But we must not give too black a character to this loch and its
surrounding hills. It is no Malebolge, filled by 'sounds and sights
unholy,' and while it impresses by its solitude and grandeur, it also
gratifies by its intense feeling of repose, and its remoteness from
the ills of busier life. Those visiting Coruisk will view with wonder
the extraordinary peaks of the Cuchullins, (pronounced Coolins,) each
more fantastic and broken than his neighbour, and all consisting of
the green-black hypersthene trap that gives its character to the
scenery here. South-east of the loch is the mighty bulk of Blabheinn,
(pronounced Blaven,) a huge mass with precipitous sides, down which,
on the occurrence of one of the frequent showers of this watery isle,
the rain is seen to descend in broken rills of dazzling whiteness,
making an extraordinary effect upon the upright face of dark rock. To
the north-east, the Cuchullin hills terminate in the ragged triple
peak of Scuir-na-gillean, the rock or hill of the young men. This
height was first scaled, in recorded history, in 1836, when Principal
Forbes, of glacial fame, ascended it, and since then, with guides, it
has been frequently climbed. But from the extraordinary formation of
the hill, the ascent is a work of much danger, and lives have been
lost in the attempt. The peak is a narrow ledge, precipitous on every
side. The height is 3220 feet, and although Scuir-na-Banachtich, the
westmost peak, is believed to be as high, it has not been climbed so
far as is known, and thus Scuir-na-gillean holds first rank in this
wonderful group of mountains.
LOCH MAREE.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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