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Fort-William to Gleufinnan;
Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel; Route by Mani-ClachArd, 1.—Prince Charles'
Monument; Erection of the Prince's Standard; Loch Shiel, 2.—Kinloch Aylort;
Borradale; Landing-Place of the Pretender, 3.—Arisaig; Ferry to Skye,
4.—Castle Tirim; Loch .Moidart, 5.
1. THE Loch-na-Gaul road, as
it is called, diverges from the Inverness and Fort-William road about two
miles from the latter place, immediately to the east of Inverlochy Castle,
and it now crosses the river Lochy by a handsome suspension bridge, whence
it proceeds in a straight line to the canal, and the commodious new inn at
Bannavie, hard by. At the village of Corpach, about a mile beyond, is an
obelisk, the inscription on which, to the memory of Colonel John Cameron of
Fassifern, who fell at Waterloo, will be found in the main route. The
mountain group, of which the huge bulk of Ben Nevis forms the most prominent
member, shews to great advantage from this side of the valley.
The road along Loch Eil side,
and as far as Glenfinnan, is an agreeable level, skirting the base of the
hills. Winding onwards, we pass rather more than half way up Loch Eil,
Fassifern, the house of Sir Duncan Cameron, Bart., surrounded by formal
clumps of fir and larch. This gentleman's ancestor, the celebrated Sir Ewen
Cameron, distinguished himself as Cromwell's most undaunted and
uncompromising opponent in the highlands: his sturdy spirit induced the
usurper to construct a fort at Inverlochy, which, in King William's reign,
being altered and enlarged, received the name of Fort-William. Sir Ewen,
then a young man, signalised himself by a gallant and successful attack on a
large detachment of the garrison (quadruple his own force), who had landed
on the east side of Loch Eil, to lay waste the lands of his clan, and
provide themselves with timber from the extensive forests which bordered the
water. Lochiel's handful of men lay in ambuscade, till the soldiers coming
ashore had got entangled in the wood, when, by a furious and sudden onset,
they, following their adversaries even chin deep, drove them to their boats
with the loss of upwards of a hundred of their fellows. Sir Ewen encountered
a very powerful English officer, an overmatch for him in strength, who,
losing his sword, grappled with the chief, and got him under: but Lochiel's
presence of mind did not forsake him; for, grasping the Englishman by the
collar, and darting at his extended throat with his teeth, he tore away the
bloody morsel, which he used to say was the sweetest he had ever tasted!
2. At the head of Loch Shiel
appears a round narrow tower which no traveller can behold with
indifference. It was erected by the Iate Mr. Macdonald of Glenaladale, on
the identical spot where, upon the 19th of August 1745, Prince Charles
Edward first unfurled his standard, in the attempt to regain the throne of
his ancestors, so honourable, but so disastrous to his unfortunate adherents
; and it has been surmounted by a colossal statue, by Greenshields, of the
unfortunate but chivalrous prince, in the full Highland garb, his extended
arm pointing to the south as in the act of addressing his enthusiastic
followers. The clan Cameron, to the number of 700, headed by "the gentle
Lochiel," and 300 men commanded by .Macdonald of Keppoch, composed the
greater part of the little band who commenced this hazardous enterprise. The
standard, which was made of red silk, with a white space in the centre, and
twice the size of an ordinary pair of colours, was unfurled by the Marquis
of Tullibardine, titular Duke of Athole. A bronze tablet within the
monument, with an inscription in Latin, English, and Gaelic, records the
transaction.
Loch Shiel, which separates
Inverness from Argyleshire, is a fresh-water lake, straight, and extremely
narrow, but upwards of twenty miles long. It discharges itself by a small
streamlet into the sea near Loch Moidart. The adjoining mountains, being the
termination of diverging chains, present an interesting irregularity of
outline, and a most magnificent disposition in their grouping.
3. Between the comfortable
small inn of Glenfinnan, at the head of Loch Shiel, and that at Kinloch
Aylort, a distance of ten miles, there is another fresh-water lake, Loch
Rannoch, about five miles in length, which is separated from the head of
Loch Shiel by a pass of no ordinary grandeur. This loch varies in its
breadth, and is adorned with one or two little islets.
By far the finest part of the
beautiful ride from Fort-William to Arisaig is that portion between Kinloch
Aylort and the house of Borradale, (Macdonald of Glenaladale.) It
comprehends a space of only seven miles, but very rarely indeed is such
varied or interesting scenery to be met with in so small a compass. With
marine landscape are combined woodland glades, and a peculiar richness of
vegetation accompanies our footsteps.
It was on the shores of Loch-na-Nuagh,
below the house of Borradale, that the Chevalier Charles, in. 1745, first
touched the soil he came with purpose to redeem by the sword. He crossed
from Borradale to the opposite coast, and walked by Kinloch Moidart to Loch
Shiel, where, taking boat, he proceeded up the lake to Glenfinnan, at the
entrance of which his Highland friends rendezvoused to tender him their
allegiance and make offer of their services.
4. Arisaig consists of a few
scattered houses; on the face of the hill above them a neat Roman Catholic
chapel has been erected. In the vicinity, Arisaig Cottage (Lord Cranstoun.)
The inn is large, but is in had condition. This line of road, owing to the
breadth of the ferry to Skye, and the want of piers, has been little
frequented since the opening of a communication by Kyle Rhea ; and now the
steam-boats have put an end to the ferry from Arisaig to Skye, though boats
for passengers, but not for vehicles, can still be had. The steamers call
regularly off Arisaig. A road has for some time been in contemplation from
Arisaig to ,llalag, at the opening of Loch Nevis, and opposite Armadale,
where the passage across would be comparatively short, and better than by
the old ferry from Arisaig, which has now been discontinued. In crossing
from Skye, it is customary to land near Tray, in South Morar, which shortens
the sail to ten miles. From Tray a bad district road, scarcely passable with
a gig, leads to the inn at Arisaig, where the parliamentary road from
Fort-William terminates.
5. Those whom curiosity may
induce to visit the ruins of Castle Tirim, the ancient seat of Clanranald,
at the opening of Loch Moidart, will find Arisaig or Kinloch Aylort the best
points at which to diverge from the public road. From the former the most
convenient method is to be ferried over to the coast of Moidart, landing
near a farm-house called Samulaman, whence an easy hour's walk by a country
road will bring the traveller to another farm-house, Kyles, on Loch Moidart,
and opposite the castle, where a boat can be procured to cross the remaining
space, which is about three quarters of a mile. The distance from Kinloch
Aylort to Kyles is eleven miles ; a communication is formed betwixt them by
a bridle-road, which at Kinloch Moidart joins the parliamentary one to
Coranferry. This horse-track keeps by the side of Loch Aylort, a narrow arm
of the sea, studded with numerous rocky islets, and along the base of Stachd
and Roschbhen, passing about half way to the castle, a farm-house called
Iren ; when within half a mile of Samulaman, the road, as already mentioned,
strikes across Moidart to Kyles.
The opening of Loch Moidart
is occupied by two small islands, (Teona and Rishka,) adorned with birch and
larch plantations. At the other extremity of the loch, the low heathy hills
skirting which have no interest, stands the mansion of Colonel Robertson
Macdonald of Kinloch Moidart.
Castle Tirim is built on a
low peninsular rock, sometimes completely surrounded by the sea. Its form is
pentagonal, two sides being occupied by buildings, and the others formed by
a lofty and very thick wall, enclosing a spacious court. The central part of
the castle is three storeys high; and each extremity rises to the height of
four storeys with corner watch-turrets. A terrace is carried along the
interior of the court wall, and from the promenade thus formed, an
occasional view is commanded of the sea and surrounding country; the top of
the wall is pierced with a range of musket-holes. All the windows look into
the court; the exterior aspect of the castle being that of a continuous dead
wall. From this circumstance, its rising also on three sides from the brink
of the rock, and containing a well within its walls, Castle Tirim must have
been a very secure, as it was a capacious, stronghold. Ranald (son of John
of Isla), from whose son, Allan of Moidart, are sprung the families of
Glengarry and Clanranald, died in 1386 "in his own mansion of Castle Tirim."
Tradition reports it to have been built by a lady—"Bhelvi nighn Khuouari,"
"Helen, the daughter of Roderick;" and it was burnt in 1715 by Allan of
Clanranald, when he set out to join the Earl of Mar, previous to the battle
of Sheriffmuir, from a dread that, during his absence with the flower of his
clan in the service of the exiled Stuart, it might fall into the hands of
his hereditary enemies the Campbells. |
