the falls of Acharn, which are seen from the north side, but may be
visited if the south road be taken. From near Aberfeldy, when the
noble river Tay, the birth of this grand loch, has run some miles of
its course, the tourist naturally turns aside to visit the falls of
Moness, 'the epitome of waterfalls,' as Pennant says, on a stream
which flows through the town of Aberfeldy. Here is the scene so
exquisitely sung by Burns;
'The braes ascend like lofty wa's
The foaming stream, deep-roaring, fa's
O'er hung wi' fragrant, spreading shaws,
The Birks o' Aberfeldy.'
Close by Kenmore, at the lower end of the loch is a wooded island, on
which lies buried Princess Sybilla, daughter of Henry I. and wife of
the Scots King, Alexander I. In the inn-parlour at Kenmore Burns wrote
some lines of intense feeling and adoration, in which he dwells on
'The sweeping theatre of hanging woods;
Th' incessant roar of headlong tumbling floods,'
--twin characteristics of this most attractive region.
LOCH AWE.
It is but seldom that the eye can rest upon so much soft beauty and
stern grandeur as can be seen at one moment in looking at this grand
loch. Rivalling Loch Lomond in length, it is much narrower, and while
richer, is perhaps less varied. In sailing over its clear waters, the
richly wooded islands and green banks suggest some large and placid
river. Crowded with islands, especially at its upper part, each one
with its ruin, its legend, or its sylvan beauty to attract, the loch
is in all respects charming. There is Inishail--the island of the
fair, immortalized by Hamerton,--Inis-Fraoch, the Hesperides of Celtic
romance, with golden fruit, a dragon, a lover, and a legend, all in
due form, Inistrynich, the island of the Druids, and many others. And
near the head of the loch is the peninsula on which stands Kilchurn
Castle, to whom we may say with Wordsworth,
'thy hour of rest
Is come, and thou art silent in thy age.'
This ruin is one of the favourite subjects of the Scottish landscape
painter, and its picturesque character is well seen in our view.
Though now a complete wreck, it was entire and served as a post for
the royal troops in the '45, and almost within living memory it was a
habitable mansion. It is said that an economical steward of the Earl
of Breadalbane fancied the roof timbers would be useful at Taymouth
Castle, and had them removed. It is certain that for long the gigantic
stronghold served as a common quarry for the surrounding district, and
that even the church in the adjoining Glen Orchy has in it some stones
from the old castle. On the high ground to the right is a circular
and somewhat rude yet effective stone monument to Duncan Ban
Macintyre, of Glen Orchy, who died in Edinburgh in 1812, aged 89
years, and whose fame as a Gaelic poet is unique.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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