogeny’, the crustal foundation of northern Scotland made up part of the southern edge of the ancient continent Laurentia. During that time, Scotland’s Midland Valley crustal foundation was a volcanic island chain in the Iapetus Ocean off the coast of Laurentia. Once the Caledonian Orogeny began, crustal foundations of England and Scandinavia moved closer to the Midland Valley and northern Scotland. The foundations finally converged, and the Iapetus Ocean was closed. The pressure created by the collision of the terranes, led to major folding events in the Highlands of Scotland.


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By 400 million years ago, the tectonic forces that had brought Scotland’s foundations together had ceased. The Highland Boundary Fault marked the boundary of Northern Scotland and the Central Highlands to the Midland Valley. The southern edge of the Midland Valley was marked by the Southern Upland Fault. The Midland Valley then began to rift as tensional forces pulled the Highlands to the north and the Uplands to the south.

The landmass containing Scotland continued to moved north during the Devonian, Carboniferous, and Permian. It wasn’t until Jurassic times that America and Europe split, which pushed Scotland further north. At the start of the Tertiary, 60 million years ago, the formation of the North Atlantic caused major fractures in Scotland’s crust. This led to massive volcanic eruptions on the western edge of Scotland. During the Quaternary ice ages, Midland Valley experienced glacial erosion and deposition that deepened valleys and moulded hills and streams.

The majority of rocks that form the Central Highlands or Grampian Highlands are 800 to 600 million years old. They initially were laid down as deep marine deposits. During the sedimentation process an ice age occurred on land that led to glacial debris being deposited along with the marine deposits. These rocks were eventually metmorphisized during the Caledonian Orogeny. The majority of them are now schists and slates. Due to erosion, some of these rocks are now exposed on the surface. In some places there is an intrusion of granite that formed deep within the crust where the pressure and heat was greatest during the collision.

Along the Highland Boundary Fault there is also an exposed suite of rocks known as the Highland Border Complex. Pillow lavas, shales, and jasper are common in some areas.

The Midland Valley is made up of rocks that range from 470 to 350 million years old. During this time period lavas were erupted to form the foundation of the Midland Valley. At this time Scotland was located near the equator. The climate was hot and dry with seasonal monsoons. The rain led to floods and rivers that laid down red sandstone, and this time period was marked as the Old Red Sandstone. The tropical climate also gave rise to reefs and swampy forests that led to coal formations. Volcanoes, such as Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh and the Dundee Law, were also major features of the Midland Valley. Those volcanoes produced resistant rock types that have withstood erosion better than some of the sedimentary rocks later deposited. Those volcanic rocks, basalt and


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granite, along with a few igneous intrusions have led to the formation of many of the hills found in Midland Valley.

OK – now you can wake up again!

On the left is Ben Ledi. Although a fairly stiff climb the summit, on a clear day, offers panoramic views extending from the Forth Bridge and the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh in the south-east to the summits of range upon range of Highland hills to the north and west.

Near the summit is Bealach nan Corp. Close by is Lochan nan Corp. Seemingly, at some time in the past, a funeral party bearing a coffin was making its way from either Glen Casaig or Glen Finglas on the other side of the hill to St. Bride’s Chapel. It was winter and, although the hills were relatively clear of snow, the ground was hard with frost. For some reason, on crossing the bealach, the mourners decided to take a short cut over the ice covering the lochan. Unfortunately, the ice gave way and all were drowned, hence the name. There is another slant to this story. It is said that the mourners were smugglers in disguise and that the coffin contained illicit whisky. Whatever the truth, both tales have passed into local tradition.

St. Bride’s Chapel is on the hillside to the east, where McKinlays ancestral to US president McKinlay are buried.

Loch Lubnaig, the bent loch, is the first of the Highland lochs on the journey north. Its bent shape is due to faulting. Both Glen Ample and Glen Beich (baich, ‘ch’ as in loch) are aligned along the same fault.

Escape! As most, if not all, of us are aware, Rob Roy was taken prisoner on more than one occasion but each time, thanks to his ingenuity and more than a generous share of good luck, he managed to escape. In the winter of 1694-95 Rob Roy was apprehended in Balquhidder by Atholl’s men. His captors were not as attentive to their prisoner as they might have been and, while mounted on a horse between two of his captors, his arms were left untied. The story goes that, as the party made its way along the steep wooded slope above Loch Lubnaig, Rob suddenly sprang into action and, in the confusion that followed, made good his escape.

Archullarie. From here a well defined path/track follows the fault line via Glen Ample to Loch Earn.


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The A84 along which we are travelling broadly follows the line of the military road (Stirling – Fort William) constructed after Culloden (1746). The construction of military roads in the Highlands was begun by General Wade in the 1720’s. Initially linking forts garrisoned by soldiers, they served as an integral part of the Hanoverian Government’s plan to pacify the Highlands.

Strathyre village and strath. The ben provides an excellent view point. There is a path from the village to the top. (1871 feet) There are quite a number of hills and knolls across the Highlands which were believed to be the abode of fairies. Traditional tales tell of strange feelings experienced by local people when visiting such sites.

Strathyre. The valley floor drops only about 12 feet over the 6 miles between lochs Voil and Lubnaig. This is the reason why the Balvag is so slow flowing and has a meandering course. Indeed, in very wet weather a temporary loch, aptly named “Loch Occasional”, forms in the valley floor below Kingshouse.

How did the strath become so productive in the past? Well, seemingly Strathyre folk used to clear, and so artificially deepen, the outlet of Loch Lubnaig (the water is naturally shallow here) on an annual basis. By doing this, the loch level was lowered (even lowering by a foot could make a difference) resulting in improved drainage in Strathyre.

Kingshouse. From here a road leads off to Balquhidder. King’s House refers to an inn created by the military road builders for travellers on the route north.

At Kingshouse, we can see Balquhidder Glen to the west and a few minutes later Loch Earn to the East.

Lochearnhead the Lochearnhead Games park is on our right while, on our left is the hill known as Meall a’ Mhadaidh, In or around 1620, Calum Og, grandfather of Rob Roy, is reputed to have shot a pursuing hound on the hill while being pursued by enemies. The long gun he used used to be on display in the Clan Gregor Exhibition in the Breadalbane Folklore Centre, Killin. With its closure the gun is in Stirling looking for a home.


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One of the events in the annual Lochearnhead games is the hill run. Participants run from the Games park to the top and back. The winner in 2009 did it in a new record time of 28 minutes, 28 seconds. The youngest participant the year before (a girl aged 16) and the oldest a pensioner of 65 finished together in about 50 minutes.

Along Loch Earn on the south side is Ardvorlich Castle, occupied by Stewart of Ardvorlich married to daughter of Drummond John Drummond of Drummondernoch, Keeper of the Royal Forest of Glen Artney, In 1589, in revenge for cutting the ears of MacGregor poachers, a party of MacGregors beheaded Drummondernoch and presented his head to his daughter at Ardvorlich Castle. The entire clan was outlawed for this act. The actual killers may have been a party of Glengarry MacDonalds on a raid, but the MacGregors protected them and shared the punishment.

As we descend from Glen Ogle, Ardchyle is on the left before Lix Toll.

Ardchyle, in Gaelic Ard Choille (ard ho-illi, ‘i’ as in), wooded height, is a name well-known to MacGregors since it is the slogan of our Clan. In our Clan history the name is most closely with Duncan Ladasach, Duncan the Bold, MacGregor of Ardchyle who, for some forty years in the first half of the 16th century, led the life of an outlaw, ranging over a wide area extending from Lochaber (Fort William area) in the north to the Carse of Stirling in the south. He held a particularly strong resentment against the Campbells largely, it is alleged, because of their expansion into territories formerly held by other clans, including Clan Gregor. By feigning a spirit of forgiveness, Sir Colin Campbell, 6th Laird of Glen Orchy, tricked Duncan into meeting with him in May, 1552. The outcome, although details of his capture are unknown, was that in 16th June, 1552, Duncan and his sons Gregor and Malcolm Roy were executed, most probably at Kenmore (east end of Loch Tay).

Lix Toll is now a garage at the junction of the A84 and A827. Because the name LIX appears to suggest the 9th legion – legio IX – people have suggested that near here there was a battle around 117AD where the Roman ninth legion was destroyed. The Eagle of the Ninth is a historical adventure novel for children written by Rosemary Sutcliff and published in 1954.

Sutcliff wrote in a foreword that she created the story from two elements: the disappearance of the Legio IX Hispana (Ninth Legion) from the historical record, following an expedition north to deal with Caledonian tribes in 117; and


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the discovery of a wingless Roman Eagle in excavations at Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester). However, some authorities state that it "is not a legionary eagle but has been immortalized as such by Rosemary Sutcliff."

At the time Sutcliff wrote, it was a plausible theory that the unit had been wiped out in Britain during a period of unrest early in the reign of the emperor Hadrian (AD 117-138). Scholarly opinion now disputes this, for there are extant records that have been interpreted as indicating that detachments of the Ninth Legion were serving on the Rhine frontier later than 117, and it has been suggested that it was probably annihilated in the east of the empire, possibly in Dacia (modern Romania).

However, Lix probably derives more prosaically from the Gaelic leac meaning a place of flagstones. Lix Toll was the site of a late 18th century toll house on the turnpike road where tolls were paid towards the maintenance of the road.

At Lix toll we turn eastward on the A827. As we approach Killin, draw attention to the scenic mountain backdrop to the north of the village which is commonly referred to as the Tarmachan (‘ch’ as in loch) range – name derives from the highest hill, map reference NN 5838. Tarmachan is Gaelic for ptarmigan, an alpine grouse the feathers of which change to white during the winter months. Beyond the ridge lies the Mamlorn forest and Glen Lyon.

Killin, a collective name for what was once several settlements and now a large village at the head of Loch Tay. In Gaelic Cill Fhinn (same pronunciation as in English) which is taken to mean white church. The earliest known church site is on rather higher ground on the west side and overlooking the village. Behind the old school-house is a standing stone reputed to mark the grave of Fionn, the legendary Gaelic hero.

On the hill to the north of Killin is an outcrop of hard rock which Neolithic people used to make stone tools as there is no natural flint in Scotland. Substantial numbers of the stone tools from this quarry have been found throughout western Scotland and beyond indicating significant trading.

Finlarg Castle (stop 60 mins). Finlarg Castle is now a ruin, built by Black Duncan Campbell around 1590. It features the remains of a pitt. (spelling is the


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correct Scots for a small prison cell which originally had a corbelled stone roof) Many people incorrectly describe this as a beheading pit. However, nearby is the justice hill where executions almost certainly took place.

The site was previously occupied by a castle of the Drummonds and prior to that may have been a Dark Age fort. It is also the site of the collapsed mausoleum of the Breadalbane Campbells. Gregor Roy is often said to have been beheaded there in the ‘pit’, although in fact he was executed in 1570 at Kenmore. There is also a Neolithic stone circle indicating this has been a significant site for thousands of years.

11.30 depart Finlarg.

To the left at Bridge of Lochay Hotel is Glen Lochay. A mile of so up the glen at Murlagan is a 18th century cottage which is now a small museum of the way people lived in the Highlands in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Glen Lochay was the site of a number of MacGregor settlements in the 16th century. In particular at Duncroisk and at Murlaganmore. Duncan Ladasach held lands at Coirecharmaig in Glen Lochay.

Morenish along Loch Tay was a MacGregor possession from the late 15th century. Despite the clearance of the clan in the 17th century, an old late 18th century gravestone discovered in Killin burial ground mentioning John MacGregor Tomachrochar’ shows that some remained, although at a lower social level.

Ben Lawers (Beinn Labhair) is the highest mountain in the southern part of the Highlands and the 10th highest mountain in Britain. It is the highest point of a long ridge that includes seven Munros. Ben Lawers was long thought to be over 4,000 feet in height; accurate measurement in the 1870s showed it to be some 17 feet short of this figure. In 1878, a group of twenty men spent a day building a large cairn in the hope of bringing the summit above the "magic" figure. The cairn is no longer there; in any case the map makers ignored it as an artificial structure that was not truly part of the hill.

There is much evidence of former settlements and other human activity on the southern slopes of Ben Lawers above Loch Tay. The discovery of many boulders with cup and ring marks "suggests it was a very significant landscape in prehistory." There are ruins of cottages each surrounded by a small group of trees and the ridged pastures are signs of early cultivation. Overgrown tracks


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climb up the mountain from the valley to the peat beds and sheilings on the hillside. The fertile limestone and schist soils on these southern slopes have been farmed since very early times and there are many Bronze Age remains.

Prior to the 14th century, the mountain stood on the lands of Clan MacMillan. Chalmers of Lawers obtained the land by force from the clan in the mid 14th century in the reign of David II. The land was confiscated from the Chalmers family in 1473 by James II and given to Sir Colin Campbell of Glenorchy after Thomas Chalmers was implicated in the murder of James I. The lands have mainly remained in the ownership of the Campbells of Glenorchy and Breadalbane until the sale of the Breadalbane estate in the 20th century. Many of the farms were sold off in the late 1940s and today some, like Tombreck, are leading the way in regenerating their homeland and learning to preserve its beauty whilst creating a sustainable environment for the people who live there.

Much of the north side of Loch Tay was reorganized by the Breadalbane estate in the mid 18th century. A land surveyor produced a report in 1769, on the basis of which the estate enclosed farms, erected new houses and advanced money for improvements in crops and livestock. Archaeology has demonstrated a substantial population with both arable and cattle farming. In the early 19th century another Earl of Breadalbane had a different policy. He enforced wholesale clearance and let the land to large scale sheep farmers.

Across the other side of Loch Tay is Ardeonaig which was settled both by Campbells and Malloch MacGregors of the Roro family. Over the watershed is Glen Lednock which descends to Comrie – one of the few possessions to which MacGregors obtained Crown charters. Some of the Glen Lednock lineages took part at Glen Fruin and several were executed for it, but some sided with the Drummonds and adopted the name. In one notable encounter at Tomzarloch in 1610 in which several were killed, the Drummond MacGregors fought with a group of their kindred who were on the run. The actor Ewen MacGregor comes from this lineage.

Lawers. This is the earliest Campbell settlements along Loch Tay, dating from 1473 and the seat of a cadet branch of the Glenorchy Campbells. Campbell of Lawers was one of the most vehement and assiduous persecutors of Clan Gregor in the late 16th and early 17th century. One of the family was the lady of Lawers, a seer who is supposed to have predicted many events to come,


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including the final departure of the Breadalbane family from their Loch Tay properties in the early 20th century.

Fearnan was the site of considerable MacGregor settlement in the 16th century. Some of the farmland here is very productive due to a band of limestone. At the end of the century, repeated attempts were made by the Robertsons of Strowan to evict MacGregors from here. By edict of the privy Council of James VI, MacGregors were not permitted to own land. This gave incentive for holders of paper titles granted by the Crown to evict them. Four distinct legal attempts were made in 1588, 1595, 1597 and 1601 to remove Alasdair MacGregor clerich in Croftnalin (a descendants of the ‘clerks’ or priests at Fortingall) Neil McCondochy in Fearnan; Duncan MacAlasdair VicAlasdair in Fearnan Tomintivoir and William MacNeil VicEwin in Boreland of Fearnan.

John Dow MacAlasdair in Stronfernan was mentioned repeatedly in eviction processes from 1595 but he remained in possession. John Dow participated at Glen Fruin, but finally in 1611, Campbell of Lawers sent the head of John Dow in to the Privy Council to claim his reward.

Following arbitration, the Council - awarded to Campbell a certain sum in silver to be paid by Robertsoun in full discharge of his claim. … the relict and bairns of the said Johnne Dow to be removed therefrom ‘as personis unworthie to brook ony benefit within his Majesteis kingdome’ the Lords declare that it shall be lawful to enter in possession of the said lands without any process of law, and to remove the said widow and her goods furth thereof.

Even this did not remove all MacGregors from Fearnan, although their status had been reduced. In 1621, James Campbell of Lawers was charged as ‘cautioner for Malcolm Robertson in Fernar and other 13 McGregours’

At Fearnan we take the single track road to the foot of Glen Lyon.

Glen Lyon to the west at Bridge of Lyon is said to be the longest, loneliest and loveliest glen in the Highlands. From the early 15th century parts of it were settled by Clan Gregor and in particular by the MacGregors of Roro. Also in Glen Lyon were the Campbells of Glen Lyon. Duncan Campbell of GlenLyon was known as “Red Duncan of the Hospitality”. Marion Campbell, his daughter


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was the wife of Gregor Roy, chief of Clan Gregor, who was executed at Balloch in 1571. Their son Alasdair was the chief who led the clan at Glen Fruin and was executed in Edinburgh in 1604 and their second son, John or Iain dubh nan larach – (Black John of the coat of mail) was one of the two MacGregors who died at Glen Fruin. One of the most famous of Gaelic songs Griogal Cridhe is said to have been composed by Marion Campbell as a lament for her husband. Several generations later, Robert Campbell of Glen Lyon had his lands swept of livestock by MacIain of Glencoe following the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689. He was forced by debts to join the Campbell militia regiment in the service of the Government. In 1691 it was Robert Campbell of Glenlyon who led the militia company which massacred the MacIains of Glencoe.

12.30 Fortingall (stop 60 mins).

Fortingall. The site of a Roman camp dating to the period of Agricola around 75-79AD. Tradition holds that Pontius Pilate was born here but this is highly unlikely. More certain is the Yew Tree which is the oldest living thing in Scotland and among the oldest in the world. Much of the tree has rotted away, but the surviving parts are still impressive. It is difficult to date but could be three thousand years old. In 1725 it was reported to be 56 feet in circumference. Many bows were cut from this tree by the Stewarts of Garth, and later it was used for dirk and tool handles. Later still tourists cut their souvenirs. Now the still living remains are protected.

The picturesque thatched houses have a very English appearance and were built by one of the new landowners which arrived in the 19th century.

Fortingall in the early 15th century was the site of settlement by the clerical MacGregors of Lismore. Lismore is an island in the Firth of Lorne, but the Deans resided here with their families. (These guys were catholic priests!). The first recorded was Dougal, Vicar of Lismore. His great-grandson, James the Dean of Lismore and his son Dougal, Vicar of Lismore compiled ‘The book of the Dean of Lismore’ between 1512 and 1579. It is one of the oldest Gaelic manuscripts surviving in Scotland. Until the Reformation in 1560 the Fortingall MacGregors were clerks and vicars to the household of the Glenorchy Campbells. After 1560, they appear not to have been enthusiastic supporters of the Reformed Church and became estranged from the family of Grey Colin and


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Black Duncan. Members of this family settled upper Strath-Tay and some assumed the name Johnson after 1603.

13.30 depart Fortingall.

Along the road to Coshieville is the site of the farm of Drumcharry and the MacGregor piping school. John MacGregor of Drumcharry was piper to Prince Charles in the ’45. His pipes are preserved in the Atholl Palace museum. Succeeding generations of this family won trophies in early 19th century piping competitions.

Coshieville. Here is the monument to Colonel David Stewart of Garth, Colonel of the Black Watch during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. He was author of ‘Sketches of the Highlanders of Scotland’ published in 1822. This book, as well as being a military history is a wonderful source for the Highlanders in the 18th century.

Dull and the surrounding area has been settled since the early Neolithic – 5000 years ago. Many remnants - stone circles, standing stones end hill forts - testify to inhabitants from around 3000 BC. Unfortunately much stonework has been removed to provide for stone dykes and buildings of modern usage.

Dull is particularly connected with St Adamnan, also called Eonan. Irish born, he joined the Iona religious community and is famed for his biography of St. Columba. He set up his religious cell in Glen Lyon using Dull (or Tulli, as it was then known) as a place of solitude and retreat. Adamnan died around 704 AD, having been attributed with the halting of the plague rife in the area at the time. Summoning God's help, he cast the evil spirits of the disease onto a rock on which he had placed his foot. The rock is by the road side at Camustrachan in Glen Lyon. Two stone crosses were erected in gratitude for the miracle.

Dull church, renovated in 1840, is still in use. Behind the church there is a holy well, reputedly the site of miraculous cures. It is called "Tobar Eouan' or Well of Adomnan. The ancient monastic site at Dull (exact site is disputed) signalled the end of the Celtic influence in this church. In the 12th Century it was converted to a Tironensian Priory by the Crown (David I, 1124-1153). The Tironension order was Benedictine in style, founded in France by Bernard, a monk from Poitiers.


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Recently, Dull twinned itself with Boring in the USA achieving briefly world-wide press coverage.

At Weem is Castle Menzies. (pronounced 'Mingies') Weem comes form the Gaelic for a cave. Following prolonged and bloody disputes with the Stewarts of Garth, much of Rannoch was granted by James IV at the end of the 15th century to the Menzies family who lived here until the death of the last of the main line of the family in 1918. The present Castle dates from 1502 and 1571. It is a very fine example of a type of castle known only in the east of Scotland - the Z-plan Tower House. It is now being restored by the Menzies Clan Society.

Set on flat ground, the old tower house was extended on two sides in the 18th and 19th Centuries, becoming the centrepiece of a man-made landscape which includes the plantings on the hill behind the castle, the walled garden, feature buildings such as the kennels, the keeper's and gardener's cottages, gatehouses and the gothic home farm steading half a mile to the west. The fascination of this building is in the contrast between its early history as a very efficient defensive fortification and its later life as an elegant and comfortable mansion house.

Due to the depopulation caused by the feud between the Menzies and Stewarts of Garth, large areas of empty Menzies lands, especially Rannoch, had been occupied by the MacGregors from the mid 15th century onwards. Menzies found himself unable to control or even extract rent from his lands until the proscription of the MacGregors in the 17th century. Menzies of Weem raised actions against 27 MacGregor tenants in May 1595. He had complained about unruly MacGregor tenants since 1523, but they remained in Rannoch into the 19th century.

General Wade’s soldiers built Tay Bridge in 1733 as part of the road from Stirling to Inverness. The bridge is 400 feet in length, with five arches and stands testament to the work of George Wade and the brilliance of the Scots architect William Adam, who designed it.


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In 1745 General Sir John Cope encamped his army here on their way to meet the Jacobites (which he failed to do). Just south of the bridge is the mustering place of the first Highland regiment in 1739, Freiceaden Dubh or Black Watch. Soon after their formation they were dressed in the tartan now known as Black Watch. Also called ‘Government tartan’, it is the basis for the clan tartans chosen by a number of ‘well-affected’ or Hanoverian clans, such as the Clan Campbell, Sutherland and MacKenzie From 1749 they were numbered as the 42Nd Regiment of Foot. The Black Watch includes the Iraq war among its battle honours and following recent reorganisation survives to this day as part of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

As we expect to run two coaches both days, it is intended that one coach goes to the Aberfeldy distillery, while the other remains at Kenmore. Then change around.

14.00 Taymouth (stop 120 mins) was once called Balloch, a site of MacGregor settlement and a MacGregor church and burial ground destroyed by the Campbells. We will stop at Taymouth with a visit to a reconstructed Iron Age crannog. http://www.crannog.co.uk/ Admission charge included.

Kenmore dates from the 16th century. It and the neighbouring Castle were originally known as Balloch ( bealach, 'pass') when held by a Clan Gregor lineage. The original village was sited on the north side of river approximately two miles from its present site and was known as Inchadney. A number of early MacGregors were buried at Inchadney. In 1550 Sir Colin Campbell of Glenorchy started the construction of Balloch castle on the opposite bank of the river and the entire village was moved to a prominent headland by the shores of Loch Tay, hence the name Kenmore, which translates from Scots Gaelic to "big (or large) head". The village as its seen today is a model village laid out by 3rd Earl of Breadalbane in 1760.

Taymouth Castle was built by John Campbell, 2nd Marquess of Breadalbane (d. 1862) on the site of its late medieval predecessor, Balloch Castle which was demolished in 1805). This enormous mansion, in neo-Gothic style, was completed in time for the visit of Queen Victoria in 1842. No expense was spared on the interior, which was decorated with the utmost sumptuousness. It is


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now privately owned and has a fine golf course in its grounds. Plans to restore the Castle to its mid-19th century glory and convert it into a luxury hotel are currently ongoing.

The 18 known Crannogs of Loch Tay are artificially created islands. They are thought to have originated before 2000 BC, though they continued to be built and used as dwellings and refuges into the Middle Ages. The crannogs not only afforded excellent protection against unruly neighbours but protected the inhabitants from the wild animals (wolves, lynxes and bears).

The Scottish Crannog Centre, with an accurate full-size reconstruction of an Iron Age crannog, based on the Oakbank Crannog site (off the north shore of the Loch), and a visitor centre displaying finds from the excavations, is open to visitors a little south of Kenmore village. Admission to the Crannog centre is included.

The biggest island in the Loch, known as the Isle of Loch Tay, or Eilean nam Ban-naomh, 'Isle of Holy Women', is just north of Kenmore. It was the site of a nunnery in the 12th century and was the burial place of Queen Sybilla (d. 1122), wife of Alexander I of Scotland (1107-24). A castle was built on the island in the later Middle Ages. Much larger in area than the other crannogs, it is unclear to what extent this island is natural, or has been 'improved' over the centuries.

Aberfeldy (stop 120 mins) Tour of Aberfeldy distillery Admission included.

Aberfeldy Distillery, founded by John Dewar & Sons Ltd was built in 1896.

In 2000, “Dewar’s World of Whisky" opened at the Aberfeldy Distillery: this is a centre for marketing the products and educating the public about the process of distillation and history of the Dewar's brand. Aberfeldy is the largest malt whisky component of Dewar's Blended Whisky. The tour is like a Disneyland for whiskylovers. Visually pleasing, full of interest if you don't mind the hard sell for the Dewar's whiskies. Tour includes Brand Centre and Distillery tours, plus whisky tasting for adults.

17.30 dep via A826 Sma’ Glen.

Glenalmond or Glen Almond: (Gleann Amain). The upper half of the glen runs through mountainous country and is now virtually uninhabited whilst the


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lower, easterly section of the glen is more open. The change in character takes place as the river crosses the Highland Boundary Fault.

A short section of Glen Almond which has a more northwesterly-southeasterly alignment is known as the Sma' Glen, (Caol Ghleann Ghlinn Amain). The A822 takes advantage of this deeply incised section of the glen to forge a route between Crieff and Strathbraan, much as the military road did in the middle of the eighteenth century.

To the west is Upper Glen Almond, the site of Macgregor settlements including the MacAra family. The road is not suitable for a coach. Near the junction with the Strathbraan road is the site of a Roman fortlet.

At the northern end of the Sma' Glen keep an eye out for Clach Ossian or Ossian's Stone, an 8 ft high monolithic stone sited where the river and the road almost touch. This is reputed to be the burial place, in about 300 AD, of the legendary Gaelic bard Ossian. He was the father of Fingal who was immortalised in Mendelssohn's Fingal's Cave overture

The glen featured in the 1981 film Chariots of Fire.

At Braco on the left is one of the best preserved Roman forts in Scotland. It can be seen from the coach, but we won’t be stopping.

19.00 arr Stirling


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East Tour to Falkland and St Andrews

When The Council were deciding on the tours for Gathering 2014, Sir Malcolm invited us to visit Bannatyne House for a buffet tea, hence, it was decided to tour Fife before crossing the Tay Bridge to Dundee and Bannatyne House. However, Lady Fiona has now become a full-time presenter of Borders TV, based in Carlisle, so Bannatyne House is now up for sale and it will not be possible for us to visit. Your Council decided to continue with the tour to Fife and have a presentation on DNA and a meal courtesy of the University of St Andrews.

09.30 dep Stirling Kincardine Bridge constructed between 1932 and 1936. It was the first road crossing of the Forth below Stirling, 30 years older than the Forth Bridge at Queensferry. It has a swinging central section intended to allow ships to pass to the port of Alloa, but the port closed in 1988. Alongside is the new Clackmannanshire Bridge built to reduce the traffic load on the old bridge. Incidentally the name of the county, Clackmannan refers back to the Dark Age tribe the Maetae which formed the kingdom of Manau Goddodin around 500-700AD. The hill at the western end of the Ochils, behind the Wallace Monument is Dumyat hill or Dun of the Maetae. Culross, pause briefly. Culross is a historic village in care of National Trust for Scotland. The Royal Burgh of Culross is a unique survival, a town that time has passed by. It is the most complete example in Scotland today of a Burgh of the 17th and 18th centuries. The Town House was built in 1626 and was the administrative centre of Culross with a tollbooth and witches' prison. The old buildings and cobbled streets create a fascinating time warp for visitors.

The Cistercian abbey of Culross was founded in 1217. The monks exploited the local coal seams. Following the reformation and dissolution of the monasteries, the abbey lands passed to the Bruce family.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the town was a centre of the coal mining industry. Sir George Bruce of Carnock, who built the splendid 'Palace' of Culross in 1597 and whose elaborate family monument stands in the north transept of the Abbey church, established at Culross, the first coal mine in the world to extend under the sea, in 1575. The mine worked with ingenious contrivances to drain the constant leakage from above. This mine was considered one of the marvels of the British Isles in the early 17th century, until


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it was destroyed in a storm, in 1625. It is said that when James VI visited the mine, he was taken up through a ventilation shaft to an artificial island in the Forth. Finding himself surrounded by water, he was alarmed and yelled ‘treason’.

Culross' secondary industry was salt panning. There was a considerable export trade by sea in the produce of these industries and the prevalence of red roof tiles in Culross and other villages in Fife is thought to be a direct result of collier ships returning to Culross with Dutch roof tiles as ballast. The town was also known for its monopoly on the manufacture of girdles, flat iron plates, for baking over an open fire. The town's role as a port declined from the 18th century, and by Victorian times it had become something of a 'ghost town'. The harbour was filled in and the sea cut off by the coastal railway line in the second half of the 19th century (though the site of the harbour walls can to a large extent still be traced).

A notable native of Culross was Admiral Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, 1st Marquess of Maranhão, (14 December 1775 – 31 October 1860), styled Lord Cochrane between 1778 and 1831, was an officer of the Royal Navy and radical politician.

He was a daring and successful commander in the Napoleonic Wars, leading the French to nickname him Le Loup des Mers ('The Sea Wolf'). He helped organize and lead the rebel navies of Chile, Brazil and Greece during their respective wars of independence through the 1820s. While in charge of the Chilean Navy, Cochrane also contributed to Peruvian independence.

His life and exploits inspired the naval fiction of 19th- and 20th-century novelists, particularly the figures of C S Forester’s Horatio Hornblower and Patrick O’Brian’s Jack Aubrey.

Across the Forth from Culross, we can see the Grangemouth refinery and petrochemical plant. As well as producing most of the petrol and diesel used in Scotland and the North of England, the petrochemical plant uses feedstock from the North Sea to produce a wide range of petrochemicals. It is currently being converted to process shale gas from the USA, which is considerably cheaper than European gas. A little to the east is Bo’ness or Borrowstounness. Bo’ness was at the eastern end of the Roman Antonine wall, Close by is Kenneil House where James Watt pioneered the first practical steam engine. (The earlier Newcomen engines were


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atmospheric, Watt’s design was more efficient and led to the engines that created the industrial revolution). Dunfermline - ancient capital of Malcolm Canmore. Scottish Kings from Malcolm up to Robert Bruce are buried here. Andrew Carnegie (founder of US Steel) came from Dunfermline. Dunfermline Parish Church now occupies the site of the ancient chancel and transepts of a large Benedictine abbey, which was sacked in 1560 during the Reformation.

The Abbey was founded in 1128 by King David I, but the monastic establishment was based on an earlier foundation dating back to the reign of King Malcolm Canmore, (r. 1058-93) and his queen. In the decades after its foundation the abbey was the recipient of considerable endowments, as seen from the dedication of 26 altars donated by individual benefactors and guilds and it was an important centre of pilgrimage after Dunfermline became a centre for the cult of St Margaret (Malcolm's wife and David's mother), from whom the monastery later claimed foundation and for which an earlier foundation charter was fabricated. The foundations of the earliest church (the Church of the Holy Trinity) are under the present superb Romanesque nave built in the 12th century.

The Abbey is the final resting place of more Scottish monarchs than any other place except Iona.

Kinross (refer to castle on Loch, Queen Mary) Loch Leven ( Loch Lìobhann)

Roughly triangular, the loch is about 6 km at its longest. Loch Leven castle lies on an island a short way offshore. The castle was the prison of Mary Queen of Scots, in 1567.

Prior to the canalisation of the River Leven, and the partial draining of the Loch in the early 19th century, Loch Leven was of considerably larger area. The fall in water level exposed several small islands, and greatly increased the size of the existing ones.

St Serf’s Inch is the largest of Loch Leven's seven islands and it was the home of a Culdee and then an Augustinian Priory,. There was a monastic community on the island which was old in the 12th century. The monastery produced a series of Gaelic language charters from the 11th and 12th centuries which were translated into Latin in the late 12th century.


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10.30 arr Falkland Palace (stop 2 hours, Stewart palace with original features and tapestries, shop, conveniences, gardens and surrounding village. (admission charge is included) Note – difficult and narrow stairs in Palace.

The Scottish Crown acquired Falkland Castle from MacDuff, Earl of Fife in the 14th century. In 1402 Robert Stewart, 1st Duke of Albany imprisoned his nephew David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, the eldest son of King Robert III of Scotland, at Falkland. The incarcerated Duke eventually died there from neglect and starvation. Albany was exonerated from blame by Parliament, but suspicions of foul play persisted, suspicions which never left Rothesay's younger brother the future James I of Scotland, and which would eventually lead to the downfall of the Albany Stewarts. John Debrett, writing in 1805, was in no doubt of Duke Robert's motives and guilt:

“This Robert, Duke of Albany, having obtained the entire government from his brother, King Robert, he caused the Duke of Rothesay to be murdered, thinking to bring the Crown into his own family; but to avoid the like fate, King Robert resolved to send his younger son James, to France, then about nine years old, who being sea-sick, and forced to land on the English coast ... was detained a captive in England eighteen years. At these misfortunes King Robert died of grief in 1406. Following the King’s death, Albany ruled as regent and was succeeded by his son, Murdoch, Duke of Albany.”

When James I, finally returned from captivity, among his first acts was the the execution of Murdoch and several of his sons. Only James the Gross escaped. Later forgiven, he was the ancestor of the Stewarts of Ardvorlich and Glenbuckie.

Between 1501 and 1541 Kings James IV and James V transformed the old castle into a beautiful royal palace. Along with Stirling Castle it was one of only two Renaissance palaces in Scotland. James V extended his father's buildings in French renaissance style. He died at Falkland in December 1542 after hearing that his wife had given birth to a daughter – Mary Queen of Scots. His dying words are reputed to be ‘It cam wi’ a lass and it’ll gang wi’ a lass’. This refers to the marriage of Marjory Bruce to Walter the High Steward, parents of Robert II, the first Stewart monarch.

Falkland became a popular retreat with all the Stewart monarchs. They practised falconry there and used the vast surrounding forests for hawking and for hunting deer. Wild boar, imported from France, were kept in the Park. Nearby Myres Castle is the hereditary home of the Royal Macers and Sergeants at Arms who served Falkland Castle since at least the sixteenth century.


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After the Union of the Crowns (1606), James VI, Charles I and Charles II all visited Falkland. A fire partially destroyed the palace during its occupation by Cromwell’s troops and it fell into ruin.

In 1885 John Crichton-Stuart, 3rd Marquess of Bute, inherited the estates of Falkland and started a 20-year restoration of much of the palace to its 16th century condition. In 1952, the 5th Marquess of Bute appointed the National Trust for Scotland to take care of the Palace.

In the gardens is the original ‘real tennis court’ built in 1539. This is the world’s oldest real tennis court still in regular use. [Real tennis is more like squash than modern tennis]

The castle contains narrow corridors and turnpike stairs which may be difficult for people with mobility issues. There is a limit of 25 people per group at 20 minute intervals and therefore, not everyone may be able to tour the palace. The gardens are well worth spending time in and the village contains a selection of shops and restaurants.

13.00 dep Falkland for the East neuk of Fife. King James VI described Fife as a “beggar’s mantle fringed with gold” – In the 16th century the interior was poor, but small ports along the coast traded with the Netherlands and Baltic bringing considerable wealth. Interesting survivals of early modern town plans, 17th and 18th century buildings. 14.00 arr St Andrews (stop 2 hours, castle, cathedral, shops, gowff) St Andrews as well as the home of golf, is also the site of Scotland’s oldest University (founded 1411) and the Ecclesiastical capital of Scotland until the Reformation in 1560. Here John Knox preached a sermon in the still surviving Holy Trinity Church which inflamed the mob to sack the Cathedral, then the second largest in Britain. Now the Cathedral, Priory and Archbishop’s palace (St Andrew’s castle) are ruins. St Rule’s tower in the Cathedral grounds predates the cathedral and is at least 1000 years old.


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For those able for a 1.5 mile walk, walking tour around St Andrews, starting with:

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews was founded on 14 May 1754 with the first Challenge for the Silver Club. Evolving over 250 colourful years it has grown from a small society of no fixed abode into a club whose membership extends worldwide.

From the late 19th century, the Club increasingly came to be regarded as a governing authority of golf, both in the United Kingdom and abroad. Between 1897 and 2003 it developed three distinct areas of responsibility, namely the administration of the Rules of Golf in conjunction with the USGA, the running of The Open Championship and other key golfing events, and the development of the game in existing and emerging golfing nations.

The lane beside St Salvators College is Bow Butts – so named because it provided a facility for archery practice. There was an annual unofficial prize for the shooting of an arrow over the College tower. It was won by both the future Earls of Montrose and of Argyll, later bitter enemies in the wars of the Covenant.

While the original foundation of the University was in 1412, St Salvator's College was founded in 1450 by Bishop James Kennedy. King James II provided an endowment at the college's foundation and several of the original medieval buildings survive, including the college chapel, tower, tenement building (adjoining to the west of tower, actually older than the tower, but much restored) and the Hebdomodar's building. An Annual student event is run by the Kate Kennedy Club, a male student is dressed as the daughter/niece of the Bishop and paraded around the town.

In 1528, the Protestant martyr, Patrick Hamilton, was burned alive outside the college, though Patrick himself was a member of St Leonard's college. See markings on pavement PH – students are told if they walk on it, they may fail their exams!

Initially a college of Theology and Arts, St Salvator's was created to revitalize and focus the university after its somewhat disorderly foundation.

Due to financial considerations, fall in student numbers and general decline of the university, St Salvator's and St Leonard’s Colleges amalgamated into the in 1747. Shortly after this, the initial site of St Leonard's College was sold, though the university retained ownership of St Leonard's College Chapel. Although the buildings of St Salvator's College (including the college chapel) were grand by


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medieval standards, they eventually fell into disrepair. From 1837 the quadrangle was rebuilt and extended into its current form, with a north and a west wing in Jacobean style (in similar style to Madras College on South Street built at the same time). To the south is the Chapel.

St Salvator's College was residential until the unification with St Leonard's. St Salvator’s Hall (built from the 1930s), which lies east of the college, is one of the current halls of residence for students.

The college chapel is unusual in that the main entrance faces out into the town and not like those in Oxford or Cambridge, closed into the college itself. It is indeed the only collegiate chapel in Scotland with this arrangement. The chapel was used as a parish church after the St Leonard's college chapel was unroofed in the 1750s until this arrangement was withdrawn by the university. The 1450 college had cloister buildings to the north of the college chapel - the two doors to the north side of the chapel show the alignment of the cloister.

Today, the University has abandoned the Collegiate system in all but name, the St Salvator’s College site houses various lecture theatres, and the departments of Spanish, Russian, and social anthropology. It is commonly referred to as “the quad”, and is the setting of Raisin Monday festivities, the finish point of the post-Graduation processions, and occasionally hosts student events. The Science and Maths departments moved out to the new North Haugh campus in the 1960s.

The Younger Hall, a decidedly ugly building paid for by the beer magnate is used for University graduation and other ceremonies.

St Andrews Castle was originally founded by Bishop Roger in 1189. It was destroyed and re-occupied a number of times between 1296 and 1337. Bishop Walter Trail rebuilt it in its present form in 1400. In 1445 the castle was the birthplace of King James III. There is an admission charge to the Castle, not included in the cost of this tour. The castle also served as a notorious prison, with its “bottle dungeon” - a dank and airless pit cut out of solid rock below the north-west tower. It housed local miscreants who fell under the Bishop's jurisdiction as well as several more prominent individuals such as David, Duke of Rothesay in 1402; Duke Murdoch of Albany in 1425; and Archbishop Patrick Graham who was


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imprisoned in his own castle in 1478. It is not unknown for today’s students to be incarcerated in the bottle dungeon by their drunken and supposed friends.

During the Reformation, the castle became a centre of religious persecution and controversy. In 1521 James Beaton, became Archbishop of St Andrews. Beaton strengthened the defences to enable the castle to withstand artillery. In 1538 James Beaton was succeeded by his nephew, Cardinal David Beaton.

Scottish Protestants were increasingly viewed as dangerous turncoats who sided with the English. In 1546 David Beaton imprisoned the Protestant preacher George Wishart in the castle’s Sea Tower and had him burnt at the stake in front of the castle walls on March 1. Today, brick lettering with his initials marks the spot where he died. On May 26, Wishart's friends gained entry to the castle. After overcoming the garrison, they murdered Cardinal Beaton and hung his body from his window on the front of the castle. It was 450 years before Scotland had another cardinal.

Following this murder, the Protestants took refuge in the castle and formed the first Protestant congregation in Scotland. A siege was ordered by the Regent, James Hamilton, earl of Arran. In October 1546 a mine was begun by the attackers, but it was successfully counter-mined by the defenders. Both the mine and counter-mine cut through solid rock. They were rediscovered in 1879 and remain open to the public today.

During an armistice in April 1547, John Knox entered the castle and served as the garrison's preacher for the remainder of the siege. For a time Knox had the freedom to pass to and from the castle to preach in the parish church. This peaceful interlude came to end, however, when a French fleet arrived bringing an Italian engineer Leone Strozzi, who directed a devastating artillery bombardment to dislodge the Protestants. The lairds knew an expert was in the field when their own Italian engineer observed cannon being winched into position with ropes rather than exposing the besiegers to their fire. Guns were also placed on St Salvator's and the cathedral towers. The castle was quickly rendered indefensible; within six hours of bombardment The defeated Protestants were taken away: some were imprisoned in France while others, including Knox, were condemned to the galleys.

Following this Protestant defeat, the castle was substantially rebuilt by Archbishop John Hamilton, but following his death in 1571 it was mainly occupied by a succession of constables. Parliament separated the castle from the archbishopric in 1606, and it was granted to the Earl of Dunbar, constable since 1603. In 1612 it was returned to Archbishop George Gledstanes, but further


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attempts to re-establish the former estates of the Archbishop failed. The office of the archbishop was increasingly eroded until it was finally abolished by in 1689. Deprived of any function, the castle fell rapidly into ruin. By 1656, it had fallen into such disrepair that the burgh council ordered the use of its materials in repairing the pier. The principal remains are a portion of the south wall enclosing a square tower, the "bottle dungeon," the kitchen tower, and the underground mine and counter-mine.

St Andrews Cathedral.

There is an admission charge to the Cathedral, not included in the cost of this tour.

The cathedral was founded to supply more accommodation than the older church of St Regulus (also known as St. Rule) afforded. This older church, located on what became the cathedral grounds, had been built in the Romanesque style. Today, there remains the square tower, 108 feet high, and a small quire. On a plan of the town from about 1530, the chancel is shown, and seals affixed to the city and college charters bear representations of other buildings attached. To the east is an even older religious site, the Church of St Mary on the Rock, a Culdee house.

Work began on the new cathedral in 1158 and continued for over a century. The west end was blown down in a storm and rebuilt between 1272 and 1279. It was dedicated on 5 July 1318, in a ceremony before King Robert I . When intact it had, besides a central tower, six turrets; of these remain two at the east and one of the two at the western extremity, rising to a height of 30 metres (100 feet).

A fire partly destroyed the building in 1378; restoration and further embellishment were completed in 1440. In 1559, during the Reformation, the building was stripped of its altars and images; and by 1561 it had been abandoned and left to fall into ruin. At about the end of the sixteenth century the central tower apparently gave way, carrying with it the north wall. Afterwards large portions of the ruins were taken away for building purposes, and nothing was done to preserve them until 1826.

Culdee Church – Pre-Roman Celtic Church – foundations marked at head of path to Pier.

Point out the Pier, After Chapel on Sunday, it was a regular ritual for students in their gowns to parade to the end of the Pier. This was a throwback to the days when visiting preachers may have come by boat.


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The Priory and Pends. At the end of the seventeenth century some of the priory buildings remained entire and considerable remains of others existed, but nearly all traces have now disappeared except portions of the priory wall and the archways, known as The Pends.

St Leonard's College was originally founded as 'The College of Poor Clerks of the Church of St Andrews' in 1512 by Archbishop Alexander Stewart and John Hepburn, Prior of St Andrews (receiving Papal recognition by proxy in 1545), on the site of St Leonard's Hospital and Church. Its creation was a result of the poverty and declining status of St John's College/Pedagogy and Arts Faculty of St Andrews. Following amalgamation with St Salvator’s the buildings were sold. The old college site has, since the late 19th century, been occupied by St Leonard’s School for girls. The college chapel remains the property of the University. St Leonard's College was re-established in 1972 as a non-statutory college exclusively for postgraduates, postdoctoral fellows and research staff.

St John's College (or Auld pedagogy) of the University as a constituent college founded between 1418 and 1430 and was the precursor to present-day St Mary’s College. The founder of the college was Lawrence of Lindores (1372-1437) under the chancellorship of Bishop Wardlaw.

The college was located on South Street, on the present site of the King James library and Parliament Hall, to the immediate east of the present St Marys College buildings. Parts of the original college buildings were incorporated into the King James library and adjoining structures in the nineteenth century.

St John’s College was refounded by Cardinal David Beaton under the name the "New College of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary" or St Mary’s College in 1538. St Mary's preserves the link to St John's in its motto, 'In Principio Erat Verbum', from the gospel of St John, 1.1, English translation 'In the beginning was the word'. The motto can be seen above the entrance gate to the college. St John’s College coat of Arms was the red phoenix of St John the evangelist on a silver background with the motto 'in principio erat verbum' diagonal across the phonenix

St Mary's College retains much of its original sixteenth century buildings, specifically the north and West ranges. The Quad contains a thorn tree said to have been planted by Mary, Queen of Scots, during her many visits to St.Andrews. The Quad also contains the historic King James Library founded by King James VI in 1612. In addition the College has The Roundel, a 16th-


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century building dedicated for doctoral students studying divinity at the University of St Andrews. Holy Trinity, or the Town Kirk, is the most historic church in St Andrews. The church was initially built on land, close to the south-east gable of the Cathedral, around 1144 by bishop Robert Kennedy. The church was moved to a new site on the north side of South Street between 1410–1412 by bishop Wardlaw. Towards the end of June 1547, this was where John Knox first preached in public and to which he returned to give an inflammatory sermon on 4 June 1559 which led to the stripping of both the cathedral and ecclesiastical status. Much of the original architectural features of the church was lost in the re-building between 1798–1800. The church was later restored to a (more elaborately decorated) approximation of its medieval appearance between 1907–1909 (by an architect named MacGregor!).

Blackfriars Friary. The first known prior of the Dominican Friary is attested on 22 November 1464. The Dominicans were known for their rigorous defence of the Church doctrines. The Inquisition was run by Dominicans. (pun: Domini Canis – ‘dogs of the lord’ – although the correct derivation is Followers of the rule of St Dominic)

In the 1510s at least, the friary had five brothers. The house was severely damaged by the forces of Norman Leslie, Earl of Rothes in 1547. Sometime in 1559 the friars were expelled by Protestant reformers. The property of the house was given by to the burgh of St Andrews by Queen Mary in 1567. The remains of a vaulted apse lie where Bell Street meets South Street, outside Madras College, the modern Secondary School of St Andrews.

16.30 Presentation by Dr Jim Wilson on DNA followed by meal Helix Park, Falkirk to view the Kelpies.

The Helix is a 350ha park built on land between Falkirk & Grangemouth. Built as a Living Landmark, The Helix connects 16 communities across the Falkirk Area.

The Kelpies are the central piece of Helix Art and are the symbol of a transformed, enduring new green space. Each of The Kelpies stands up to 30 metres tall and each one weighs over 300 tonnes. They are constructed of structural steel with a stainless steel outer skin. This stainless steel skin reflects the light of the day, and the night, and makes for an amazing sight in all weather


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- the selection of photos above gives you a taste of this transformational effect. The two massive horses' heads are positioned either side of a specially constructed canal lock and basin.

Trossachs and Balquhidder Tour

09.30 Dep Stirling University via Bridge of Allan to A9 roundabout,

Turn on to B824. Pass by Monument to David Stirling, founder of SAS

The memorial is to Lt. Colonel Sir David Stirling OBE DSO - also known as the "Phantom Major" - who founded the Special Air Service at the height of WWII. Field Marshall Montgomery, who commanded the Allied forces in North Africa at the time, said, "The boy Stirling is quite mad, quite, quite mad. However, in a war there is often a place for mad people."

Latterly there were three units of the SAS, including one Greek and one French, and between them they destroyed 400 enemy aircraft during World War II. Lieutenant Stirling himself served in No.8 (Guards) Commando Unit and during parachute operations behind enemy lines in North Africa was captured in Tunisia in 1943 and imprisoned in the infamous Colditz Castle in Germany. Promoted to Colonel at the end of the war, he founded the SAS Regimental Association in 1945. The ethos of the regiment today remains the unrelenting pursuit of excellence, self-discipline, classlessness, humility and humour, which account for the esteem in which the regiment is held in both peace and war.

Stirling is one of the aliases used by Clan Gregor during proscription and there is a probability that some of the surviving family of the Glenstrae kindred adopted the name. We don’t know whether Sir David descended from them, but he certainly behaved like a MacGregor!

Doune Castle was first built by Robert Stewart, first Duke of Albany, but in 1425 passed into the hands of the Crown and served as a Hunting Seat, also a Dower House for Scottish queens including Mary I, Queen of Scots. In 1570 it came into the hands of the Earls of Moray who still own it and much of the surrounding land (Moray Estates). During the ’45 Rising, Hanoverian prisoners were held here under the command of Gregor Glùn Dubh (gloon doo), MacGregor of Glen Gyle.


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Thornhill. Cnoc na Driseig. The village is in the parish of Norrieston, named from the much earlier village of Norrieston which lay a little to the east of Thornhill. To its south west is Flanders Moss, the largest remaining area of lowland bog in Scotland and all that remains of the once extensive moss surrounding the upper Forth. The village is on a traditional east/west route from Dunblane to Aberfoyle and was planned and founded at the end of the seventeenth century. Ruskie. Sir John de Menteith (c. 1275 – c. 1323) was a son of Walter “Bailloch” Stewart, Earl of Menteith. He and his older brother, Alexander, Earl of Menteith, replaced their paternal Stewart surname in favour of Menteith. John possessed the land of Ruskie. He was Governor of Dumbarton Castle, an appointment made by Edward I who was keen to secure the fortification as a major access route into Scotland by sea. Tradition has it that Menteith betrayed Sir William Wallace to English soldiers, which led to Wallace's death and his later nickname Fause Menteith ("Menteith the treacherous"). Wyntoun whose "Metrical Chronicle" was written in 1418, says:

"Schyre Jhon of Menteith in tha days Tuk in Glasgow William Walays; And sent hym until Ingland sune,

There was he quartayrd and undone." Port of Mentieth also referred to simply as The Port, was created a Burgh of Barony in 1466 by James III as ‘a singular favour to his beloved kinsman Malise, Earl of Menteith’. Malise Graham was created Earl of Menteith in 1427 by James I and so began the long association of the Grahams with Menteith which had been Stewart land. Lake of Menteith. This stretch of water is sometimes called Scotland’s only lake. Until the first half of the 18th century it is referred to on maps and documents as Loch Inchmahome (various spellings) after its largest island. The change from ‘loch’ to ‘lake’ occurred around the mid 18th century as the Scots language slowly but surely became established in the area at the expense of Gaelic. The Scots word laigh (laych, ‘ch’ as in loch) meaning a low, flat plain, e.g. the Laigh o’ Moray around Elgin, is thought to have become confused with the English word lake when written, hence the change of name. Inchmahome Priory. At one time it had considerable religious significance. Mary I (Queen of Scots) spent three weeks on the island in the 1540s when she was only a few years old. The priory is now ruined, but is accessible (summer only) by a passenger ferry from Port of Menteith. A visit to the island is highly


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recommended especially by anyone who enjoys tranquillity amid beautiful surroundings.

Just south of Aberfoyle is the village of Gartmore. It’s most notable inhabitant was Robert Bontine Cunninghame Graham (24 May 1852 – 20 March 1936), a politician, writer, journalist and adventurer. He made his fortune in Argentina, as a cattle rancher, becoming known as Don Roberto. He was elected as a Liberal Member of Parliament in 1885. He was the first MP ever to be suspended from the House of Commons for swearing in the chamber! He promoted one of the first bills in the House of Commons for a Scottish Parliament. He resigned from the Liberals, becoming the first-ever Socialist member of the Parliament; a founder, and the first president, of the Scottish Labour Party. As a Socialist he was defeated in the election of 1892. Later he became a founder of the National Party of Scotland in 1928; and the first president of the Scottish National Party in 1934.

During his life Graham published a large number of books and articles. Subject matter included history, biography, poetry, essays, politics, travel and seventeen collections of short stories or literary sketches. There is a seat dedicated to Cunninghame Graham in the Scottish Storytelling Centre in Edinburgh with the inscription: "R B 'Don Roberto' Cunninghame Graham of Gartmore and Ardoch, 1852–1936, A great storyteller".

Aberfoyle

At the junction with the B829 to Stronachlachar, the building on our right is the former Bailie Nicol Jarvie Inn, a name strongly associated with Scott’s novel Rob Roy. Opposite, on the other side of the road, a small iron blade (ploughshare) embedded in a tree recalls an incident in the novel when Bailie Nicol Jarvie used such a blade, which was red hot at the time, to set fire to a Highlander’s kilt during an argument.

Pass of Aberfoyle. During the Cromwellian occupation of Scotland in the 1650., detachments of soldiers based at Stirling Castle harried the lands of Graham of Menteith, and their cadets of Gartmore and Duchray on several occasions. Naturally the Grahams did not take kindly to being on the receiving end of such venom and, when a particularly strong force of the enemy began pillaging Graham property, including burning Duchray Castle, Graham of Duchray decided enough was enough and that decisive action was called for. Gathering together a large number of Highlanders, mostly Grahams and MacGregors, led by the Earl of Glencairn and himself, they played a game of cat and mouse with the enemy while steadily luring them further and further


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west into the Pass of Aberfoyle where they ambushed and soundly defeated them.

A local place name Bad an t-Sasunnaich (batun tasunech), the Englishman’s clump or place, is said to commemorate the location where an English bystander (perhaps he was looking after the enemy’s baggage) was killed.

A little along the B829 west from Aberfoyle, in the middle distance you may catch a glimpse of a small, rounded, tree-covered hill known as Doon Hill or simply The Doon (NN526001, height 77m on map).

In local tradition they are closely linked with the remarkable Rev. Robert Kirke, seventh son of a former minister of the parish of Aberfoyle, and who himself became parish minister of Aberfoyle in 1685. Before that Kirke had been minister at Balquhidder for some 16 years during which time he translated the Bible into Gaelic. However it is not for this that his name is best remembered.

Soon after being appointed to Aberfoyle, Kirke found himself being drawn more and more to Doon Hill. Indeed, his visits to the hill became an obsession. Locally, the hill was believed to be a fairy hill and, when there, Kirke appeared as if spell bound.

In 1692 Kirke wrote a manuscript, since produced in book form, called The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies. Although there have been other books written about fairies, what makes Kirke’s writings unique is his detailed account of fairyland. He writes as if he is relating his experiences of actually having been there. There has been much written about Kirke and speculation about his death which there is not time to go into here other than to relate the following:

Shortly after writing the manuscript, and during a visit to Doon Hill, Kirke is said to have collapsed and died. A funeral service was held in the church (now ruined), in which he had officiated, and his coffin was interred in the churchyard. There is, however, a widely held belief to this day that the coffin contained only stones since, in the interim between his death and funeral, his body had disappeared.

This immediately gave rise to speculation that Kirk’s body had been taken by the fairies, whose ways he apparently knew so well, and where it is said he remains to this day. Hence the modern saying ‘away with the fairies’ which is used of someone who acts strangely or unusually in some way or another.

The Trossachs. Between Lochs Achray and Katrine we enter The Trossachs and within 1 mile we arrive at the large parking area at Lochend, at the east end


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of Loch Katrine where we alight from our coach. Here there is a café, shop and toilet facilities.

11.00 Trossachs Pier (stop 2 hour, restaurant, conveniences, shop) East end of Loch Katrine. Cruise on loch if desired.

The Trossachs were made famous by Sir Walter Scott’s novels. At the western end of Loch Katrine is Glen Gyle, held by the MacGregors of Glengyle from the 16th until the later 19th century, when the loch and its surroundings was purchased by the Glasgow Water Board.

13.00 Loch Achray. Towards the west end is the Tigh Mòr (tie more), big house, a time-share and holiday complex. Until a decade ago this was the Trossachs Hotel, the chateau-like towers of which date back to 1852. Built on the site of several earlier inns, the hotel was constructed to meet the needs of the ever increasing numbers of travellers visiting The Trossachs.

Invertrossachs. Here Queen Victoria resided during a visit to the area in 1869. Victoria was a great lover of the Highlands and her diaries, extracts of which may be found in libraries, make interesting reading. Some 25 years earlier Invertrossachs was known as Drunkie House (after a nearby loch) but because the name offended Victorian ears, it was changed.

Brig o’ Turk. The old inn in Brig o’ Turk, known as the Tigh Mhaide (tie vatch, ‘ch’ as in church), wooden house, was managed in the 1860s and early 1870s by Muckle Kate Ferguson. She was well named for at 24 stones, nearly 152 kg. She was reputed to be the fattest woman in the kingdom. Kate was noted for her eccentric habits one of which was that, while entertaining customers with tales in a mixture of Scots and Gaelic, she would drop any payments into a large purse fastened round her middle while forgetting to give change.

By 1869 Kate had become something of a celebrity such that, when Queen Victoria was resident at Invertrossachs, she sent word to Kate that she was to call to visit her. Kate was elated and when the Queen arrived Kate greeted her wearing her finest dress. Beckoning the Queen and her entourage to enter the inn, Kate is said to have offered them tea and a ‘jeely piece’. All apparently declined the latter simply because none had any idea what a jeely piece was. No wonder Kate was dumbfounded for, after all, a jeely piece (home made bread and jam) was then, as now, a delicacy in these parts. What happened


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next is not recorded but it may be presumed that, after explanation, all was put right and the royal party enjoyed their Brig o’ Turk afternoon tea.

The Queen and Kate apparently got on well. The Queen is said to have expressed interest in Kate’s weight problem and, on leaving, presented her with two sovereigns.

In 1872, when Kate died, her body was borne in a specially built coffin in a horse-drawn carriage for burial in Callander churchyard.

Loch Vennachar

Menteith Hills. On south side of Loch Vennachar. Note how the hills run obliquely, i.e. increasingly away from us. The reason - we are travelling more or less due east while they are aligned NE-SW. They follow the line of the Highland Boundary Fault which was mentioned earlier today.

Milton of Callander. There are many remains of former settlement along both sides of Loch Vennachar but especially along the north shore which is south facing. For example, a short distance before the Milton and to the right of the road there is a prominent ‘green’ area readily visible from the coach, evidence of former settlement and associated agriculture.

Dunmore Fort. An Iron Age Fort adjacent to the A821.

Note, however, that Samson’s Stone, or Samson’s Putting Stone as it is known locally, which crowns the hill immediately before Dunmore Fort, is simply a glacial erratic, i.e. a massive boulder left high and dry at the close of the last Ice Age.

The Samson’s Stone and Dunmore Fort (at least the hill), may be readily seen from the coach.

Rejoin A84 north.


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Leny. In 1745 there was much local support for Prince Charles, and Stewart of Glen Buckie in Balquhidder, who had raised a detachment of men from his clan in support of the Jacobites, had occasion to stay the night at Leny with Francis Buchanan of Arnprior. Next morning Glen Buckie was found dead in his bed. It was never proved who was responsible and Buchanan, throughout his life, pleaded his innocence of the crime.

Pass of Leny on the Highland Boundary Fault. As we cross the Highland Boundary Fault and enter the pass, the change in landscape is indeed dramatic. To most visitors this is the place where the Highlands really begin.

A fault is a fracture in the earth’s crust along which movement has taken place such that the rock strata on either side no longer match. It is this which results in the dramatic change of scenery we shall witness as we continue our journey north.

On the left is Ben Ledi. Although a fairly stiff climb the summit, on a clear day, offers panoramic views extending from the Forth Bridge and the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh in the south-east to the summits of range upon range of Highland hills to the north and west.

Near the summit is Bealach nan Corp. Close by is Lochan nan Corp. Seemingly, some time in the past, a funeral party bearing a coffin was making its way from either Glen Casaig or Glen Finglas on the other side of the hill to St. Bride’s Chapel. It was winter and, although the hills were relatively clear of snow, the ground was hard with frost. For some reason, on crossing the bealach, the mourners decided to take a short cut over the ice covering the lochan. Unfortunately, the ice gave way and all were drowned, hence the name. There is another slant to this story. It is said that the mourners were smugglers in disguise and that the coffin contained illicit whisky. Whatever the truth, both tales have passed into local tradition.

St. Bride’s Chapel is on the hillside to the east, where McKinlays ancestral to US president McKinlay are buried.


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Loch Lubnaig, the bent loch, is the first of the Highland lochs on the journey north. Its bent shape is due to faulting. Both Glen Ample and Glen Beich (baich, ‘ch’ as in loch) are aligned along the same fault.

Escape! Rob Roy was taken prisoner on more than one occasion but each time, thanks to his ingenuity and more than a generous share of good luck, he managed to escape. In the winter of 1694-95 Rob Roy was apprehended in Balquhidder by Atholl’s men. His captors were not as attentive to their prisoner as they might have been and, while mounted on a horse between two of his captors, his arms were left untied. The story goes that, as the party made its way along the steep wooded slope above Loch Lubnaig, Rob suddenly sprang into action and, in the confusion that followed, made good his escape.

Archullarie. From here a well defined path/track follows the fault line via Glen Ample to Loch Earn.

The A84 along which we are travelling broadly follows the line of the military road (Stirling – Fort William) constructed after Culloden (1746). The construction of military roads in the Highlands was begun by General Wade in the 1720’s. Initially linking forts garrisoned by soldiers, they served as an integral part of the Hanoverian Government’s plan to pacify the Highlands.

Strathyre village and strath. The ben provides an excellent view point. There is a path from the village to the top. (1871 feet.) There are quite a number of hills and knolls across the Highlands which were believed to be the abode of fairies. Traditional tales tell of strange feelings experienced by local people when visiting such sites.

Strathyre / Auchtubh.

The valley floor drops only about 12 feet over the 6 miles between lochs Voil and Lubnaig. This is the reason why the Balvag is so slow flowing and has a meandering course. Indeed, in very wet weather a temporary loch, aptly named “Loch Occasional”, forms in the valley floor below Kingshouse.


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How did the strath become so productive in the past? Well, seemingly Strathyre folk used to clear, and so artificially deepen, the outlet of Loch Lubnaig (the water is naturally shallow here) on an annual basis. By doing this, the loch level was lowered (even lowering by 1 foot. could make a difference) resulting in improved drainage in Strathyre.

14.00 Arr Kingshouse for Balquhidder.

Kingshouse. From here a road leads off to Balquhidder. King’s House refers to an inn created by the military road builders for travellers on the route north.

Balquhidder Glen. Point out the following locations en route:

MacGregor Mausoleum. On south side of road (metal gates by roadside) at a bend. Purchased by Sir Evan Murray MacGregor around 1830, Edenchip, stands at the eastern end of the Braes of Balquhidder,. MacGregor Chiefs and their immediate family are still laid to rest in the mausoleum in Balquhidder, erected about 1831. Sir Gregor sold Edinchip in 1980 and moved to Bannatyne, Newtyle.

Creag an Tuirc, The Gathering place of the MacLarens.

Balquhidder Kirk

Glen Buckie. Across glen opposite the church.


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Today Balquhidder is a quiet backwater and this among its many attractions to both locals and visitors alike, but in the past things were different. Then the village lay astride two important through routes, namely one leading south from Rannoch to the Lowlands, and the other leading east from Argyll to the great cattle market which was held each autumn in Crieff. These routes utilised hill passes, side glens and river fords which were well-known to our forbears, as well as to travellers from further afield and to drovers driving their flocks and herds to market.

One of the highlights of the year was the annual St. Angus’s Fair (market) held on the first Wednesday after the 2nd Tuesday in August.

15.00 Service & commemoration Balquhidder. This is an annual service held by the Clan Gregor Society at Balquhidder church. Afterwards the chairman will say a few words over Rob Roy’s grave.

Before we leave Balquhidder, we shall tell the story of the King’s Forester. This tale is already fairly well-known to MacGregors, however, since we are in the general area and with a map to hand, it is worthwhile recalling the sequence of events.

In the autumn of 1589 the King, James VI, who was about to marry Anne of Denmark, planned a great feast in Stirling Castle and instructed John Drummond of Drummondernoch*, Keeper of the Royal Forest of Glen Artney, to procure supplies of venison. Now it so happened that a small group of MacGregors were also engaged in a spot of hunting in the Forest and unfortunately for them they were apprehended by Drummond and his men. Poaching in a Royal Forest was considered a serious offence and the MacGregors had their ears cut off as a warning to others before they were sent on their way.

Brooding over this insult, the MacGregors laid plans for revenge. Returning to the Forest they set out to capture Drummond. Unluckily for him, this time he was alone. With hatred in their hearts they surrounded Drummond, slew him


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and cut off his head which they wrapped in a plaid before returning to Loch Earnside. Feeling hungry and knowing that Stewart of Ardvorlich was away from home, they knocked at the door of Ardvorlich House and asked for food and drink. Stewart’s wife, bound by the unwritten law of Highland hospitality, invited them in and placed a spread of oatcakes, bread and cheese before them and then left the room to fetch additional food and drink. Now the MacGregors must have been aware that the lady of the house was a daughter of John Drummond yet they had the audacity to unwrap the head and, placing it on the table, stuffed the mouth with bread and cheese. When the lady returned there was her father’s blood-stained head before her. Shrieking in deep anguish, she lost all reason and, despite being heavily pregnant, fled from the house into the hills. The MacGregors then made their way to Balquhidder.

Here, among kinsmen, they sought the protection of their Chief, Alasdair of Glen Strae. Glenstrae took their side, summoned the Clan and, in the old Church of Balquhidder, Drummond’s head was placed on the high altar. Then the Chief walked forward and, placing his hands on the head, swore he would defend with his life those who had committed the deed. His action was then followed in turn by each clansman. The murderers must have been greatly heartened by such support.

News of what had happened reached Edinburgh and, on 3rd February, 1590, the Government, having been “credibly informed of the cruel and mischievous proceedings of the wicked Clan Gregor ….”, outlawed and condemned to death the whole Clan. Letters of fire and sword were granted to Argyll, Glenorchy, Atholl and Huntly among others, including John, Lord Drummond, who was joined by Stewart of Ardvorlich. Drummond and Ardvorlich assembled their followers, proceeded to Balquhidder and, in a field below Invernenty on the south side of the glen, cornered and mercilessly slew 12 MacGregors. Although not recorded, many others of the Clan undoubtedly suffered a like fate.

What of Ardvorlich’s wife? Initially searches proved fruitless but ultimately she was found sheltering in a shieling hut by a lochan (small loch) which, to this day, bears the name Lochan na Mnà (mraa), the woman’s lochan.

Moaning, and still largely bereft of her reason, she was brought back home. Soon after she bore a son, James who, throughout his life, bore the stamp of the


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terrible experience his mother had undergone and who, in later life, became known as the ‘Mad Major’. Some forty years later, Stewart was engaged in Montrose’s campaign in support of Charles II and took part in the Battle of Tibbermore (near Perth). Later, when the army was camped, James Stewart murdered Lord Kilpont, one of Montrose’s lieutenants, during a dispute before escaping and joining the enemy forces under Argyll. Stewart died in 1660 and is buried in the family mausoleum in the ancient churchyard at the foot of Dundurn.

Depart Kingshouse 17.00 Kilmahog. Once a larger and more important settlement than Callander based on several mills, including weaving mills. The mill shops are all that remain of that earlier industry. Callander and Kilmahog. The area’s sheltered location, and a meeting place of several long established routes, are among reasons for its rich historical legacy. Here are some examples:

Early saints – Cùg in Kilmahog and Ceasag, in English Kessog, in Callander. Callander grew from a small village to a significant tourist centre with the coming of the railway.

The Callander and Oban Railway company was formed in 1864 to link Callander and Oban over challenging terrain, particularly at Glen Ogle and the Pass of Brander. Callander had been reached in 1858 by the Dunblane, Doune and Callander Railway (soon to be absorbed into the Caledonian Railway). Starting in 1866, the line reached Killin in 1870, reaching Tyndrum in 1873 and Dalmally in 1877. Following completion in 1880, Oban developed as a fashionable resort, though economically the railway was never really profitable. The line closed in 1965, only the Crianlarich to Oban section remains as part of the West Highland railway.

Roman remains – a fort (NN 214079), a camp (there is a Roman Camp Hotel in Callander), and a road. None appear to have been occupied or used for very long. It is likely they were constructed to help protect areas further south from incursions by Caledonian tribesmen from the hill country to the north.

Lanrick Castle was a late 18th-century country house which was demolished in 2002 despite being protected as a category B listed building. Once spelt


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Lanarkyngs, this name is taken as coming by metathesis from the old Brittonic word 'Llanerch' which meant a clearing in a forest.

The Lanrick estate was originally the property of the Haldane family. The estate was purchased by Sir John Murray MacGregor, Chief, in the late 18th Century. Later, in 1830, it was sold by his son, Sir Evan Murray MacGregor, when he bought Edinchip, Balquhidder, which remained the home of the Chiefs of Clan Gregor until the early 1980s.

In the later 19th century it was purchased by the Jardine family - of Jardine-Matheson the company which shipped huge quantities of Indian opium to China to pay for tea. When the Chinese objected, Britain went to war and forced the continuation of the trade. Jardine-Matheson is today a major trading company in Hong-Kong. Matheson bought the Isle of Lewis with his fortune. Robert Jardine became MP for Castlemilk in Glasgow.

Alistair Dickson inherited Lanrick in 1984. In April 1994 the castle was gutted by fire and lost its roof. On 16 February 2002 the remaining structure was demolished. Dickson was prosecuted for demolishing a listed structure without the necessary consent, and was fined £1,000 in January 2003.

Of particular interest to MacGregors is the Lanrick MacGregor Monument, was erected by Sir Evan John Murray MacGregor in the earlier 19th century. It is a 60 ft./18m. high monument built of stone in the shape of a broken oak complete with the stumps of snapped-off branches and scars. The top of the ‘tree’ supports a crown, while rising from the crown are three pillars which in turn support a small circular platform. From the platform rises a single pillar which once held an acorn. The lopped branches and scars signify those who perished during the Clan’s turbulent history: the crown the Clan’s claimed royal descent: the oak tree the tradition why it is incorporated in the Chief’s Arms. In view of the publicity which followed from the demolition of the Castle, the future of the edifice as a listed building would seem assured.

Drumvaich is on the right about midway between Doune and Callander. Nearby, to the south by the river is the burial ground of Old Kilmadock. The churchyard of Kilmadock, with its long, abandoned and ruinous kirk, is beautifully situated on the north bank of the Teith, about two miles above Doune. According to the Old Statistical Account of Scotland (1793), the site


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was originally occupied by a monastery to which six chapels were attached, remains of all which still existed in the parish in 1793, although all traces of them have now disappeared. The church, having become ruinous in 1744, was taken down, and a new one was built at Doune in 1746.

There are four grave slabs commemorating a family named Dog. (the ancient form of Doig). This family was of considerable importance in Menteith from an early period. James Dog witnesses a charter of Queen Margaret in 1528, and in the same year Jacobus Dog, Junior, witnesses an agreement. A precept of Queen Margaret in 1529 is addressed "to our lovittis Walter Dog our mayr of fee.”

Evening meal at Golden Lion Hotel, Stirling with entertainment from our clan bard Paraig MacNeil

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