|
Perth and its environs,
1.—Scone Palace; Glen Almond; Episcopal College; Luncarty; Anchtergaven;
Birnamhill, 2.—Dunkeld—Town, Cathedral, and Bishoprick, 3.- Woods and Walks,
4.—The King's Pass, and Upper Valley of the Tay, 5.—Moulinearn; Pitlochrv;
Fascally; Pass and Battle of Killiecrankie, 6.—Blair Athole, and Athole
House, 7.—Falls of the Bruar and Fender; Glen Tilt, and hunting scenes,
8.--Strowan; passage through the Grampians by Drumonchter; Dalnacardoch, 9.
Cairns, encampments, and conflicts, 10.—Military and modern roads, 11.—Dalwhinnie,
12.—Description of Loch Errocht, foot note; Glen Truim and Glenfernisdale,
13.--Craig Dhu, 14.—Battle of Invernahavon, 15.—Inn and village of Kingussie,
and history of the ancient Lordship of Badenoch, 16.—Embankments on the
Spey, 17.—Ruthven Barracks and Castle, 18.—Belleville; Castle of Raits,
incident at, 19.—Views of the Grampians; Tor Alvie, 20.—Loch Alvie and
Kinrara, 21.—Craigelachie; Strathspey; Aviemore Inn, 22.—Dulnan pine forest;
Carr Bridge, 23.—Slochmuichk; Mackintosh of Borlum; Banditti, 24.—Strathdearn;
River Findhorn; Freeborn Inn, 25.—Loch Moy; Moy Hall, 26.—Stratlinairn
Daviot; views, and approach to Inverness, 27.
1. AFTER reaching Perth, or
St. Johnston's, by rail, on his way north, the tourist will doubtless rest a
short while ere he proceeds to view the magnificent panorama around the
reaches of the Tay, as it emerges from the wooded highlands towards the
north-west, and is lost in the Carse of Gowrie on the east, and to take a
turn round the celebrated walks and streets of the " Fair City." If
historical remembrances render Perth interesting to the antiquary as the
scene of the Gowrie Conspiracy and of the first exertions of the reformer
Knox, its modern embellishments and agreeable situation will not fail to
please the general tourist. The city lies in a low plain on the west bank of
the Tay, where its course bends to the east, and in a rather compact
mass,—the public greens, or North and South Inches, as they are called, and
which are not only of great importance to the commercial interests of the
place, but afford most agreeable and healthy walks to the inhabitants,
occupying either side of the town, along the margin of the river. Its
streets are rather narrow, the houses of a greyish-red or dull freestone,
and in the central streets generally high and of irregular elevations, with
numerous and handsome shops. The population exceeds 20,000. Cotton weaving,
chiefly of umbrella cloths, as also linen weaving and bleaching, are their
principal occupations, there being about 1600 weavers in the town. The first
bleachfield established in Scotland is that of Tulloch, in the vicinity.
Perth was at one time celebrated for its glove trade. A fine bridge of 900
feet span, with ten arches, built in 1722, bestrides the river at the lower
end of the North Inch ; and at its further extremity a long street, called
Bridgend, runs along the river. The railway station common to the various
railways centering in Perth is on the west side of the town, and the Perth
and Dundee line is carried across the river below the bridge just mentioned.
The Tay is navigable to
Perth, and steamers and vessels of large burthen come close to the town. The
principal edifices are, the County Buildings, a porticoed structure fronting
the river, between the bridge and South Inch, on the site of Gowrie House,
handed down to fame by the Gowrie conspiracy, with the New Jail behind; an
ornamental round structure, containing the Water Works; Marshall's building,
another round two-storeyed edifice, erected to the memory of Provost
Marshall, and which contains the Antiquarian Society museum, and a public
library; St. John's Church, where John Knox preached his first sermon
against popery and church buildings, now arranged for the accommodation of
the congregations of three of the four parishes into which the town is
divided—a very ancient building, surmounted by a square tower, and the
representative of still older fabrics,—a place of worship, frequently
renewed, having occupied this site from a very remote antiquity, it is
alleged so far back as the fifth century, and thus the oldest stone church
in the kingdom ; the Barracks, which can contain one thousand infantry; a
large structure, the Lunatic Asylum, on the face of the hill above Bridgend
; an Infirmary; the Public Schools in Rose Terrace, fronting the North Inch;
and an extensive pile of regular building on the south of the South Inch,
erected, in 1812, at a cost of £130,000, and used as a depot for French
prisoners, of whom it could accommodate 7000, and which is now remodelled
into a central prison for the northern counties. This last Inch, which is
surrounded and intersected by a double row of trees, and lined on two sides
by a handsome row of houses and villas, was, in days of yore, the field
where games and feats of strength, especially of archery, were practised;
and around it were various religious edifices, all razed to the ground in
159; and near it the Parliament House. The North Inch now forms the Perth
race-course, and is peculiary adapted for the purpose.
Perth was the capital of the
kingdom till the reigns of James the Second and Third. It had a regular
Parliament House, and has been the scene of many historical events. James I.
was murdered in the monastery of the Blackfriars; and his body and that of
his queen, and of Margaret, queen of James IV., were interred in the
Carthusian monastery. The Earl of Cornwall was murdered by his brother,
Edward III., before the high altar of St. John's. The city was at one time
strongly fortified, and is supposed to have been so originally by Agricola,
and the fortifications were repaired by Edward I. and III.; and Low's Mark,
about four miles up the Almond, a very curious old weir or dyke, still
extant, served to divert a large portion of the stream into an aqueduct
encompassing the walls. The city has sustained various sieges.
Perth possessed, prior to the
Reformation, no less than four monasteries, two nunneries, and a number of
other religious houses.
The North Inch was also the
scene of a remarkable contest in the reign of Robert III., between a select
band of the Macintoshes and clan Kay, thirty of each, arranged, by royal
authority, in order to terminate a deadly feud between these clans. One of
the Macintoshes having lost heart, disappeared before the affray commenced;
but his place was supplied by a gallant sadler of Perth, of the name of
Wynde, who volunteered his services for a half French gold dollar.
Twenty-nine of the Mackays4ell, and the survivor swam across the river and
escaped; ten of 'the Macintoshes and Wynde remaining masters f the
field.—(See Sir Walter Scott's "Fair Maid of Perth.")
Cromwell built a strong
citadel on the South Inch, demolishing a number of houses for its erection.
The tourist should ascend
Moncrieff Hill, at least as far as the railway tunnel, where he will enjoy
one of the richest and most beautiful views in Scotland, and contemplating
which, he will be able to appreciate the force of that burst of admiration
with which the ancient Romans, on their passage over the same ground, hailed
the plain and scenery beneath them - "Ecce Tiber! Ecce Campus Martius!" The
opposite height of Kinnoul Hill commands an equally fine and rather more
extensive view, especially towards the interior of the country, backed by a
long line of the Grampian Mountains. Beneath its bold acclivities is
Kinfauns Castle and beautifully wooded slopes falling gradually into the
Carse of Gowrie, through which the railway trains may now be seen dashing to
and from Dundee. Visits to Scone Palace, to Dupplin Castle, the residence of
the Earl Qf KinnouI, five miles west of Perth, and to Lynedoch Castle, will
afford delightful excursions to the tourist ere he quits this neighbourhood.
The old village of Abernethy, near the northern extremity of Glenfarg, once
the capital of the Scoto Picts, and the site of an extensive Culdee
establishment, and characterized by a remarkable round tower similar to that
of Brechin, and the work certainly of a very remote antiquity, claims the
notice of the antiquary. And the village of Bridge of Earn, with Pitkeathly
Mineral Wells adjoining, also lie in the vicinity. In an opposite direction
the celebrated Carse of Gowrie invites, by its great expanse of perhaps the
most fertile land in Scotland, embellished too with numerous country seats.
And the tourist will be well repaid by a transit by rail as far as "Bonnie
Dundee."
2. Proceeding now towards the
Highlands on the DunkeId road, the tourist passes several large printfields;
and at the distance of two and a half miles he descries, on the farther side
of the Tay, the sombre walls of Scone, a large structure forming a hollow
oblong square, formerly a palace of the kings of Scotland (now the seat of
the Earl of Mansfield, representative of the Stormont family), whence Edward
I. removed the celebrated inauguration stone, previously taken from
Berigonium, or Dunstaffnage, and now in Westminster Abbey, where it still
forms part of the coronation chair of the British Monarchs. Part of the
walls of the old palace form the sides of the gallery, an apartment 130 feet
in length. The house is chiefly remarkable otherwise for the large
assortment of cabinets and some fine specimens of Beavois tapestry, several
good paintings, and a bed of flowered crimson velvet, wrought by Queen Mary
in Lochleven Castle.
The river Almond here crosses
the road, which immediately thereafter passes under the Scottish Midland
Railway; leaving Glenalmond on the left, where are the graves of " Bessy
Bell and Mary Gray," and the modem Castle of Lynedoch, and Trinity College,
opened within the last few years for the education of the clergy and youth
of the Scottish Episcopal communion. As yet only two sides of the large
quadrangle (190 feet square) have been built, comprehending the wardens and
professors' houses, and accommodation for about 130 boys, including rooms
for thirteen divinity students. Funds are still wanting for the erection of
the hall, large school-room, cloisters, and completion of the chapel,
notwithstanding the munificent donations of the Reverend Charles Wordsworth,
the warden, which alone amounts to £10,000! About two miles in advance, a
road leads from the left to Redgorton and Monedie, and another upon the
right conducts to Luncarty, now the site of a fine bleachfield close to the
Tay, and which was the scene of a desperate and decisive battle between the
Scots and the Danes in the reign of Kenneth III. The Scots, when nearly
overcome, were rallied by a peasant of the name of Hay, who, with his two
sons, were ploughing hard by, and whose only weapons, it is said, were
plough yokes. Hence the Hays' crest for many centuries has been a peasant
carrying a yoke over his shoulder; and local tradition adds, that the
Scottish king having promised the peasant, Hay, as his reward, all the land
his falcon would fly over before alighting,—won thereby the whole country to
the rocks of Kinnoul Hill, where it had been nestled.
Passing now the fine trouting
streams of Ordie and Shochie, and the beautiful terrace banks overhanging
the Tay, the road, nine miles from Perth, enters the straggling village of
Auchtergaven, and then ascending a long moorish ridge, regains the valley of
the Tayfrom amidst the copse woods and policies of Dlurthly Castle (Sir
William Drummond Stewart), a splendid but unfinished edifice, in the
Elizabethan style, with an old castle near it. The grand entrance to the
Highlands by the skirts of Birnam Hill (1580 feet above the sea) ; and the
rough eminences (all composed of roofing state), which form the outer flanks
of the Grampians, and gorgeously tangled over with the golden blossomed
furze, at the same moment burst into view. Birnam Wood, so fatal to Macbeth,
has been long despoiled of its ancient forests, but young plantations of
larch clambering up its slopes will soon conceal them, and the slate
quarries that now scar them to a great depth. The hills on the north bank of
the Tay also exhibit deep cuts in the clay or roofing slate of which they
are composed, and which both to the south and north trends off in a thin
band or zone seldom exceeding a mile in breadth.
3. Nestled among overhanging
rocks and woods, and built on one of the numerous terraced flats which skirt
both sides of the noble Tay, Dunkeld, the true entrance to the Highland
scenery, has long been regarded as one of our most elegant and picturesque
towns, and is a resort of many strangers, on account of the purity and
softness of the air, and the great variety and beauty of the walks and
drives around it. Before crossing the spacious five-arched bridge which
leads to it, a road will be seen inclining to the left, which, after passing
the village of Inver, (where Neil Gow, the famous performer of Scotch reels,
was born,) proceeds along the west bank of the Tay to Kenmore, and the
western districts of Perthshire. [A coach usually goes, in summer, from
Dunkeld, by Kenmore and Killin, to Loch Lomond—and one is talked of, to
branch off to Callander. It leaves Dunkeld at 7 o'clock e. m., and returns
at 8 P. M. ; fares, 30s. and £1 This is a route every way worthy of, and
suitable for, a public conveyance, and we trust will hereafter never want
one. A mail gig, carrying three passengers, also rung daily (except on
Tuesdays) from Dunkeld, as far as Kenmore, leaving Dunkeld about noon,
(fare, 6s.) There is also a gig on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, from
Pitlochrie, at the foot of Killiecrankie Pass, to Rannoch. We may also add,
that a daily coach leaves Dunkeld every morning at 7, for Cupar-Angus, by
Blairgowrie, in connexion, with the railway to Dundee, and to await the
Dundee steamers—the distance to Dundee being thirty guiles—and returns in
the evening.] The guardian mountain screens of the town are very conspicuous
as it is entered from the Perth side, the most northerly being Cragiebarns,
and farther to the west Cragievenean, the bold and lofty sides of both
which, covered with dense pine wood, form a protecting background, and hide
from the view the upper valley of the Tay.
Dunkeld consists of two
streets, one leading from the bridge, and the other at right angles to it,
with back lanes proceeding from both. At the west end of the latter street,
running parallel with the river, and above the bridge, stands the ancient
and venerable cathedral of the diocese of Dunkeld. This building measures
about eighty paces in length: the nave is now roofless, but the choir was
rebuilt by the late Duke of Athole on the original model, at an expense of
£5000, and is used as a place of worship. At the west end rises a buttressed
tower, ninety feet in height, and twenty-four feet square, and adjoining it
a small octagonal watch-tower. Buttresses project between the windows,
surmounted above the church by traceried spiracles. The great aisle measures
one hundred and twenty by sixty feet: the walls are forty feet high, and the
side aisles twelve feet wide. On each side are seven spacious Gothic arches,
with fluted soffits, resting on six plain Norman-like pillars, having shafts
ten feet high, and four and a-half in diameter, and two half-columns. Over
the arches there are two tiers of windows, the lower semicircular, the
higher acute. The windows of the side-aisles are all of different designs,
and chiefly of the decorated or middle-pointed Gothic; and it is
interesting, and historically curious to mark, as observed by Mr. Billings,
(Bar. and Eccl. Antiq. Scot.,) " even in this distant mountainous see,
traces of the Flamboyant character of the French-Gothic artists." He
considers it probable that there was no part of the building erected before
1230. There is the tomb and statue of a bishop in his robes, under a
crocketed canopy, believed to be those of Bishop Robert Cardeny, who founded
the nave, where he lies, in 1406. The new church is handsomely fitted up. In
the spacious vestry, at the east end, is the gigantic stone effigy, arrayed
in panoply of mail, which formerly, in the old church of this place,
surmounted the grave of the notorious Earl of Buchan, "Wolf of Badenoch,"
the natural son of Robert II., who burnt the Cathedral of Elgin.
The Bishoprick of Dunkeld was
established by David I., A.D. 1127, on the foundation of an older Culdee
monastery. Gregory was the name of its first bishop. Robert Creighton, the
last and thirty-ninth bishop, died in 1550. Bishop Sinclair built the choir
in 1330. The great aisle was completed, in 1450, by Bishop Lauder, who also
added the chapter-house in 1469; and the tower was finished in 1501.
Immediately behind the cathedral stands the ancient palace of the Dukes of
Athole. It is an old-fashioned square building; but a magnificent new
mansion was commenced by a late Duke, the progress of which has, however,
been suspended since his death. It stands behind an eminence bordering the
river, which it was intended should have been removed. A considerable
portion of the walls has been erected in the Gothic style, with a variety in
the fashion of the windows, and the whole will form, if ever completed, an
uncommonly large and splendid edifice; while the town, cathedra1, and
palace, will constitute, with the fine bridge, a remarkable assemblage of
architectural objects lining the stream, and embosomed in luxuriant foliage.
4. At the end of the
cathedral, the stranger is shown the first two larches introduced into this
country: they were originally treated as green-house plants, but are now
ninety feet high, and one of them measures fifteen feet in circumference two
feet above the ground. Hence the visitor is conducted along the east bank of
the Tay, by a terraced walk overshadowed by enormous larches, beech, ash,
oak, horse-chesnut, spruce, pine, and birch trees. Noble oaks line the
opposite side of the river. The woods rise high on the right, larch and pine
predominating. A great portion of the pine and spruce tribe are from 100 to
150 years old, and the oaks are of great growth. The Tay itself is
peculiarly beautiful in its long unruffled expanse, and its gentle flow and
clear waters. This river is the largest in Scotland, and its tributaries are
supplied from a space of 2750 square miles The population of Dunkeld is
about 1500; the two principal hotels (and they are both excellent) are the
Duke's Arms and Royal.
From the base of
Craigievenean a long oak-clad eminence projects, across which the guide
leads the way to a hermitage on the wooded banks of the small river Braan. A
fine 'view of Strath-Tay is presented on the way to the hermitage, and
another favourable point of view is from the hill-face on the cast of the
town.
Visitors seldom prolong an
examination of the pleasuregrounds beyond a few miles; but the walks through
the policies of Dunkeld are upwards of fifty, independent of a
carriage-drive of thirty miles. The larch woods cover an extent of 11,000
square acres ; the number of trees planted by his Grace John, late Duke of
Athole, being about twenty-seven millions, besides several millions of other
sorts of trees. From the hermitage the traveller ought to extend his ramble,
up Strath-Braan to the Rumbling Bridge (distant about two miles and a-half
from the town) which is thrown across a narrow chasm eighty feet above the
water-way. Immediately beyond the bridge, the Braan pours from a height into
this gulf with great violence, a tortuous cataract producing a decided
tremor in the bridge. At the bottom huge masses of rock have fallen across
the stream, which, escaping beneath them, issues below through a; fissure
not above a yard wide at the bottom, whence it flows into a fearfully still
and dark pool.
5. A cleft or gorge through
Craigiebarns, called the King's Pass, from its being a favourite spot where
William the Lion is said to have often rendezvoused for the chase, now
enables the public road, by a short cut, to attain the higher valley of
Strath-Tay without following the windings of the river. It presents most
magnificent views on either hand; and the traveller cannot fail to be struck
with the first burst of the strath above, as it comes into view, reposing in
all the beauty of a broad plain of arable and meadow-land, intersected by a
large, deep, and winding river, which is skirted by numerous parallel
terraces, rising one above the other, and by circular detached mounds—the
islets in a former great inland lake. Above this lovely champagne landscape,
the hill-sides present either craggy fronts, or long smooth slopes bedecked
with houses and cottages, and dense woods of pine, larch, and birch trees;
while the more distant ranges of the Grampian mountains, and of the West
Highlands, present themselves in grim frowning majesty, and in chains and
clusters of every imaginable form.
6. After refreshing himself
with a glass of Athole Brose (a celebrated local compound of whisky and
honey) at Moulinearn, shortly above the junction of the Tay and Tummel, the
tourist, if he stops not for a day's angling, will pass on along the birchen
bowers of Tulliemet and Down ally, to the neat and cleanly village of
Pitlochrie, where he will find a most excellent inn; and leaving the
mansion-house of Faskally (the beautiful residence of Archibald Butters,
Esq.) on the left, and the bridge over the Garry—whence the districts of
Rannoch and Tummel can be reached—he soon enters the romantic and classic
Pass of Killiecrankie.
The Blair, or plain of Athole,
on which we next enter, is watered by the river Garry. This stream, between
four and five miles below Athole House, is joined, from the westward, by the
river Tummel. The valley, through which their conjoined waters roll is
connected with the Blair of Athole by the pass of Killiecrankie, which
stretches, for the space of a mile or more, along the termination of the
river Garry, forming an obtuse or nearly right angle with either valley.
Isere the hills rise from the bed of the river with a very steep ascent,
lining it on the western side with a perpendicular wall of rock. Both banks
are enveloped, to the height of several hundred feet, with waving birches;
the western slope being surmounted with a line of bare precipices, while the
opposite barrier, formed by the lofty Ben Vracky, continues ascending above
its wooded portion into abrupt and unadorned nakedness. The terraced sides
of the valley, as we emerge from the pass, are adorned by several beautiful
villas, as Urrard House, Killiecrankie, and Strathgarry cottages.
Killiecrankie is well known
as the scene of the last exploit of Dundee, or, as he was called, "the
bloody Clavers," in July 1689. General Mackay, the covenanters' leader,
anxious to preoccupy the district of Athole, which was well affected towards
King James, and by his presence to overawe the inhabitants, who were likely
to declare for that party and reinforce Dundee with 1000 or 1500 men,
pressed forward with his army from the south towards Athole House; while his
opponent advanced to the same point in an opposite direction. Dundee deemed
it inexpedient to dispute Mackay's progress through the pass, choosing
rather a pitched encounter, in order to give full scope to the furious onset
of his Highland followers, which he felt confident would accomplish the
overthrow of the opposing force, and whose destruction would then be insured
by the intricacies of the defile through which their retreat must lie.
Mackay's army of 4500 men accordingly were suffered to debouch unmolested
upon the haugh, or open ground, which immediately succeeds to the pass;
while Dundee with his band, consisting of 2000 Highlanders and 500 Irish,
instead of advancing directly down the valley of Athole, ascended the Water
of Tilt, and, fetching a compass round the hill of Lude, made his appearance
on the hill-side, about the position of the House of Urrard. The main body
of Mackay's forces were hastily moved forward to a terrace midway between
their opponents and the bottom of the glen, where the baggage was left. The
regulars were chiefly raw levies, brimful of exaggerated notions of the
ferocity and warlike character of their Highland foes. The Highlanders, on
the other hand, were possessed with a sovereign contempt for the red-coats,
and entertained the most sanguine confidence of victory. The assault
commenced towards the close of evening. From their vantage ground, Dundee's
rugged followers, bending the body low, and covering themselves with their
targets, rushed down with resistless impetuosity. The opposition offered was
heartless or unavailing. With the exception of a part of the right wing,
Mackay's army was completely swept away. In riding towards a party of his
men, to bring them to the attack of this body, Dundee received his
death-wound. His rival, meanwhile, having manfully stood his ground, and
stemmed the hostile tide, had found himself alone as it rushed passed him,
and observing the remnant of his right wing standing firm, he put himself at
their head, and counselling his men to be cool, and keep together, he led
them down the hill and crossed the river. Avoiding the pass, this small
division ascended the strath for six or seven miles, and by a rugged
mountain tract, reached Menzies Castle, a few miles to the east of Taymouth,
whence they pursued their way to Drummond Castle and Stirling. An upright
stone will be observed in a field shortly after emerging from the pass,
which is said to mark the spot where Dundee fell in the hour of victory.
7. To the westward of Blair,
the vale of Athole is wide, flat, and open, and the hills are low, and
seldom precipitous. Where the valley bends from an easterly to a southerly
direction, in a sloping lawn surrounded by broad belts of trees, stands
Athole House, the ancient residence of the dukes of that name. The house is
a long, narrow building, of three storeys, with a lower row of apartments at
one end. It was formerly much higher, and a place of considerable strength;
and frequently a scene of hostility during the troublesome periods of the
last and preceding centuries. The Athole estates are celebrated for the fine
quality of the timber with which they abound. The greater part was planted
by the late Duke John; and the trees, particularly the larches, are
remarkable for their great size and straightness of stem.
8. Blair is noted for the
number and variety of interesting waterfalls in its immediate neighbourhood.
Three miles to the westward are those of the Bruar, the approach to which is
now enclosed within a wall, and the entrance guarded by an old woman, who,
however, will civilly show all the falls for a small consideration. The
streamlet winds through a confined, perpendicular channel of rock, above
which the sloping banks are covered with a fir plantation for which they are
indebted to Burns' well-known "Petition." Commencing the ascent of the
stream, we find it pouring down in a series of low, contracted falls, from
one dark basin or linn to another. A more considerable cascade succeeds
them: it is about twelve feet high, the water issuing from below through a
natural arch of rock. Above this fall a bridge has been thrown across the
chasm; two other falls are seen above the bridge, the remotest being about
twelve feet, the nearest above thirty feet high. Beyond these the depth of
the dell increases. heather, in rich wreaths, hangs from the cliffs and
jutting corners of the rocks ; tall, graceful larches shoot up their
straight stems, and the rowan and aspen add variety to the foliage. Above,
we reach a second group of five falls, the lowermost about thirty-five feet
high; the others, taken together, about forty feet. here there is a second
bridge ; and still farther up a third series of falls exist, to all of which
a good pathway on each side of the dell conducts, with a carriage-road,
leading as far as the second set of falls.
The beauties of Lude, of Glen
Tilt, and the Falls of Fender, rival those of Bruar, and are well worthy of
being explored ; and indeed few neighbourhoods can more reward the tourist
for a few days' stay than this, the more especially, as at the mouth of the
Tilt he can be luxuriantly accommodated at either of the spacious inns—the
Athole Arms, or the Bridge of Tilt Inn; and we trust that the impolitic
attempt lately made by the advisers of his Grace, the Duke, to exclude the
public from the policies and ancient district road through Glen Tilt, will
be abandoned, as quite beneath the dignity and the hospitable courtesies of.
an ancient Highland family. Glen Tilt has been long cleared of its
population, but the inhabitants of the adjoining districts have too long
used the road through it to be now prevented for the sake of a few deer.
And, besides, the locality is too classic, in a scientific point of view,
through the writings of Playfair, Hutton, and Macculloch, to be so shut up.
To see all the falls which occur on a burn, a tributary of the Tilt, it
should be ascended for three miles at least. The Water of Tilt, which passes
close by Athole House, runs for about two miles above the old bridge of
Tilt, between high banks rising from the water's edge. In general the sides
are very steep, but covered with birch and ash, and a perfect jungle of
hazel. The rising sides of the glen, immediately over the edge of the banks,
are clothed with fir and larch, to which corn-fields succeed. A burn falling
into the water of Tilt, where. this latter stream flows between two
perpendicular walls of limestone, gives rise to the Falls of Fender. Birch,
ash, and other trees crown the tops of the ridge, and springing from the
stages of the rocks with a profusion of hazel, Guelder rose, and other
shrubs, completely overshadow the water as it falls into the Tilt. The
Fender is seen through a narrow recess, making a leap of about thirty feet ;
it then trickles in parted streamlets over four successive ledges of rock,
projecting from the side of the bank of the Tilt. A detached portion of the
burn escapes into the latter a few hundred yards below these falls, and
constitutes what is called the York cascade. About a mile up the Fender is a
third beautiful fall, well worthy of being seen.
Our space prevents us from
quoting the well-known descriptions of the Royal hunting feats which of yore
were held in Athole, and which, on a small scale, have been repeated even in
modern times. Suffice it to say, that the forests here abound in all kinds
of game common to this country, and that the Red Deer are greatly
increasing, and may be seen marshalled in herds of many hundreds at a time.
The deer on the Athole estates are computed to number about 15,000. The
repose and utter stillness said to be requisite for these animals are
inimical to agriculture, and even to sheep farming, and hence large tracts
of the property are kept utterly waste and desolate. Even the botanist is
now occasionally prevented from wandering so freely as he used to do over
Ben-y-gloe, and the other high mountains of the district!
9. The road northward quits
the vale of Athole, at a bend about three miles past Blair, opposite the
mansion-house and hamlet of Strowan, the ancient holding of the chief of the
CIan Robertson—a name next to that of Stewart in this quarter, and an
offshoot from which family migrated several hundred years ago to Inverness,
and after rising to opulence as traffickers there, became the proprietors of
the fine estate of Inshes near that town. Our way now keeps along the east
bank of the river Garry, and gradually ascending, soon leaves the region of
trees and cultivation behind, and enters upon the bleak and moorish wilds of
Drumouchter, where nought but stunted grass and heather, dark swamp,
impetuous torrents, grey rock, and frowning heights and precipices are to be
seen. The mountains also are heavy, and seem broken into great detached
mounds, rather than united in picturesque chains.
Even the comforts of the "Hospitium"
of Dalnacardoch, as the inn has written over its door, can scarcely enliven
the scene, and the traveller will always, as of yore, hasten on to get over
this pass through the grampians—the Druim-albin or great back bone of
Scotland—thankful if he be not stopped by a snow storm, of which the high
posts painted black at top, and ranged at intervals along the road side, are
rather too significant memorials.
Half way between Dalnacardoch
and the next inn, Dalwhinnie (thirteen miles), the mountain streams part at
the Badenoch Boar and the Athole &w, as the two opposite mountains are
named, some running eastward to join the Truim and the Spey, while others,
by a longer circuit, fall into the Tay. This spot is the proper boundary
between the counties of Inverness and Perth, and of the great districts of
Athole and Badenoch, and the traveller will hereabouts see extensive
sections of the gneiss rock, traversed by veins of large white-grained
granite, of which the country for very many miles around is composed.
10. On the bleak surface of
the moors there are numerous pillars and cairns, memorials of those who have
perished in the snow, or fallen fighting for their homes and kindred. The
marks of an encampment of a party of Cromwell's troops still exist at
Dalnaspidal, a short way within the Perthshire boundary, where they received
a check from the Athole men and some of the Camerons of Lochiel. Here, too,
General Cope drew up his army, in expectation of being attacked by the
highlanders, in 1745, whilst they awaited him on the northern side of
Corryarrick; and by his ill-advised manoeuvre in quitting his post, and
marching onwards, left the road open to the insurgents. And here, early in
the year 1746, Lord George Murray planned and executed a series of attacks
on various posts held by the royalists. A battalion of the Athole brigade,
and a body of T 1acphersons commanded by their chief, Cluny, —that is to say
common peasants, and a few country gentlemen without military
experience,—under Lord George's directions, successfully surprised and
carried twenty detached strong and defensible posts, all within two hours of
the night ; and the different parties punctually met at the appointed place
of rendezvous, though their operations lay in a rugged, mountainous country.
Of this exploit, General Stewart of Garth, in his "Sketches," says, "I know
not if the whole of the Peninsular campaigns exhibited a more perfect
execution of a complicated piece of military service." Lord George had
himself marched to the Bridge of Bruar, with twenty-five men and a few
elderly gentlemen, when he was informed that Sir Andrew Agnew, who held the
castle of Blair, was advancing with a strong force to reconnoitre. In the
words of Home, "It was daylight ; but the sun was not up. Lord George,
looking earnestly about him, observed a fold-dike (that is, a wall of turf)
which had been begun as a fence for cattle, but left unfinished. He ordered
his men to follow him, and draw up behind the dike, at such a distance one
from another that they might make a great show, having the colours of both
regiments flying in the front. He then gave orders to the pipers (for he had
with him the pipers both of the Athole men and the Macphersons) to keep
their eyes fixed on the road from Blair; and the moment they saw the
soldiers appear, to strike up with all their bagpipes at once. It happened
that the regiments came in sight just as the sun rose, and that instant the
pipers began to play one of the most noisy pibrochs. Lord George and his
I3ighlanders, both officers and men, drawing their swords, brandished them
about their heads. Sir Andrew, after gazing awhile at this spectacle,
ordered his men to the right-about, and marched them back to the Castle of
BIair. Lord George kept his post till several of his parties came in; and as
soon as he had collected 300 or 400 men, secure of victory, and certain that
his numbers would very soon be greater, he marched to Blair, and invested
the castle."
11. Two or three miles below
the shooting lodge of Dalnaspidal, at the east end of Loch Garry, and the
opening along which affords an interesting view of Schihallion and the
mountains towards Loch Rannoch and Loch Tay, a large stone stands on the
right-hand side of the road, with the year 1729 carved upon it. It was here
that the troops, who formed the lines of road from the opposite points of
Inverness and Dunkeld, met one another ; and thus marked the spot and date
when and where they finished their labours.
The new road formed by the
Parliamentary Commissioners for Highland roads and bridges, follows nearly
the same line as the old military one observed ; and, from its position, and
the undulating nature of the ground, it is occasionally liable to be blocked
up in winter with snow. No greater quantities accumulate, however, than are
frequently encountered on the coast roads; and it is unquestionable that, if
the pass of Drumouchter were a little better inhabited than it is at
present, there would be no difficulty in keeping open the passage at all
times of the year; and, even at present, this route is not nearly so often
obstructed by snow as the coast road from Aberdeen to Inverness. (See
section 1, page 50, as to the railway projected to pass in this direction.)
12. A few miles more, and we
descry the Inn of Dalwhinnie, partly surrounded, like the wells of the
desert, with the verdure of a larch plantation, the only green and pleasing
sight on which the eye can rest for many miles around. "But who shall praise
Dalwhinnie?" as Dr. Macculloch says: "no one but the commissioners who built
it, and who desire you to be thankful that you have a place to put your head
in." If the rain or snow do not urge the traveller to get forward on his
journey, the coldness of the climate, and the appearance of the red grouse
and of the alpine plants here growing close by the roadside, should do so.
From the inn, however, which is comfortably kept by Mr. Grant, who has also
a due supply of post-horses, chaises, gigs, and dog-carts, a glimpse should
be taken of the mountain Benalder, situated on the north side of Loch
Errocht, a small part of which is here visible. An extraordinary cave, or
cage, as it is called by Home, exists in this mountain, in which Prince
Charles Stuart found refuge for a short time, during his wanderings.
[The tourist, if he has time,
will be gratified by an excursion to Loch Errocht, which is twenty miles
long by about one mile broad. It is the highest of the great chain of
Perthshire lakes, the combined waters of which supply the Tay; but being
very little depressed below Dalwhinnie Inn, it could almost he drained into
the 24uim, and would thence flow into the Spey. Thus it occupies the summit
level of the country (about 1500 feet above the sea), and the numerous
parallel terraces and gravel 'auks seen here in all directions, shew that
even the highest of the Gram ian ridges and valleys were once submerged
beneath the ocean. The north side of lake, for about six miles down, is
flanked by a high grassy hill sloping gently down to the water's edge, after
which succeed the rouryh precipices of Ben Alder. On the south side there is
a greater intermixture of ro& and wood, and the lower end of the lake
conducts to the desolate and dreary swamps of the "Moor of Rannoch. The
Marquis of Ahercorn rents all the northern hills from Cluny Macpperson as a
deer forest, and at the base of Ben Alder his Lordship has a shooting lodge,
communicating by a country road with his residence at Ardverackie, on Loch
Laggan, where her Majesty and Prince Albert passed the autumn of 1848.
Formerly, before the
dismemberment of the Duke of Gordon's Highland estates, the southern side of
Loch Erroclit was used by his Grace's tenants of llalwhinnie and Breachachy
as the summer shealin,q of their cattle; and the north side by Cluny's
tenants for the same purpose. At that time, about seventy years ago, from
£10 to £15 of rent were paid yearly for what now yields at least ten times
as much. The sites of the herds' huts or bothies are still visible, and the
piles of stones heaped near them, are the imperishable memorials of their
presence, and of the attempts which they made to improve the pastures. Black
cattle and horses were then the sole stocks of these highland tenants. Sheep
were few, and kept only in small flocks near the houses, for their wool and
mutton for domestic use; and in summer the ewes were milked daily, a
practice which prompted some of our most beautiful and tender pastoral
songs.]
13. Taking leave of
Dalwhinnie, whence the traveller, if bound for the west coast, assumes the
road which branches off on the left, about half a mile on, for Catlodge
(eight miles), and then proceeds by Loch Laggan, glad that he has got over a
little more than half distance from Perth to Inverness, soon enters Glen
Truim—a rough inclined plain, which descends rapidly towards Strathspey. At
Ettridge Bridge (five miles from the last stage), the old military way left
Glen Truim and proceeded in a direct line eastwards through Glenfernisdale
to the barracks of Ruthven opposite Kingussie—keeping all the way along a
fine gravel terrace, and considerably shorter than the present line of road,
which makes a detour to secure a foundation of rock for a bridge across the
Spey. The old road (which every pedestrian at least should follow) is
overhung with beautiful birch woods ; and indications of the country's
having been at one time thickly peopled are everywhere visible in the
numerous sites of cottages, the ploughed ridges, and the vast quantities of
stones piled up (now grass-covered mounds), which were gathered off the
fields! Hundreds of families have thus made way for the sheep of a few large
tenants ; and if the inquisitive stranger should enquire who those tenants
are here and elsewhere in Badenoch, he will find that chiefly they are
majors and captains, who, at the instigation of the late celebrated Jane,
Duchess of Gordon, served in the Peninsular war, or received honourable
scars at Waterloo, and who, on the return of peace, took, at high rents,
extensive tracts of their native soil, where, in general, they have not made
rich by farming.
14. Descending now rapidly by
the post road along the birch-clad banks of the Truim, Glen Truim House (Macpherson)
is seen on a high ridge on the left, and immediately to the east of it rises
the lofty serrated mountain of Craigdhu (the Black Rock), the ancient
natural beacon of the district, overlooking the countries of Laggan,
Badenoch, and Strathspey, with an enormous circuit of the Grampian and
Monaliagh mountains, and which is the rendezvous or gathering hill of the
clan Macpherson. At the farther extremity of this hill the rivers Truim and
Spey unite, the public road crossing a little way below their junction by an
old military bridge of three arches, and then dividing into two, the main
branch continues northwards past the poor hamlet or village of Newtonmore,
and the other fork turns westward on its course by Cluny and Loch Laggan for
Fort-William and the west coast. (See Route 1. D.)
15. At Invernahavon, near the
junction of the rivers just named, a celebrated clan battle was fought, in
the reign of James I., between the Mackintoshes and Camerons. The lands of
Mackintosh, in Lochaber, were possessed by a set of Camerons, who always
refused to pay their rents, which were accordingly levied by force, and
consisted principally of cattle. Acknowledging no right but that of
occupancy, and provoked by the seizure of their herds, the Camerons at
length resolved on making reprisals; and they, therefore, poured down upon
Badenoch above 400 strong, headed by a Charles llacgilony. The Laird of
Mackintosh, thus obliged to call out his followers, soon appeared with a
force sufficient for the emergency. The David-sons of Invernahavon and the
Macphersons of Cluny contended for the right hand in the line of battle; and
Mackintosh, as umpire, having decided in favour of the former, the whole
clan Macpherson withdrew from the field in discontent. From the equality of
numbers thus created, the conflict was sharp and bloody; many of the
Mackintoshes, and almost all the Davidsons, were killed. The Macphersons,
provoked at seeing their brave kinsmen nearly overpowered, rushed in, and
totally defeated the Camerons, whose leader they pursued to Glen Benchar,
and overtook and slew him on a hill still called by his name, Corharlich, or
Charles' hill.
16. Three miles on we reach
the good inn and village of Kingussie, the latter having no trade or
manufactures, and yet possessing a large pauperized population, chiefly
thrown in upon it by the successive clearings of the adjoining districts. It
was commenced, on the precincts of an ancient monastery, about the end of
the last century, by the Duke of Gordon, with the view of introducing the
spinning of wool and the manufacture of woollen cloths, which have not
succeeded, and the inhabitants are now entirely dependent for employment on
the neighbouring corn and sheep farmers. The Court House, Churches, Bank (a
branch of the British Linen Company), and many of the private dwellings, as
well as the Inn, are, however, substantially built of the beautiful grey and
white granite, in which the district abounds. Among the privations of the
poor people the scarcity of fuel is often severely felt in winter, as some
of the most accessible peat mosses are nearly exhausted, and the cost of
carting coals so far inland is beyond their means; yet, we regret to say,
that the consumpt of whisky here, and in all the Highland villages, is most
inordinate and disgraceful. James Evan Baillie, Esq., of Culduthel and
Glenelg, formerly of Bristol, is also the proprietor of the Kingussie
estate, which he bought on the demise of the late Duke of Gordon. His
possessions extend now over a principal part of the great lordship of
Badenoch. More anciently this was also the land of the Cumings, a family
which ruled here with a rod of iron during the reigns of the early Scottish
sovereigns, especially the Alexanders. Their fortresses, as at Lochan Eilan
and Lochindhorb, were numerous, extensive, and strong; and the style of
building employed in them can even yet be distinguished from that of the
common baronial peels of the country.
The part which this family
took in the wars between Bruce and Baliol, and the extent to which they even
attempted to push their own pretensions to the crown, are well known. Their
subsequent misfortunes paved the way for the friends of Robert I., who were
installed into their possessions by this prince and his immediate
successors. Extensive tracts of country were conferred on Randolph, Earl of
Moray, and the Lord Seneschal, brother of the king, and on the famous Wolf
of Badenoch, natural son of Robert II., on whom also were bestowed those
most extraordinary powers of barony and regality by which the influence of
the crown in the Highlands was almost annihilated. But various donations
were also granted to certain individuals known as "kindly tenants" of the
king, who held them during his pleasure, and likewise to churchmen, through
whose subinfeudations several independent though inferior families became
established in the country. A constant struggle was hence maintained between
these and their powerful neighbours, as was strongly illustrated in the
history of the clan Gregor. The Shaws of Rothiemurchus were also
particularly conspicuous in this respect. They were independent of all the
great lords ; and held their duchies, or estate, of the bishops of Moray,
for the supply only of a certain quantity of tapers, and of wood for the
occasional repair of Elgin cathedral.
In later times, the Dukes of
Gordon ruled over Badenoch. The Mackintoshes and Grants have also
territories in this district; and to the westward the parish of Laggan
belongs principally to that important division of the clan Chattan, the
Macphersons, of whom Macpherson of Cluny is the chief.
17. Extensive and costly
embankments along the Spey commence near Kingussie, and extend down several
miles till the river loses itself in Loch Insh, on its way to which it winds
through a succession of most beautiful meadow haughs, where the natural
grass is carefully cut and preserved as hay, and along which there are
numerous pools, abounding in water-fowl, and covered over by tall reeds and
water lilies. A wooden bridge has recently been erected south of the west
end of the village, communicating with the south bank of the Spey, and with
an excellent district road to Rothiemurchus, which the tourist will find to
abound in magnificent views; and if the approaches to this bridge could be
well protected from the over-floorings of the river, the public road should
cross here by a stone bridge and proceed southwards by the direct line
through Glenfernisdale, already alluded to. Before the erection of this
bridge, the right bank of the Spey could only be reached by a ferry below
the village, whence a broad piece of marshy meadow had to be passed ere the
solid ground adjoining the Mount of Ruthven was attained.
18. This mount has the ruins
of an old barrack on it, which have an imposing appearance, but which were
much inferior in strength and size to the more ancient castle which they
displaced, and which belonged to the wild Cumings, Earls of Badenoch. Queen
Mary frequently visited this castle, that she might enjoy the pleasures of
the chase in the adjoining forests. The barrack, built of its stones in
1718, was defended against a whole Highland host, by twelve men, under the
command of a Serjeant Mulloy, in February 1746, when the rebels set it on
fire ; and it was at this place that the chiefs reassembled their forces, to
the number of 8000, two days subsequent to the battle of Culloden, in the
hopes of Prince Charles again taking the field.
Ruthven was also celebrated
of old for a good inn and an excellent school ; and the tourist who has time
should by no means pass it without a visit, as the mount commands a most
magnificent view, especially of the course of the Spey, and of the many
curious gravel terrace banks which line it on both sides, and which are here
elevated about 1000 feet above the sea.
19. Continuing now along the
left bank of the river, the road passes in front of the mansion-house and
lawn of Belleville (Miss Macpherson), where, on a little knoll by the
wayside, may be seen a small obelisk, erected in memory of the former
proprietor, Macpherson, the first translator of Ossian's Poems, and whose
fame as an original poet, or as a mere compiler, has been the subject of
much discussion. His residence occupies the site of the ancient Castle of
Raits, another, and the principal stronghold of the great family of the
Cumings. An incident which occurred at this castle is worth recounting.
Cuming, one of the old proprietors, jealous of a neighbouring chieftain (the
Laird of Mackintosh), invited him and his kindred to a great banquet,
disguising, under the mask of hospitality, the atrocious purpose of
slaughtering his guests unawares. The company were to be so arranged at
table as that the Mackintoshes should be separated from one another, and the
appearance of a boar's head was to be the signal for each Cuming to stab the
stranger who sat beside him. Mackintosh discovered the plot; nevertheless,
he accepted the invitation, having previously informed his clansmen of the
signal, and bade them anticipate their treacherous entertainers.
Accordingly, when the feast waxed high, the boar's head was introduced. The
Mackintoshes seized the moment; and with the barbarity and decision common
in those dark and bloody days, inflicted the most ample and speedy revenge
on their foes.
20. Our route now continues
through birch-clad knolls and small farms, formerly the abodes of a numerous
and warlike peasantry, followers of the Gordon, " The Cock of the North,"
with a few gentlemen's residences (as Kincraig and Invereshie), scattered at
wide intervals. Cairngorm, Ben )Iacdhui, and the central group of the
Grampians, lift their huge sides and summits on the right, and we see long
stretches of the vast solitudes which surround them, terminating in the deer
corries and precipices which lie concealed in the deep shadows of the
mountains. To the stranger will be pointed out the high passes of Gaick and
\Iinikaig, which abound in red deer and game of all kinds, and where many a
life has been lost in the snow, on their journeys, of smugglers, drovers,
and of the peasantry, by these short cuts to the Lowlands. (See Branch c. to
this Route.) In front the high rocky crag which rises before us is Tor Alvie;
and the woods and fields which sweep round it are parts of the
pleasure-grounds of Kinrara, the favourite seat of the late Duchess, and of
her son George, the last of the Dukes of Gordon. On the eastern brow of the
Tor is a rustic hermitage, commanding a most extensive view of the valley of
the Spey; and at the other extremity of the ridge, an enormous cairn of
stones records the fame of the heroes of Waterloo; and above has been
superadded a monument to the Duke of Gordon's memory.
21. Loch Alvie next presents
itself on the left of the landscape, with its neat manse and church standing
on a peninsula near the west end. Clumps of trees and corn-fields grace its
margin ; and on quitting them, the house and grounds of Rothiemurchus come
into view on the opposite side of the Spey. It has been remarked, that Loch
Alvie is one of the thousand lakes one meets with in the Highlands, with no
very conspicuous features, yet possessing beauties such as language can
rarely describe. "It is the pellucid water murmuring on the pebbly shore,
the dark rock reflected on the grassy surface, or dancing on the undulating
wave, the wild water-plants, the broken bank, the bending ash, the fern, the
bright flowers, and all the poetry of the margent green, which give to these
scenes a feeling that even painting cannot reach; a beauty that belongs to
nature alone, because it is the beauty of life; a beauty that flies with the
vital principle that was its soul and its all." The scenery hereabouts has
been described by none more beautifully or correctly than by the author from
whom we have just quoted (Dr. Macculloch.) "A succession of continuous birch
forest, covering Kinrara's rocky hill and its lower grounds, intermixed with
open glades, irregular clumps, and scattered trees, produces a scene at once
alpine and dressed ; combining the discordant characters of wild mountain
landscape and of ornamental park scenery, while the variety is at the same
time such as is only found in the most extended domains." In an old
burying-ground at a short distance from the house of Kinrara, which is
dedicated to Saint Eda, stands a handsome granite monument, erected to the
memory of Jane, late Duchess of Gordon, who herself chose this picturesque
spot as her last resting-place.
22. The beautiful and bold
projecting frontlet of Craigelachie now comes prominently into view on the
left. It separates Badenoch from Strathspey; was the hill of rendezvous for
the people of the latter, and the boundary and ancient ward-hill of the
district. "Stand fast, Craigelachie!" is the war or gathering cry of the
clan Grant, the occupants of this great strath. From its swelling base and
rifted precipices, the birch trees wave in graceful clusters; their bright
and lively green forming a strong contrast in the foreground to the sombre
melancholy hue of the pine forests, which in the distance, on the south,
stretch up the sides of Glenmore and the Cairngorms. [In the small lake
behind the Inn of Aviemore, at the base of Craigelachie, the botanist will
find quantities of Nuphar minima, the smallest and rarest of British water
lilies. On the neighbouring hill he will likewise discover several alpine
plants, as Alchemilla alpina, Rumex dyginus, Saxifraga aixoides and S.
hypnoides, &c.] In the eastern front of the hill stands the high old
steep-roofed, but comfortable Inn of Aviemore, where the tourist should
stop, if he means to explore the district or to visit Cairngorm and the
other scenes described in Branches c. and D. of this Route. In clear calm
weather the majesty of our Highland scenery is nowhere felt more
impressively. The Grampians are here magnificent in their bulk, and elegant
as well as varied in their outlines, while in the elevated summit of Ben
Macdhui, they rival Ben Nevis itself.
Strathspey's proud river
also, the broad rolling waters of which every way befit the majestic scenery
through which they flow, occupies the middle of the spacious valley before
us. Now, it slowly moves through dark and deep linns; now, rushing over a
wide gravelly bed, it shows, by the rents in the soil, and the sudden bends
in its course, the strength and fury of its wintry floods. Its banks are
occasionally fringed with rows of birch and alder; but anon, the silvery
line of its waters will be seen shooting into some thick and dark grove of
pine trees, again to emerge far away by the side of cultivated fields and
humble hamlets. The appearance, in short, of the strath, which is now
visible for twelve miles of its course, transports the imagination to the
days of Roman warfare, or to the woody solitudes of America. Till within a
few years, Strathspey might have been described as a plain covered with
pristine forests, laid open occasionally by the sweeps of a large river, and
by the deep indentations of its alpine tributaries; for its surface has been
but recently touched by the hand of man.
23. Between Aviemore and the
next stage, Carr Bridge (eight miles), the road cuts across a portion of
Morayshire, and again re-enters Inverness-shire. In this space it passes
along a series of undulating knolls, containing between them many small
lakes or tarns, abounding in water fowl, and on one of which are the ruins
of an old castle. The road afterwards goes through a small portion of the
ancient pine forest of Dulnan, where the size and fantastic forms of the
native tree may still be seen in perfection, and where occasionally the
traveller may suddenly come upon numerous black cock and the small fairy red
squirrel. Half way he passes on the right a district road striking off to
Grantown and the lower portions of Strathspey, and on crossing the rapid
river Dulnan to the comfortable little Inn of Carr Bridge, he meets another
branch of the same road coming northward from Strathspey.—(See Branch n.
Route it.)
24. Turning now to the left,
the road passes over the remains of part of the ancient Caledonian forest,
which was burnt down by general Wade to insure an easy access to Inverness ;
and which, if again enclosed by the proprietor, the Earl of Seafield, would
soon send up a plentiful stock of fir trees to cover the nakedness of these
most dreary wastes ; and so we hasten on towards Strathdearn, or the country
watered by the river Findhorn. But the deep and anciently dangerous pass of
Slochmuichk (the wild boar's den or hollow) is on before us (about three
miles), now to be dreaded only as the last spot where snow is likely to be
to any great depth on one's journey northwards during winter. It was at one
time a favourite haunt of banditti, some of whom, even for years after the
suppression of the rebellion of 1745, continued to infest the passage by the
Grampians to the low country.
This pass was also
particularly noted as having been the occasional resort (about the middle of
last century) of Mackintosh of Borlum, a property near Inverness, who was a
man of education and respectable family, of insinuating manners, but of a
character not unlike that of his contemporary, Simon, Lord Lovat. He had a
good deal of the old mercenary soldier about him, with an air of French
politeness which was common to the Highland gentlemen of the period; and
though secretly leagued with a gang of desperadoes, he continued for a long
time to deceive the public, and lull the suspicions of his friends. His
history is well known, and is depicted in Sir Thomas Dick Lauder's
interesting novel of Lochandhu. His last exploit, which compelled him to
flee from the country, was an attempt to rob Sir Hector Monro of Novar, on
his journey northwards, after his return from India, in the year 1770. Three
of his accomplices, one of them his own natural brother, were seized and
hanged at Inverness. Mackintosh is said to have gone to America, and served
under General Washington ; and a report prevails that he revisited his
native country some years ago. Another celebrated freebooter was John Gunn ;
a personage in whom were combined the rude manners of the bandit, with the
more generous sentiments of chivalry. His ordinary abode was among the wild
recesses of Strathspey, in the neighbourhood of Cairngorm and Aviemore. At
the same period, the vicini'ly of Shian, of Invergarry, and the confines of
Lochaber, were tenanted by a savage tribe of Kennedys, who levied tribute
over an extended range of country. David Scrymgeour of Birkhill, and
Alexander Campbell of Delnies, successively sheriffs-depute of
Inverness-shire, after the suppression of the insurrection in 1746, failed,
though repeated were their endeavours, to extirpate these mauraders; and
when Simon Fraser, Esq. of Farraline, was appointed successor to Mr.
Campbell, in May 1781, he found the state of police totally inefficient, and
property incapable of protection on any other ground than by the voluntary
payment to the heads of the robber troops of either money or cattle; black
mail, as in the remotest ages, being, in fact, thus demanded and agreed, to.
Mr. Fraser, who had quitted a military life to embrace that of the gown, at
the desire of his chief, General Fraser of Lovat, with whom he had served in
the American war, set himself earnestly to work to effect the total
suppression of such an alarming evil. With the assistance of a stout and
courageous Highlander, Mr. John Mackay, sheriff-officer at Fort-Augustus, as
his aide-dc-camp, and by unremitted perseverance, he finally effected his
purpose; traversing with his faithful adherent the most inaccessible
districts, repeatedly incurring personal danger in many shapes, and having
been more than once fired upon in his hazardous journeys. So imminent was
the risk he ran, that he rarely moved from home without a brace of pistols
on his person. Acting on the old adage, "Set a thief to catch a thief," he
nominated Donald Mhor Oig Cameron, in Blairroy of Lochaber, himself a
notorious cateran, as one of the constables of the county, and engaged his
good offices on the side of order. By his aid, the whole tribe of the
Kennedys was hunted down and dispersed, one being hanged at Inverness, and
others being banished beyond seas. Two were secured near Callander by a
masterly manoeuvre of Mr. .Mackay, who had tracked them thus far. They were
drinking in a change-house, when he suddenly entered and called on them to
submit, as escape was impossible. They credited his tale, and quietly
allowed themselves to be handcuffed, when he led them off prisoners : but no
words can paint their rage and mortification, on finding they had fallen
victims to stratagem, and that their captor was unattended. Another
important ally to Mr. Fraser, in discovering the haunts of the Kennedys, was
Donald Dhu Piddick (as his sobriquet went), in the Braes of Lochaber, a man
somewhat above the vulgar, and intimately acquainted with the habits of the
people.
25. Emerging from Slochmuichk,
we now enter the district of Strathdearn, and after crossing the river
Findhorn two miles on, we reach the inn of Freeburn, where we again come in
sight of the Findhorn, sweeping with rapid pace through a series of alluvial
banks and terraces, which occupy the whole of the plain between the observer
and the base of the opposite inountains. To the east the river is lost sight
of, as it plunges into a dark ravine called the Streens, from the sides of
which rise precipitous mountains of granite. (See Branch F. Route II.) About
a mile south of Freeburn, a country road branches off to the interior of
Strathdearn, and the upper reaches of the Find-horn, which all belong to
gentlemen of the clan Mackintosh. (See Route II. Branches E. and F.)
26. The road now descends
rapidly towards Inverness, and three miles on, after passing a hard gravelly
ridge, covered with a dense fir wood, we come suddenly on Loch Moy, about
450 feet above the sea, with Moy Hall, the residence of Mackintosh of
Mackintosh, chief of the clan, fronting us at the farther extremity. This
lake, with its trees and island, are, as has been observed by Dr. Macculloch,
" as a gleam of sunshine in a cloudy day; yet one that renders the adjoining
waste darker and more dreary." Of its island, and its castle, the seat of
the chief of the ancient and powerful clan Chattan, there is no lack of
legendary story; and in recounting the old clan fights, as detailed by Sir
Robert Gordon—" the Curse of Moy," as preserved in song—and the heroism of
its lady and its blacksmith, who saved Prince Charles in 1746—the stranger
will have enough to muse on as he hastens by its low and woody shores.
Besides the main island, fortress, and parterre, " where many a garden
flower still grows wild," there is a small islet of loose stones (said to be
artificial) near the southern end of the lake, which formed the chieftain's
prison-house. A handsome granite obelisk, seventy feet high, on a base of
about twenty feet square, has been erected on the largest island, to the
memory of the late Sir Æneas Mackintosh, Bart., chief of the clan. On the
west side of Loch Moy are the church and manse of the parish; and at the
north end, Moy Hall, the principal residence of the chief of Mackintosh, who
has erected, hard by, a small but convenient inn for the use of the public.
27. Hence we descend rapidly
from Strathdearn to Strathnairn, the valley watered by the river Nairn, and
passing the inn of Craggy (six miles from Inverness), and the road which
leads westwards to the district of Stratherrick (see Route ii. Branch F.),
we cross the river at a sharp angle, and then breast the hill of Daviot,
crowned at top by the site of an old ward or beacon fort, and having below
the ungainly church and manse of the parish. A little eastwards is the house
of Daviot (Æneas Mackintosh, Esq.) on the site of a very ancient castle of
that name, past which a distant view is obtained of the lower parts of
Strathnairn, of the policies of Kilravock and of the Thane (now Earl) of
Cawdor, and of the plains of Nairn and Moray. Immediately thereafter the
waters of the " bright, bright sea" of the German ocean are descried with
delight, and upon the verge of the horizon the Ord of Caithness and the dim
outlines of the finely peaked chain of mountains which separate that county
from Sutherlandshire. To the right band, on the same level with the
spectator, and at a distance of about a couple of miles, lies the moor of
Culloden, famous in story. Directly below, the Moray and Beauly Firths
display their winding shores, and the fertile tracts of corn and woodland
skirting them, over which the Ross-shire, the Strathconan and Strathalass
mountains, with the huge Ben Wyvis in the centre, and beautifully peaked
summits to the west and south-west of it, are spread out in glorious
majesty. The Great Glen of Scotland also opens up on the left hand,
terminated in the west, so far as the eye can penetrate "into the bowels of
the land," by the beautiful dome-shaped mountain of Mealfourvounie; and in
front, just beneath the rough and wooded escarpments of the vitrified
fortress of Craig Phadrick, we descry the smoke of Inverness—the low-lying
Highland capital, with its castle, spires, and shipping. This is altogether
a magnificent scene. (For a full description of Inverness see Section IV.) |
