Gairloch In North-West Ross-Shire Part 46

The parish of Gairloch communicates with the great railway system of the kingdom at Achnasheen; the nearest part of the parish is about four miles from the railway station.

The Dingwall and Skye Railway was opened about 1870, and is now a branch of the Highland Railway. Before 1870 the Gairloch mail-car started from the Dingwall railway station. The mail-car was worked at that time, as now, by Mr Murdo M'Iver, the much-respected and courteous landlord of the Achnasheen Hotel. At this hotel the traveller may obtain refreshments _en pa.s.sant_, or may linger awhile. Notice the luxuriant growth of the lovely scarlet creeper _Tropaeolum speciosum_, on the hotel. The mail-car leaves Achnasheen for Gairloch soon after the arrival of the morning train from the south. In the height of the tourist season it is safest to bespeak seats on the car. More luxurious tourists may hire open or close conveyances from Mr M'Iver, whose postal address is "Achnasheen, by Dingwall." The name Achnasheen means "the field of storms," and is generally allowed to be appropriate. The obliging station-master may be relied upon to remedy as far as he can any of those casualties which frequently occur to travellers in the tourist season, who sometimes move about with an unnecessary amount of luggage.

To most people it is an agreeable change to lose sight of the railway, a consummation which is achieved a few minutes after you leave the Achnasheen Hotel. Over the bridge on the left goes the road to Strath Carron. Beyond the bridge is the Ledgowan shooting lodge, formerly the hotel. Notice here the wonderful straight terraces, resembling very closely great railway embankments. Geologists differ about their origin; they look like moraines of ancient glaciers or ancient sea-banks, broken through by the now small river from Loch Rosque, which must have had larger volume at some remote date. On the left we pa.s.s the old Loch Rosque lodge, and on the right the new one. Near the roadside, below the new lodge, are to be seen quant.i.ties of iron slag, the evidences of ancient iron-smelting. Similar remains of ironworks may also be observed by the roadside near the other end of Loch Rosque. These old ironworks belong to the ancient cla.s.s treated of in Part I., chap. xvii. Loch Rosque is over three miles long, and is placed on our list of Gairloch lochs, inasmuch as its western end juts into the parish. Observe on the other side of the loch pieces of detached walls, erected to enable sheep to shelter from the cutting winds which often sweep through this glen.

Most travellers get rather tired of Loch Rosque, yearning as they naturally do for the superior attractions of Loch Maree. A small burn near the west end of Loch Rosque is the boundary of Gairloch parish.

Just after pa.s.sing it is a cottage, and near it stands a square upright stone. The stone is called Clach an t' s.h.a.gart, or "the stone of the priest." The place is called Bad a Mhanaich, or "the monk's grove." It seems there was here a settlement of some of the early pioneers of Christianity. They say that baptisms were conducted at the Clach an t'

s.h.a.gart. The name of Loch Rosque itself is believed by many to signify "the loch of the cross." (See "Glossary.")

After pa.s.sing the Gairloch boundary there is another humble dwelling (lately a licensed house), called Luibmhor. It suggests what the inn at Kenlochewe must have been in the old days as described in Pennant's "Tour" (Appendix B). On the green at the head of the loch was the original Luibmhor Inn, the scene of the incident called "The watch of Glac na Sguithar," related on page 51.

The road now ascends; gradually the eastern hills pa.s.s out of sight; the rugged mountains of Coulin and Kenlochewe are in view during the drive along Loch Rosque; then they also disappear. At this part of the journey I always think of what occurred to myself some years ago. I was on the mail-car, traversing this road in the reverse direction. Near me sat a tourist, a clergyman of the English Church, who had amused himself during the preceding part of the journey by inquiring the name of every hill and place we pa.s.sed. As soon as the mountain called Scuir a Mhuilin, to the south of Strath Braan, eastward of Achnasheen, came in sight, he asked me its name. I told him. When we got near Achnasheen he again inquired the name of the same hill, which now seemed larger and grander, and I again told him. Half an hour later he came up to me on the platform of the Achnasheen station, and asked quite seriously if I could tell him "the name of that hill." I said with some emphasis, "Scuir a Mhuilin!" I am bound to admit that the reverend gentleman tendered a humble apology for his unconscious repet.i.tion of the inquiry.

Whether he remembered the name of the mountain I know not. There is no good to be gained by stating the name of every hill we notice.

Soon after leaving Loch Rosque a curious hill is seen away to the left, which is said in all the guide-books to resemble the profile of a man's face looking skywards, and by a stretch of the imagination any traveller may arrive at the same conclusion.

The ascending road now tends to the right. Near its extreme height an improvement in the line of the road was effected about 1874. The original piece of road is visible a little above to the right. It is a pity some other Gairloch roads are not similarly improved.

At the head of the watershed, 804 feet above the sea-level, we enter Glen Dochartie, a truly wild Highland glen. Its stern character is greatly relieved by the exquisite distant view of Loch Maree, half-way down which, at a distance of about twelve miles from the spectator, Isle Maree may easily be discerned. There used to be a very good well just below the road at the head of the glen; the water still flows at the place, but the well is covered by the new road; this was formerly a favourite trysting-place of the Gairloch and Loch Broom men when they went out to lie in wait for the Lochaber cattle-lifters. Glen Dochartie, and the Great Black Corrie in Glen Torridon, were the entrances to Gairloch from the south and east. (See stories in Part I., chap. xiii.) Glen Dochartie has many attractions, especially in the great variety of colouring on both sides. Perhaps it is best seen on the return journey by this route. On the right is Carn a Ghlinne (1770 feet), and on the left Bidein Clann Raonaild (1529 feet). There are remains of ancient ironworks near the head and at the foot of the glen (Part I., chap. xx).

We travel rapidly down the glen, pa.s.sing at the foot of it, to the right, the farm of Bruachaig. Shortly before finishing this stage Meall a Ghuibhais and Beinn Eighe (or Eay), come into view, the latter being perhaps the most effective mountain, from an artistic point of view, in the kingdom. Leaving the Kenlochewe shooting-lodge to the right, and crossing the bridge over the River Garbh, we pull up at the hotel at

KENLOCHEWE.

The name of this place is in Gaelic Ceann-loch-iu. It signifies the head of Loch Ewe, by which name Loch Maree was called in the seventeenth century. Hugh Miller, in that interesting book "My Schools and Schoolmasters," says:--"The name--that of an old farm which stretches out along the _head_ or upper end of Loch Maree--has a remarkable etymology; it means simply the head of Loch Ewe, the salt-water loch into which the waters of Loch Maree empty themselves, by a river little more than a mile in length, and whose present _head_ is some sixteen or twenty miles distant from the farm which bears its name. Ere that last elevation of the land, however, to which our country owes the level marginal strip that stretches between the present coast line and the ancient one, the sea must have found its way to the old farm. Loch Maree, a name of mediaeval origin, would then have existed as a prolongation of the marine Loch Ewe, and _Kenlochewe_ would have actually been what the compound words signify,--the head of Loch Ewe.

There seems to be reason for holding that ere the latest elevation of the land took place in our island, it had received its first human inhabitants,--rude savages, who employed tools and weapons of stone, and fashioned canoes out of single logs of wood. Are we to accept etymologies such as the instanced one--and there are several such in the Highlands--as good in evidence that these aboriginal savages were of the Celtic race, and that Gaelic was spoken in Scotland at a time when its strips of gra.s.sy links, and the sites of many of its seaport towns, such as Leith, Greenock, Musselburgh, and Cromarty, existed as oozy sea-beaches, covered twice every day by the waters of the ocean?"

Kenlochewe is a thoroughly Highland village, with its shooting-lodge, hotel, church, school, smithy, and not far away the old burial-ground of Culinellan. The village is beautifully placed, near the head of the level strath which spreads south-eastward from the head of Loch Maree.

It comes in for a good deal of rain, being the centre at which four glens meet, viz., Glen Cruaidh Choillie (often erroneously called Glen Logan), Glen Dochartie, Glen Torridon, and the great glen of Loch Maree.

The shooting-lodge is surrounded by a well-grown plantation; and other younger plantations are growing up near the village. The hotel is exceedingly comfortable, and visitors staying here have the privilege of fishing in the upper parts of Loch Maree. As the hotel is not large, rooms should be engaged beforehand. In Pennant's "Tour" (see Appendix B) is his account of the accommodation he found at Kenlochewe; read it, and be thankful for the luxuries of the present well-kept house. The neat little church was erected in 1878 by public subscription; it belongs to the Free Church, but has not a regularly settled minister. There was in old days a church or place of worship at or near Kenlochewe. There is a large grove of tall ash trees in the Culinellan burial-ground, and a colony of rooks nests annually in them. Several of the stories and traditions given in Part I. refer to Kenlochewe or its neighbourhood. A little to the north of the Kenlochewe Free church is the hillock called Cnoc a Chrochadair, or "the hangman's hill," where some of the M'Leods are said to have been hung (see page 45). Below the Culinellan burial-ground is the ford on the river called Athnan Ceann, or "the ford of the heads." The story relating the origin of this name is given on page 13. Kenlochewe is a favourite resort of artists, who find many subjects in the neighbourhood. Beinn Eighe, and the more distant Liathgach,--both in Glen Torridon,--are superb mountains, and they are best seen from Kenlochewe or near it.

There are two modes of reaching Gairloch from Kenlochewe. One, described in the next chapter, is by the county road past Grudidh bridge, Talladale, Slatadale, and the Falls of Kerry to the Gairloch Hotel. The other is to take the steamer from Ru Nohar, down Loch Maree to Tollie pier, and to proceed thence by road to Gairloch, as described in Part IV., chap. xiii. The mail, which, as has been said, is worked by Mr M'Iver, of Achnasheen, is not at present in connection with the steamer.

Mr Hornsby, of the Gairloch Hotel, by previous communication, or Mrs Macdonald, of the Kenlochewe Hotel, so far as regards those who are staying in her house, will arrange for the conveyance of pa.s.sengers and luggage to the steamer at Ru Nohar pier, which is two miles from Kenlochewe Hotel. In the busiest part of the tourist season there is a large conveyance awaiting the arrival of the mid-day train at Achnasheen, to carry to Ru Nohar those who wish to avail themselves of the steamer route.

Chapter IV.

KENLOCHEWE TO TALLADALE.

Leaving the village of Kenlochewe we see the Torridon road striking off to the left. A mile further on the road crosses a burn, whose bed is composed of fragments of white quartzite washed down from the rocky heights of Beinn Eighe.

Further on to the right is the farm of Tagan, a short distance from the road. Beyond and above it notice the precipitous spur of Beinn a Mhuinidh, called Bonaid Donn, and the waterfall (Part III., chap, i.) on its steep face. In the distance, looking up the glen between the Bonaid Donn and Slioch, may be observed a curious hill, similar to one noticed in the last stage; the outline is a silhouette of a man's profile facing skywards.

[Ill.u.s.tration: UMBRELLA FIR, GLAS LEITIRE.]

As we approach the strand of Loch Maree the woods of Glas Leitire begin, and now the interest heightens. Wildfowl may often be seen about the marshy ground at the head of the loch. On the left a spur of Meall a Ghuibhais, with wild ravines, comes near the road, and the mingled foliage of the firs and birches enhances the charms of the scene.

Ru Nohar, with its little pier or jetty, is soon reached and pa.s.sed.

Were it not for the great convenience of the steamer on Loch Maree, and the new beauties it unfolds, most people would think it out of character with the wild surroundings.

Pa.s.sing through the Glas Leitire woods roe-deer and black game may often be observed. One or two fir trees are of umbrella-like form (_see ill.u.s.tration_).

Her most gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, in "More Leaves from the Journal of a Life in the Highlands," describes this part of the route in the following graphic language:--

"The windings of the road are beautiful, and afford charming glimpses of the lake, which is quite locked in by the overlapping mountains. There are trees above and below it, of all kinds, but chiefly birch, pine, larch, and alder, with quant.i.ties of high and most beautiful heather and bracken growing luxuriantly, high rocks surmounting the whole. Here and there a fine Scotch fir, twisted, and with a stem and head like a stone-pine, stands out on a rocky projection into the loch, relieved against the blue hills as in some Italian view."

[Ill.u.s.tration: ABOVE GRUDIDH BRIDGE.]

The road is almost level until a mile beyond the bridge of Grudidh.

Before we reach this bridge the wild Glen Grudidh, which is one of the most telling features in the scenery of Gairloch, has come in view. Its n.o.ble centre-piece is the fine peak of Ruadh Stac of Beinn Eighe, which is the highest summit in Gairloch parish, and attains an alt.i.tude of 3309 feet. The smaller peak beyond it acts as a foil to set off its grandeur.

There are fine old fir trees near Grudidh bridge; in combination with the rocky course of the Grudidh water they supply a series of splendid subjects for the artist's brush (_see ill.u.s.trations_).

A mile further Eilean Grudidh is seen in a little bay. This island is mentioned on pages 21, 24, and 43, and is described on page 98. It was many centuries ago a stronghold of the MacBeaths, and afterwards of the MacLeods.

The road here is wild and dreary. Her Majesty speaks of it thus:--"Part of the way the road emerges altogether from the trees and pa.s.ses by a ma.s.s of huge piled-up and tumbled-about stones, which everywhere are curiously marked, almost as though they were portions of a building, and have the appearance of having been thrown about by some upheaving of the earth."

Some rocks by the roadside exhibit fine examples of groovings and scratchings effected by ice in the glacial epoch.

The rocky hill along the base of which the road pa.s.ses is Coinneachadh Beag (1830 feet), a spur of Beinn a Chearcaill. The English of Coinneachadh is a "meeting-place;" it does not require a great flight of imagination to picture the famous Hector Roy meeting his warrior forces on the slope of this wild hill to plan dire vengeance against the blood-stained M'Leods. Two miles beyond Grudidh bridge the road ascends and climbs the shoulder of Coinneachadh Beag, which runs out in a low promontory almost dividing Loch Maree. The highest part of the road is 130 feet above the level of the loch, and affords a fine view of Letterewe at the other side, and of the hills beyond it, on which is the place called to this day the Hollow of the son of Black John. An account of the death of this Macleod at the spot which bears his name will be found on pages 43 and 44. Descending the western side of the hill we reach the hamlet of Talladale, at the foot of the Talladale river, which comes from Strath Lungard. Here are picturesque trees. On the right is an old lime-kiln, and a little further on the same side the keeper's house. In the corner of the first field on the left were formerly ironworks (see page 92). John Roy Mackenzie, fourth laird of Gairloch, died at Talladale; his piper, Rorie Mackay, spent part of his life here, and here Rorie's son, the celebrated "Blind piper," was born. Crossing the bridge, notice the stony bed of the small river and the steep end of Beinn an Eoin in the distance to the right. Almost immediately we reach

THE LOCH MAREE HOTEL, TALLADALE.

This hotel was built in 1872, and is beautifully placed in a sheltered bay, backed by a hill called Sron a Choit, 970 feet in height, whose rocky tops rise above most beautiful natural birch woods. A small pier or jetty was erected here in 1884 as a landing-place for the steamer.

There are good stables, in connection with the larger posting establishment at Gairloch. Mr M'Iver, of Achnasheen, has also a stable not far from the hotel for the horses which work his mail-cars. The hotel, which has lovely views of Slioch and the islands of Loch Maree, contains a s.p.a.cious coffee-room, a private sitting-room, and near a score of bedrooms. There is a telegraph and post office, and a supply of boats and gillies waiting for engagement. Visitors here have the privilege of fishing some of the best parts of Loch Maree. The sport varies in different years, and is frequently very good. Part IV., chap.

xvii., is devoted to the subject of angling in Loch Maree, which may be said to continue from the middle of May to the middle of October. The greatest rush of anglers is from the middle of August to the middle of September; I recommend those who can to come earlier in the season.

The Loch Maree Hotel has been distinguished by the visit of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, who occupied the house from 12th to 18th September 1877.

Her Majesty narrates the incidents of this visit very fully in her book already quoted, to which I beg to refer the tourist. Her Majesty has the following entry on the day of her departure:--"Got up early and breakfasted at half-past eight, and at a quarter to nine we left with regret our nice cozy little hotel at Loch Maree, which I hope I may some day see again." This visit of our most gracious Sovereign evoked the reverential loyalty of all in Gairloch, and the popular wish still cherished among us may be accurately expressed in the old words,--

"Will ye no come back agen?"

In commemoration of the visit of Her Majesty, Sir Kenneth Mackenzie caused an inscription to be carved on a boulder of the "Torridon red"

sandstone, which stands opposite the front door of the hotel. The inscription is in Gaelic, and is as follows:--"Air an dara latha-deug deth mhios meadhonach an fhoghair, 1877, thainig Ban-Righ Bhictoria a dh' fhaicinn Loch-Maruibhe, agus nan criochan mu'n cuairt. Dh'fhan i sea oidhche s'an tigh-osda so thall; agus 'na caomhalachd, dheonaich i g'um biodh a' chlach so 'na cuimhneachan air an tlachd a fhuair i 'na teachd do 'n chearn so de Ros."

The following is a literal translation:--"On the twelfth day of the middle month of autumn 1877 Queen Victoria came to visit Loch Maree and the country round it. She remained six nights in the opposite hotel, and, in her kindness, agreed that this stone should be a memorial of the pleasure she experienced in coming to this quarter of Ross."

Chapter V.

TALLADALE TO THE GAIRLOCH HOTEL.