The Shire Series Edited by A. H. Millar, F. S. A. Scot. Dion/Www Perféséire'

THE S HI R E S E R I E S A C M IL R F . L A S. S T D I E B Y A . H. O E T D , . D [ ion/ WWW Pe rfé s éire' ll o C am . B Trin C . Y . E. A . ST L . EG G A L M A . J , . S S S S S SSS S S S S S S S S S S S SS S SS SS S S S S S S SS S S S SS S S S SS S E E E E EEE EEEE E E E E EE EE EEEE E E E ° VA L EN T I N E 69 SO N S L I M I T ED , D U N D E E E D I N B U R G H L O N D O N A N D B , , , D U L I N P R E F A C E N endeavouring to compress into 1 74 pages a description of a. county so historic, s o large, and s o representative as Perthshire, it is obvious that something must be sacrificed . Of the two most con ve nie nt alternatives — partial treatme nt of each consideration as it arose, or concentration upon a moderately complete account of some one part of the subj e ct— the latter has been chosen and for this reason . The writer cannot claim to possess either the technical knowledge or the literary skill that would be needed in order to carry out the first alternative with even partial success ; and the attempt to do s o would only have resulted in more or less of a compilation . On the other hand, the writer, speaking, he hopes, with all due mo de s ty, may claim an intimate knowledge of the highways and bye ways of the beautiful county near whose border he has lived for over twenty ye ars ; and an appreciation of the con stant kindness which he has experienced from all sorts and conditions of Perthshire friends. iii iv PREFACE Not least warmly does he feel towards those inhabitants of the remote and lonelier regions who have done so much to make his own u journeyings delightf l . f It is not, therefore, di ficult to understand why, in this little volume, the parts of the subject that have been dwelt upon most con s a ntl e t y are the topography and the scen ry. — Some matters such, for instance, as agriculture and local characteristics — are scarcely treated at is all, while to others, as the writer fully aware, the pro portion of space allotte d is hardly co m mensurate with their importance . But this was inevitable when once it was decided to make the topography fairly complete . It is to be hoped that in this respect few serious omissions may be found . The plan on which the book proceeds is based on a division of the county into five districts . Through each of these, starting from the city r of Perth, a rough kind of itinera y has been i carr ed out, and as many places as possible within each district have been touched upon , or visited in imagination . Such treatment, it is at once admitted, has so mething of the guide- book ; but in the minds of those who remember that Pausanias in his great descriptive work on Greece adopted a e similar course , no gr at blame on this account, at least, will attach to the writer, on whom a task involving so much compression has been placed . PREFACE The particular circuits chosen have been suggested rather by the convenience of the communications than by any more defined dis tinction , although in a measure each of them possesses some topographical character. They o may be summarised as foll ws . First, the gro und e between Perth and Dund e, including the Carse the Sidla ws h of Gowrie and , is visited ; t is may be he e t e . call d district of the Tay stuary Secondly, the country centering in Dunkeld is taken Meikleour, Blairgowrie, and Meigle being included . This part of the county represents a kind of transition between the Lowlands and the High a nd lands . The third circuit is wider, embraces the great central Grampian masse s of Pe rthshire ; it follows roughly the main line of the High land Railway, and returns by Loch Garry and the valley of the Tummel . The fourth itinerary covers the wide western regions, from Aber fe ld y through the long valley of Glen Lyon, and back by Crianlarich and Loch Tay to e Aberfeldy. The fifth and last cours is the most extensive, and takes in that district that, perhaps more than any other in Scotland, has been for ever associated with the name of Sir e ff Walter Scott . It includes Cri , the valley of B a rn the , Callander, Loch Katrine, the Trossachs, Aberfoyle, Dunblane, and Auchterarder. Such in bald outline is the course followed in this little volume . To those who wish for more minute information than can be give n in s o vi PREFA CE small a compass, many other sources are open ; for few if any parts of the world have been so completely described in all their aspects . ’ Such books a s Sinclair s Statistical Account ’ “ of Scotland, Marshall s Historic Scenes of ’ Perthshire, Millar s Historical Castles of ' Scotland, and the works of P . D . Drummond, F itis R . Scott t , and Thomas Hunte r are amongst the larger volumes : but Perthshire is peculiarly rich in smaller but not less valuable volumes, that deal with selected topics ; while outside this special literature the number of references to Perthshire that occur scattere d through books of every kind is simply over whelming. It would be unseemly for the writer to omit, even in a somewhat formal preface, some re ference to the kindness of many friends ; and in particular of the Editor, who has been more than generous in suggesting sources of info r ' in mation . To these friends the reader is debted for any merits that he may discover ; fo r any faults and shortcomings that may be fo und in what has been indeed a labour of love, the author alone is responsible. C O N T E N T S PA G E Gene ral intro ductio n Grandtully and Aberfe ldy 95 The Bo undary o f Pe rth Castle M e nzies 1 0 0 D 1 shire 1 3 ull and its Traditio ns . 0 1 M o untains and Lo chs 1 5 S chie ha llio n 1 0 2 The T ay Basin 1 7 Gle n Lyo n Po pulatio n 1 9 Fo rting a l and its Le ge nds 1 0 6 Pe rth 2 1 Me g g e rnie Castle 1 09 Carse o f Go wrie 3 1 Lo ch Lyo n and B en D o i Passe s o ve r the Sidlaw s 32 rea nn 1 1 1 The Vil lage s a nd Castle s D uncan B an Ma cl ntyre 1 1 3 o f the Carse 34 Crianla rich and Glen Fa l Old Harbo urs 38 lo ch 1 1 5 Shake spe are and Macbe th 41 Killin 1 1 7 C o upar- Angus 42 Finla rig Castle 1 2 0 M e igle 45 Lo ch Tay 1 2 2 Blairgo wrie 48 Taymo uth 1 2 4 e ee 1 e o e 1 2 Gl n Sh 5 K nm r . 7 Ancie nt Fe rries 54 The Tro ssachs 1 33 D unkeld 57 Almo nd B ank and Methve n 1 35 Gle n Almo nd 64 The Old H o use o f Gask 1 38 Crie ff 67 Ochtertyre and its Lairds 1 40 ’ o 1 Agric la s Camp 7 Co mrie and St. Fillans 1 43 Gle n Eagle s and Gle n B en Vo hrlich and Lo ch D evo n 74 Earn 1 45 e o f E Bridg arn . 77 Balquhidde r a ndRo bRo y 1 49 Th “ ' e Pe rthshire Highlands 78 The Lady o f the Lake 1 56 Bo nnie D undee 8 1 Lo ch Katrine 1 59 Blair- Atho l 84 Aberfo yle and Me nte ith 1 65 Ranno ch Mo o r 87 D unblane Cathe dral 1 68 Th e Tay Valley 92 Glen Farg and Pe rth 1 73 LIST OF ILL U S TRA TIONS P fro m Barn PA G E o e IS? . Rann ch Bridg , and PA G E Craig Va r o e e o e ’ Sc n Palac viii L ch Tumm l, Queen s ’ e 2 V e St. Jo hn s Church, P rth 5 i w e o e 2 e o n the a At Inv rg wri 3 Bridg T y, and o e e 1 W Runic Cr ss , M igl 4 Black atch M o nu o ie 8 e e Craighall, Blairg wr 4 m nt, Ab rfe ldy Spital o f Gle n She e 5 1 Castle Me nz ies h e e F o r in T e B e ch H dge, t g a l M e ikle o ur Pass o f Gle n Lyo n Kinclave n Fe rry Me g g e rnie Castle D unke ld Cathe dral B e n M o re fro m Glen The e e D un D o cha rt H rmitag , 1 1 2 e the D o cha r i k ld On t, K llin e e e f T he L o cha e j am s Squar , Cri f y n ar Killin 1 1 8 D rummo nd Castle Co mrie fro m the River I 39 o e e .

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