by vans, passengers do not require to look after it.) Banavie is a most convenient centre for making excursions to the following places, all of which are well worthy of a visit:Prince Charles' Monument, Glenfinnan, and Loch Sheil; Ben Nevis and Glen Nevis, where there is a fine waterfall. The steamer for Inverness starts from Banavie about 10 A. M., but it is desirable that passengers should be ready to leave the hotel at 9.40, so as to enable them to walk with ease the short distance to the steamer. Soon after leaving, we see, at the foot of the mountain at Torlundy, Inverlochy House, the residence of Lord Abinger. There was great difficulty in making the part of the canal that lies between Banavie and Gairlochy, owing to the streams that so frequently fall from the west side into the Lochy. Sluices had to be made through the solid rock to convey these waters under the canal to the river, and the bed of the Lochy had to be raised 12 feet from its own natural bed. Tor Castle is a ruin on the west bank of the Lochy, not far from the Canal. It was at one time the residence of a chieftain of the clan Macintosh, from whom the Camerons took it. (The first of the chain of lochs linked together by the Canal is Loch Lochy. It is 10 miles long, with an average breadth of a mile.) The lands on the west side belong to Cameron of Lochiel, whose seat is Achnacarry House, a modern building, standing near the ruins of the old Castle, burnt by the "red soldiers in 1746. Near the house is the river Arkaig. On the east side of Loch Lochy, Glenfintaig House is seen, and At near it Glengloy House." Kinloch-Lochy, in 1544, a battle was fought between the Frazers and Macdonalds, which got the name of "Blar-na-leine," or, "The Battle of the Shirts," because, from the heat of the day, the combatants stripped to their shirts in the melee, in which the Frazers were nearly all destroyed. LAGGAN, about a mile from Kinloch-Lochy, adjoins a cut of the Canal. Loch Oich commences three-quarters of a mile from Laggan, and is 3 miles long, and a furlong in breadth; it has some pretty islets, and is surrounded by magnificent scenery. Near the south-west extremity of Loch Oich is a monument representing seven human heads, known by the name of "Tobar na 'n ceann," or, "The Well of Heads," and having the following inscription in four languages : As a Memorial Which, in the swift course of Inflicted by the orders of The Lord Macdonnell and Aross, Overtook the perpetrators of the foul Murder of The Keppoch Family, A branch of The powerful and Illustrious Of which His Lordship was This Monument is erected by The Heads of the Seven Murderers or " "The Well of Heads." The deed which this pile commemorates was as follows:-Keppoch sent his two sons to France to be educated, and in their absence he died, leaving the management of the estate to seven kinsmen. On the returns of the sons of the chief, their ruthless kinsmen murdered them, and took possession of their land. The Bard of Keppoch went to urge Glengarry to vengeance, and this monument tells in graphic story the result of this terrible revenge. At Invergarry, at the mouth of the glen of that name, is the ruin of the old Castle, long the home of the chiefs of the Macdonnels of Glengarry, whose patronymic was "Mac-mhic Alastair." The rocky headland on which the ruin stands was called "Creagan-nam-Fitheach," which name became the slogan or warcry of the clan. At the north of Loch Oich, near Cullochy Loch, is Aberchalder, where Prince Charles Edward mustered his army. About two miles from Cullochy is Kyltra Loch, where passengers can have a walk of two miles along the canal bank, and join the steamer again at Fort Augustus. The old Fort was built by the government to overawe the clans that had taken part in the rising of 1715. It a pier here where passengers land, and where the steamer waits to give passengers time to visit the Falls. From the pier to the Falls, there is a walk of about three quarters of a mile by a winding path, up a ravine which leads to where the greater Fall can be seen to the best advantage. The scenery around is strikingly grand and picturesque. The smoke arising from the Falls looks in the distance, as if from a furnace, hence the name given it in Gaelic, of " Eas-na-smuid,' which means the "Smoking Cataract." The waters of Foyers rise among the mountains of the 'Monaliath," and run 13 miles along a high based glen, overhung by mountains, and within a mile and a half of its mouth, make two falls of respectively 40 and 90 feet. Burns wrote of this fall as follows: "Among the heathy hills and ragged woods. The roaring Foyers pours his mossy floods; Till full he dashes on the rocky mounds, Where, through a shapeless breach, his stream resounds, As high in air the bursting torrents flow, As deep-recoiling surges foam below, Prone down the rock the whitening sheet descends, And viewless echo's ear, astonish'd rends. ceaseless showers, The hoary cavern, wide surrounding lowers. Still, through the gap the struggling river toils, And still, below, the horrid caldron boils." has for years past been entirely Dim seen through rising mists and useless, having been dismantled, and is now the seat of a monastery of the order of St Benedict. Loch Ness is twenty-four miles long, having an average breadth of a mile-and-a-half, though in some parts having only half that width. The depth of this loch On the opposite side of Loch Ness, is very great, for which reason is Mealfourvonie, a mountain of it has never been known to freeze, considerable height, rising to a a fact which of old gave rise to domical summit. Further on many superstitions. A little near Drumnadrochit, stands the further on, and on the opposite home of the Grants in the olden side of the lake, are the far-famed time, the hoary ruin of Urquhart "FALLS OF FOYERS." There is Castle, erected by Edward the First, when trying to subdue Scotland. It is a very fine ruin, and must have been a place of great strength. Glen Urquhart, above this Castle, belongs to the Earl of Seafield, and in it is his own residence of Balmacaan. On the north-eastern extremity of Loch Ness is Aldourie, residence of Charles Fraser Tytler, Esq. Next on the opposite side is Dochfour House, a fine modern building in the Italian style. A little further on is the source of the river Ness, and about half a mile beyond it is Dochgarroch Loch. After this there is no further detention until the steamer ARRIVES AT MUIRTOWN, THE LANDING-PLACE FOR INVERNESS. Cabs and omnibuses await the steamer's arrival at Muirtown, and passengers will find plenty of good accommodation in the town of Inverness. (See Route 30, page 110.) ROUTE 24. OBAN TO GLENCOE. NE of Mr David MacBrayne's steamers leaves Oban every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from about the middle of May till about end June, and daily thereafter till about end of September, at (say 7 A.M.), returning at about 7 P.M., giving passengers ample time at Ballachulish to visit Glencoe. Vehicles are found waiting on the arrival of the steamer. The Ballachulish Hotel is good. (On the return from Glencoe passengers may take the afternoon steamer for Banavie and the Caledonian Canal, if they wish to continue on instead of returning to Oban.) On leaving Oban the steamer passes between the island of Kerrara and Dunolly Castle, and takes the passage between the island of Lismore and the coast, the route being through part of Loch Linnhe, north of Lismore, thence into Loch Leven, in which we land at Ballachulish (Ballachulish Hotel). A short drive brings us to the entrance to Glencoe. Its scenery is proverbial for the wild sublimity of its features. The rocks seem to hide their summits in the clouds, and such is the air of desolation which pervades it that one finds it difficult to believe that the glen was ever the habitation of civilized beings. It exhibits nearly the same features throughout; the same aspect of mingled grandeur and sterility, the same chaos of rocks and frowning precipices. About the middle of the glen, the whole length of which is about eight miles, is the lake Treachtan, from which a streamlet, the "Cona of Ossian, issues. To the reader of Ossian this is classic ground. From the evidence afforded by several passages in his poems, Glencoe, or the vale of the Cona, appears to have been his birthplace. "Sleeps the sweet voice of Cona in the midst of his rustling hall? Sleeps Ossian in his hall and his friends without their fame?" "The chiefs gathered from all their hills, and heard the lovely sound. They praised the voice of Cona, first among a thousand bards." But with the poetical associations of Glencoe one of a truly painful nature is ever present to the imagination, the massacre of its unsuspecting inhabitants, the Macdonalds, in 1692. In August preceding the massacre, many of the Highlanders having been in arms in favour of the abdicated James II., a proclamation had been issued offering an indemnity to such of the insurgents as should take the oath of allegiance to William III. before the last day of December, and the chiefs of the clans availed themselves of it, and took the required oath. Macdonald of Glencoe was prevented by accident from tendering his submission within the specified time. "In the end of December he went to Colonel Hill, Governor of Fort William, and tendered his allegiance. This the colonel had no power to receive. Sympathising, however, with the distress of the old chieftain, he gave him a letter to Sir Colin Campbell, Sheriff of Argyllshire, requesting him to receive Macdonald's submission and administer the oath to him that he might have the benefit of the indemnity. Macdonald hastened to Inverary, but his way lying through almost impassable mountains, and the country being covered with snow, the ill-fated chieftain did not reach Inverary till after the prescribed time had elapsed. The Sheriff, however, yielding to the entreaties, and even tears of Macdonald, administered the oath and sent off an express to the Privy Council, certifying the fact, and explaining the delay. But Macdonald had rendered himself obnoxious to Sir John Dalrymple (afterwards Earl of Stair), and to the powerful Earl of Breadalbane, whose lands the Glencoe men had plundered, and he was now to feel the weight of their vengeance. The letter of the sheriff was suppressed, and the certificate that the oath had been taken blotted out from the records of the council. A warrant against the clan was procured from the King, and orders were given for its rigorous execution. The chief instrument for this purpose was one Campbell, a captain in Argyll's regiment. He was ordered to repair to the glen, on February 1st, with 120 men. They were well received, and were treated by the inhabitants with great kindness and hospitality. They continued to live familiarly with the people of the glen for 12 days. On the 13th of February an officer of the force called at the house of the chief with a party of soldiers, and was at once admitted. Macdonald, while in the act of dressing and giving orders for refreshment, was shot dead, as was his aged wife. The slaughter now became general, and neither age nor sex were spared. Thirtyeight persons were massacred, and several who fled to the mountains perished from cold and hunger. An officer sent to guard the passes of the glen arrived too late to prevent the escape of a few, but he entered the glen on the following day, burned the houses and carried away the cattle and spoil, which were divided among the officers and soldiers." Hammerton, in speaking of this massacre, says: "So long as history shall be read, and treachery hated, that name, Glencoe, shall thrill mankind with undiminished horror! The story is a century old now; the human race has heard it talked over for a hundred years. But the tale is as fresh in its fearful interest as the latest murder in the newspapers. Kind hospitality was never so cruelly requited; British soldiers were never at once so cowardly and so ferocious. That massacre was not warfare; it was not the execution of justice; it was assassination on a great scale, and under circumstances every detail of which adds to the inexpressible painfulness of the fact. It is lamentable that the character of William, on the whole respectable, should be blackened by so foul a stain." ROUTE 25. OBAN TO MULL, SKYE AND GAIRLOCH, including Lochs Scavaig and Coruisk, Loch Maree, and the Highland Railway to Inverness. (The steamer leaves Oban every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday at 7 a.m., during the months of July, August, and September. It reaches Gairloch at 6.40 p.m., except on Tuesdays, when the steamer lands passengers at Loch Scavaig, and it reaches Gairloch at 8.40 p.m.) EAVING Oban, we follow the same course across Loch Linnhe, and through the Sound of Mull, as on the route to Staffa and Iona before described. Leaving Tobermory, the entrance to Loch Sunart, Ben Shiand (1759 feet) is seen on our right. Near the village of Kilchoan, are the ruins of Mingary Castle, once the seat of the Maclans. On the left we pass Ru-nan-Gael Lighthouse, and a little further on, Bloody Bay, where a battle was fought between Haco of Norway and the MacLeods of Skye. On the heights above is Glengorm Castle. Leaving the Sound of Mull, we round the point of Ardnamurchan, the westermost extremity of the mainland of Scotland; and see the islands of Muck, Eigg, Rum, Canna, and Skye, with Ardnamurchan Lighthouse on our left. The inhabitants of Muck numbered 140 in 1773, but they all emigrated to America in 1828. Now, except a couple of herdsmen, the island is unoccupied. The island of Eigg (8 miles in circumference) has about 250 inhabitants. The Scuir of Eigg, a basaltic column with the ruins of a fort at the top, is described by Hugh Miller as "a tower 300 feet in breadth, by 470 feet in height, perched on the apex of a pyra mid, like a statue on a pedestal.' Both Muck and Eigg contain monastic remains of buildings raised by Saint Columba in the seventh century. On the southern shore of Loch Moidart, are the ruins of Castle Tyrim, once the seat of the Clan Ranald. On the way to Loch Scavaig, where the steamer calls every Tuesday, we enter the Sound between Muck, Rum, and Eigg. The island of Rum is 30 miles in circumference. The island of Canna lies to the north-west of Rum, and is 18 miles in circumference. Compass Hill, on the north-east end, contains so much magnetic iron ore, as to affect the compasses of passing vessels. Near the entrance to the harbour, are the ruins of an old castle, where, tradition says, one of the Lords of the Isles imprisoned a Spanish lady; and the inhabitants assert that, at "the witching hour of night, when churchyards yawn, and graves give up their dead" her wraith is visible hovering round the antiquated ruin. Sir Walter Scott refers to the story in the following lines: When moon on ocean slept, And touch'd her lute by fits, and sung Upon the lone Hebridean ear While from that cliff he seems to hear And sounds as of a captive lone, known.' |