MP-NRLF ^B 757 131 .^ >r- V V '''^' -T' Mountain Moor and Loch" ILLUSTRATED BY PEN PENCIL iA\P' ojF Til. Wmr Wimimm iMLWAY.. ..i:ilL£^^.i^-K /* '■•■-A -.Me.. ,,0 ^v-i. /fe/" /i/£hldnd Rdilway Sc connections Projected Railway, danavie to Plallaig THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESENTED BY PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID GLEN FALLOCH. u MOUNTAIN MOOR AND LOCH" ILLUSTRATED BY Pen and Pencil, ON THE ROUTE OF THE WEST HIGHLAND RAILWAY WITH 230 ILLUSTRATIONS FROM ORIGINAL DRAWINGS MADE ON THE SPOT. LONDON: Sir Joseph Causton & Sons. 1894. All Rights Reserved. t/ - ^1 DISTANCES. Edinburgh to fort William, i66 Miles. -♦♦- Edinburgh to Glasgow (via Falkirk) Glasgow (Queen St.) to Craigendoran Craigendoran to Upper Helensburgh Upper Helensburgh to Row... Row TO Shandon Shandon TO Gareloch-head ... Gareloch-head to Glen Douglas Glen Douglas to Arrochak ... Arrochar to Ardlui Ardlui to Crianlarich Crianlarich to Tyndrum Tyndrum to Bridge of Orchy Bridge of Orchy to Gortan... Gortan to Rannoch Rannoch to Corrour CORROUB to InVERLAIR Inverlair to Roy Bridge Roy Bridge to Spean Bridge Spkan Bridge to Fort William Miles. • . AIVa .. 22X 2 .. ^y^ .. 2>i .. 2j .. 6J< .. 4K .. 8 .. 8K .. 5 .. 1% .. 8K .. 7 .. 7K .. 10 .. 1% .. zYk .. 9j M310541 CORRIDOR CARRIAGE, WEST HIGHLAND RAILWAY. SYNOPSIS. The Way to the Highlands The East Coast Route — The Midland Route. A Bird's Eye View PAGE I II West Highlands — Ben a Chaistel at Auch — Caledonian Canal — The West Highland Railway, its hundred-mile run and view of Gareloch — Loch Katrine — Scenery on the line from Helensburgh to Ardlui, Gortan, Rannoch, Ben Lomond and Ben Nevis — Strathfillan — "Rob Roy" Country— " Lady of the Lake" Country — West Highland Railway, one of the great "show-routes" of Britain — Loch Earn. The Approaches 17 To Edinburgh and Glasgow by the North British Railway — Edinburgh — Scott Monument — Tolbooth — Princes Street — View from Calton Hill — Knox's House — St. Anthony's Chapel — Holyrood — Edinburgh Castle — Memories of Mary Queen of Scots — Salisbury Crags and Arthur's Seat — Pentland, Braid, and Blackford Hills— The "Old Town "—The " New Town," its beautiful architecture — Public Gardens— " Lang Dike," now called "North Loch" — Niddrie Castle — Linlithgow Palace — Glasgow — Queen Street Low Level Station — University and Scott Monument — Cathedral and George Square — The Clyde, its Docks and Shipping — The Exchange — Dunglass Castle and Bell's Monument, Bowling — Dumbarton Castle, the " Gibraltar of the Clyde" — Archway, St. Patrick's — "Wallace's Seat" — Steamers at Bowling. Along the lochs 30 Excursions to Balloch, Tarbet, Inversnaid, Ardlui, &c. — Balloch Pier — Cardross — Craigendoran Station and Pier — Helensburgh — Bell's Monument and Gareloch-head — Greenock — First Steamboat Advertisement, 1812 — Steamboat Service from Helensburgh to Dunoon, Rothesay, Gareloch-head, Arrochar, &c. — Up the Loch from Gareloch-head^Slaughter betweeen the Colquhouns and MacGregors — Ardencapel Castle, Helensburgh— Gareloch and Loch Long — "The Cobbler" — Glen Douglas — Ben Lomond — Arrochar Alps — Representative Clansmen in full Tartan — A West Highland Station — General Wade's Military Road — Route from Tarbet to the Trossachs — By Steamer along Loch Katrine — The famous Pulpit Rock — A Highland Glen. AMONG THE Hills - - 67 Ardlui — Glen Falloch — Picturesque Waterfalls — The Battle of Dairy — Fin- larig Castle, Loch Tay— " Rob Roy's Bath "—" Rob Roy's Soap Dish "—River Dochart, Killin — Remnant of Caledonian Forest — Falls of Connel — Crianlarich — Viaduct of the West Highland Railway — Callander — Bridge of Dochart — Remains of old Clachlan on Loch Earn Head, one of Rob Roy's hiding places — Pass of Brander, Loch Awe — Oban — Loch Dochart — Bruce and the Brooch of Lorn, story of his gallant fight — Falls of Cruachan, Loch Awe — Ben Doran — Loch Tulla and Crannoch Wood — Ben Voirlich. Across the Moor- - 97 Rannoch'^ Moor and Mountains of Glencoe — Schehallion — Loch Lydoch — Glen Orchy — Marmore Deer Forest — A Primitive Lamp: Burning Fir Roots — Scene of the Appin Murder — Gauer Water, Rannoch — Glen Ogle — "Prince Charlie's Cave": Young Pretender, Cluny Macpherson and Lochiel's hiding place — Battle of Culloden — " Cluny's Cage": description of this curious lair — Loch Ericht, the dreariest, most desolate, and dismal of the Highland Lochs — • Loch-na-Chlaidheimh — "The Sword Loch" and its Story illustrated — Corrour Lodge, the highest shooting lodge in Scotland— Loch Ossian. In Far Lochaber 115 The Scenery between the Forest of Atholl and Ben Nevis, the Moor of Rannoch and Glen Spean — " Council Island " — Ben Vreich — Loch Treig — A Plaintive Song: Cailleach Beinna Bhric — Old Caledonian Forest — Parallel Roads of Glen Roy — On the Spean — Spean and Roy Bridge — Bhein Vhan — History of the Keppoch Murder — Highland Shieling — Ancient Feuds between the Mac- Donells and Macintoshes — Tirindrish and Achandaul — Falls of the Spean — The old "Long John" Distillery — " Comyn's Tower"— The River Lochy — Old Inverlochy Castle and Ben Nevis — Famous Fight at Inverlochy, 1645 — Ian Lorn, the Keppoch bard— A Glimpse of Fort William and its History — Ben Cruachan — Neptune's Staircase — The "Banavie Flea" — Day Trips from Fort William — Inverary Castle, Old and New. A Trip Through Glencoe 151 Glencoe ; the scene of the infamous Massacre — Macaulay's description of the Glen — Ben Nevis from Loch Linnhe — Ballachulish Coach — Maclan, the aged chief — Loch Leven and the Pap of Glencoe— Carnach — " The Chancellor" and Ossian's Cave — "Faith, Hope, and Charity" — Devil's Staircase — Kings- house— Black Mount Hills — Entrance to Loch Leven, Argyllshire — The Buchaille Etive, Glencoe — Lighthouse at Corran Ferry. Some Characteristics of Highland Scenery An Essay by the late Rev. Norman Macleod, D.D. 165 LOCH LOMOND, NEAR AROLUI. ' -'-.,I''^-V*? ^^' iMi^~ hi\¥i ID / -^-^ ^/ t^ ~ ■■-«► ^/ 'v^yLi 4^' EA-5T COA5T Route 1/7 f' J) " T T'S a far cry to Lochaber," but in these days of luxurious J_ locomotion the traveller is carried from London into the very heart of the Western Highlands with almost as little exertion as if he were going from the City to his KING'S CROSS. suburban home. Leaving late in the evening, he finds the long journey accomplished in the course of the night and early morning, and the through carriages of the great trunk lines are nowadays so comfortable that it is simply a case of being whisked along at lightning speed in bed or in an arm- chair. For those who prefer to travel by day, the beauty of the scenery, and the interest attaching to the places -which are passed on the railway route to Edinburgh or to Glasgov/, renders the trip a strong attraction in itself, although it cannot compete with the fascination of the Highland tour that has drawn them to the North, and which culminates after the two great Scottish cities are passed. The East Coast route from the Metropolis to Scotland — 393 miles to Edinburgh, whence it is a run of 47^ miles to Glasgow, which lies at the door of the Western Highlands — links together three of the great railways ; the Great Northern, from King's Cross to Doncaster ; the North Eastern, from Doncaster to Berwick-on-Tweed ; and the North British, from Berwick to Edinburgh and Glasgow. The ordinary carriages on this route are well nigh perfection in all the appliances for the comfort of the traveller, while corridor dining saloons and sleeping cars bring in the luxuries of railway transit. Through travellers may break their journey at Peterborough, Grantham, York, Durham, Newcastle, Berwick, or any station further north on the direct route. On speeding from under the roof of King's Cross terminus, the northern suburbs are traversed, London being left behind when the Alexandra Palace is passed. Hatfield House, close to the line, is next noted. Soon after, there is seen on the left Knebworth House, the seat of Lord Lytton, and, passing through Hitchin and Biggleswade, we reach Huntingdon (58! miles from London). The famous fen country is now entered, and level plains are traversed, wrested by skilful drainage and tillage, from Whittlesea Mere. Peterborough {y6l miles), which may be called the capital of the fens, presents a striking appearance, rising with its noble cathedral out of the flat lands around it. The cathedral is a magni- ficent specimen of Gothic architecture, and is recognised as being one of the most impressive ecclesiastical piles in Great Britain. After a short stoppage, the train resumes its course, and at Essendine, Lincolnshire is entered. Soon after, the handsome tower of Caseby Church is seen on the right, and a Httle beyond we see Grimsthorpe Castle, the beautiful resi- dence of Baroness Willoughby d'Eresby. Soon after passing Corby, and the church of Burton Coggles on the right, the highest point of the Great Northern system is reached, about 4CX) feet above the sea-level. We are now approaching Grantham (105 J miles), which is the first stopping-place of the " Flying Scotchman " and the other famous East Coast expresses. The ordinary main line trains stop here for a few minutes. Grantham has a striking parish church in the Gothic style, with a crocketed spire 280 feet in height ; but the town is mostly notable for the gigantic ironworks of Messrs. Richard Hornsby & Sons, which cover nearly seven- teen acres and employ about I,5CX) hands. Newark (120 miles), the next prominent point, is a town that has had a large part in the making of history. Its ancient castle has seen rough work since its foundations were laid by the Saxons, and in the civil war of the seventeenth century it was thrice besieged by the Roundheads, surrendering at last to the Scotch army of the Parliament. Leaving Newark behind, we pass through one of the finest fruit-growing districts in England, the country on both sides being almost continuous orchards. Passing through Retford (138 J miles), we come to Scrooby, a famous meeting-place of the " Pilgrim Fathers " before they sought asylum in America. At Doncaster (156 miles) — a name familiar to everybody — attention is attracted by the fine parish church (a splendid example of pointed architecture, but dating only from the middle of the present century), with a tower 170 feet in height dominating the town. Soon after leaving Doncaster, Shaftholm Junction is passed, where the train changes from the metals of the Great Northern to those of the North Eastern. Then Selby is reached, and the Ouse is crossed. York (188 miles from London) is the first point at which there is a stoppage of any duration, an interval of twenty minutes for refreshment being given to the day trains. It is one of the most interesting cities in the kingdom, with its wonderful Minster and its ancient walls. The walls date from 1280, when they were built by Edward the First, and the city gates stand now as then, although more than six centuries have passed over them. The beginning of the glorious Minster was early in the seventh century, but the present edifice is said to have been commenced in 1171. After leaving York, we pass Thirsk Junction (210J- miles) and Northallerton Junction (218 miles), the name of the latter reminding us that there the " Battle of the Standard " was fought in 1138, when the Scots were defeated by the English army under the Archbishop of York. Crossing the Tees, we enter Darlington (233 miles), " the cradle of English railways," and a centre of the worsted industry. It was from Darlington to Stockton, a few miles distant to the north- east, that in 1825 George Stephenson constructed the first railway ever opened for passenger traffic. We are now in the great iron and coal district, but a pleasant change from the industrial character of this part of the country is afforded by the city of Durham (254 miles), with its noble cathedral towering on a height that rises from the waters of the Wear. The architecture is of the Norman period, and the lantern tower, 214 feet in height, dates from the thirteenth century. The town is also notable for its fine Castle, now forming part of the University. Gateshead (267J miles) is the next town of importance, lying on the southern bank of the Tyne, facing Newcastle. Like the latter, it is a centre for collieries, iron works, and other grimy industrial necessities, and although it is not beauti- ful, it is decidedly interesting. The Tyne is crossed by Robert Stephenson's mighty High Level Bridge (1,337 feet in length and 112 above the water), which cost nearly half a million to build. Newcastle (268J miles) has many claims to interest — especially the remains of the eleventh-century Castle, — whence the name is derived, but they are all dwarfed by the im- portance of the town as a coaling centre. Leaving Newcastle behind, the coal districts are gradually lost to view, and by the time Morpeth (285 miles) is reached, the scenery is charming again. Soon glimpses of the sea may be had, and presently Bamborough Castle is seen on a com- manding rock, four miles from the shore, while on a clear day may be detected the Fame Islands, where Grace Darling performed her heroic rescue. Skirting the cliffs, we reach the Tweed, the boundary between England and Scotland, which is crossed by a bridge of twenty-eight arches, 2,160 feet in length and 126 feet above the water. The opening of this bridge, in 1850, by the Queen, was aptly described as "the last act of the Union." NORTH BRITISH WAVERLEY STATION, CDINBURCH. Berwick-upon-Tweed (335J miles) is in a curious position, inasmuch as it is a part of neither England nor Scotland, but is a separate county and free town to itself In the olden days the Scots and the English were continually contending for its possession, and its sixteenth century ramparts and gates are still in good preservation. At Berwick-upon-Tweed, where there is a stoppage of a few minutes, the North Eastern Railway ends and the North British begins. The line continues to follow the curve of the coast, and skirting Halidon Hill on the left, the train enters Scotland at Lamberton, at one time an east coast Gretna Green. Thence the first important point is the ancient town of Dunbar (364 miles), where Cromwell gained his great victory over the Scottish Army in 1650. Opposite Dunbar may be seen towering out of the sea to a height of over 400 feet, the Bass Rock, whereon an old State prison used to stand. Following the Firth of Forth, and looking across to Fife, we pass through Prestonpans, where Prince Charlie in the '45 defeated Sir John Cope ; then comes Portobello, which serves as a seaside suburb for Edinburgh. Three miles further and the Scottish capital itself is entered (393 miles from King's Cross), the sight of Arthur's Seat rising over the city, bringing home to the traveller the agreeable fact that he has really reached the land of hills. The short run from Edinburgh to Glasgow, and thence to the Western Highlands, is described in a subsequent section. ■»^ fie'- llll'il d,^ . ■»! m r^'^i&yl i^'JX^ ^ K^n , \/^ _ h'l^hh yi^>^'-Vf ft^* it- -*'~^^^^SJ cruiMgrufi A BIT OF THE OLD TOWN, EDINBURGH. /- .hri F_ iP. T^V! C^ 1^ rs D tie^i T~2^ ' Another route is by the Midland Railway, via Leeds, Settle and Carlisle, and thence to Edinburgh, Glasgow, and all places in the North, by the North British. On leaving St. Pancras, a short run of eighteen miles brings us to the cathedral city of St. Albans, whence the great Lord Bacon took his title, and where he lies buried. Passing through Chiltern Green and the " Chiltern Hundreds," so ST. PANCRAS. familiar in Parliamentary life, we reach Bedford (49! miles), with Elstow close by, associated with the name of John Bunyan. Wellingborough follows, a town with the ruins of Croyland Abbey near, and presently Kettering (72J miles) is reached, both towns centres of the Northamptonshire boot and shoe industry. It was in Kettering that the first missionary meeting was held in England. Leicester (99J miles), the focus of a great wool-growing country, is the next note- worthy point, an ancient town celebrated for many things, but perhaps most of all for the introduction of the stocking- frame. Passing through Loughborough (11 if miles), Trent (120 miles), and Ilkeston (126J miles), we come to Chesterfield (146J miles), where attention is riveted by the church of St. Mary and All Saints on the hillside, with an extraordinary leaning spire, curiously twisted in a most singular fashion. We are now in the heart of the Midland coal and iron fields. In the church of the Holy Trinity at Chesterfield lie the remains of George Stephenson, to whom the neighbourhood owes so much of its prosperity. At Ilkeston this route is joined by trains going northwards via Kettering by way of Melton Mowbray and Nottingham. Sheffield (158 J miles), the renowned seat of the cutlery and implement trades, is the next town of importance, and although placed amid beautiful surroundings, it would be difficult to imagine a more unlovely town, it being wholly devoted to that metal working which has made the name of Sheffield steel known the world over. To turn the eye from the mass of smoking chimneys that represents Sheffield, to the environments of the city is one of the most abrupt contrasts afforded anywhere in Great Britain. Five rivers converge where Shefilield has been built, and from their banks rise well- wooded hills, forming a most picturesque setting for such a "black diamond." Leeds (198 miles), the centre of the woollen trade, is the next considerable city, and close by, on the banks of the Aire to the right, a view is obtained of the beautiful ruins of Kirkstall Abbey. A little further on we pass through the model village of Saltaire, built by Sir Titus Salt, the philanthropist and manufacturer, for the use of his workpeople. 8 From Settle (2365 miles) onwards to Carlisle the scenery is magnificent, the railway threading for seventy-two miles a mountainous district presenting almost insurmountable engineering difficulties in the construction of the road in 1869. Settle itself is a pleasant little market town surrounded by romantic scenery, some of the most picturesque scenes in the West Riding being within easy reach. We proceed onwards through Yorkshire, Westmoreland and Cumberland, piercing the Pennine range, and winding in and out amongst its numerous spurs, through country so rugged that the construction of the seventy-two miles of railway involved an expenditure of over three millions, while seven years were spent in the task, the principal engineering features being nineteen viaducts and thirteen tunnels, with innumerable deep cuttings and high embankments. Proceeding up Ribblesdale, we note on the right Pen-y- Ghent, a fell 2,273 ^^^^ i^ height, while a few miles further north rises Ingleborough (2,374 feet) on the left, and on the right Whernside (2,414 feet). Batty Moss is crossed by a gigantic viaduct, 1,328 feet in length, and 165 feet above its foundations ; and Blea Moor is traversed by a tunnel 2,640 yards in length and 500 feet below the surface. From the Dent Head viaduct a fine view is obtained of lovely Dentdale on the left, and, later, Garsdale is seen on the same side. North of Hawes Junction, Aisgill Moor is crossed, standing 1,167 feet above sea level, and Westmoreland is entered between Wild Boar Fell (2,323 feet) on the left and Shunnor Fell (2,346 feet) on the right. The way is now along the romantic Eden Valley, and after passing Appleby (277f miles) and leaving behind, on the right, Cross Fell (2,901 feet), the highest of the Pennine Hills, we reach Carlisle (308 miles). Here we are on the borders of Scotland, and, owing to its situation, Carlisle has seen much of war in the days when the English and the Scots were two nations. It was besieged by the Parliamentary Army during the Civil War, and had to surrender, and it is associated in the memory with the march into England of Prince Charlie in the '45. Picturesque- ness is given to the town by the cathedral and the castle on the high ground overlooking the River Eden. If Edinburgh be taken as the starting point for the Western Highlands, the passenger traverses the land of Scott. Through Eskdale we go, passing Netherby Hall, the scene of the ballad of " Young Lochinvar," cross the line of the Cheviot Hills and next the River Teviot, reaching Hawick (35 3 J miles), an important seat of the Scotch tweed manufacture. Skirting the Tweed valley, which lies on the right, we pass close to the ruins of Melrose Abbey. Crossing the Tweed, the Gala Water is followed to Galashiels, another centre for tweeds and tartans, and presently Edinburgh is reached — 406J miles from London. FISH-WIVES, ED'NBURGH 10 ITINERARY. C/3 CM CM o a o U o H H H C/2 s O o to j CA ic < < t-^ K t^ 5 < f.1 c ►r Ja Q 'O aJ c < <, o o H 4^ MILES CRAIGENDORAN TO ARROCHAR AND TARBET. Section 2. ARROCHAR AND TARBET TO BRIDGE OF ORCHY. Section 3. DIS- TANCES K O £ o a: o CORROU * 4 KIILES u z o < z ?^ < O o 7 MILES a O < OS 32 8| MILES LOCH TULLA OBRIDGEof orchy BRIDGE OF ORCHY TO CORROUR. SECTION A.. COEROUB LODGE NEAR INYEBLAIB DIS- TANCES 2 < u H^ H-4 ►J t> HH < 1— 1 2: W H « o O H U, 2f MILES o ffi < 9^ MILES M O z D < IlJ t-H K O Qi 0, a CQ aJ H 3^ MILES / K S O — I o 5f MILES o as o « as > z o »::2 u 10 MILES CORROUR TO FORT WILLIAM AND BANAVIE. SeCTION 6. S) 1 IpciV IF you look at the map of Scotland you will see that BEN A CHAISTEL AT AUCH. the country on the West, is simply torn to tatters by lochs, either inland sheets of fresh water or far-reaching arms of the Atlantic ; while the land thus broken up is black with hill-shading wherever the streaks and patches of blue leave a tract of dry land big enough to build a mountain upon. Argyllshire, Inverness-shire, Perthshire and Dumbartonshire, as presented by the maker of maps, may be compared to the colours of some fighting regiment, after half a century of arduous campaigning, blackened by powder and rent by bullet. This is putting it poetically, but a more prosaic comparison would be to say that these West Highlands on the map are like a cabbage-leaf devoured by caterpillars. Such a wild and picturesque district is a very Paradise for the tourist, but hitherto this " Land of Mountain, Moor and Loch " has been remarkably difficult of access. It is traversed diagonally by the chain of lochs that form the Caledonian Canal, cutting through Argyllshire and Inverness- shire from the Island of Mull to the Moray Firth, like the straight slash of a knife, and the traveller has been enabled to skirt these rugged shires by steamer, while he has also been able to penetrate tar into Argyll and Dumbarton by the great southern lochs ; but where the II B paddle-wheel ceased to revolve there has been no loco- motive to take up the running. From the stopping-points of the steamers, there have been a few coach routes, but these have covered only an infinitesimal part of this marvellously beautiful country, and hitherto the land west of the Gram- pians, from Lochaber, south to the sea, has been left almost alone to the pedestrian or cyclist of untiring muscle. Hitherto one railway alone has intruded amongst these glorious glens, these frowning peaks and gleaming lochs — the line that runs from Killin in Perthshire, almost due west, bisecting the GARELOCH. Argyllshire Highlands. But nearly all the passengers by this route have been making straight for the terminus at Oban, and in the short run after the Grampians are crossed, have had nothing more than a glimpse of the scenery now completely opened up from South to North. The West Highland Railway, now completed, breaks fresh ground from start to finish of its hundred-mile run ; carrying the traveller through what is, perhaps, the most sublime and characteristic portion of Scotland. Taking up at Helensburgh, which lies at the mouth of the Gareloch, an uncompleted end of the North British Railway, it 12 winds northwards along the base ot the Grampians to Inverlair, whence it strikes westwards through Lochaber to Fort WilHam on Loch Linnhe, which with a branch to Banavie, makes connection with the Caledonian Canal, and brings within the reach of the traveller the most tempting possibilities in the way of circular tours. Now in Dum- bartonshire, now in Perthshire, now in Argyllshire, now in Perthshire again, now in Inverness-shire, it never for one moment meets the prosaic: the panorama of landscape, that LOCH KATRINE. passes before the carriage windows changing almost every minute, into more and more bewitching visions ot infkiite variety. As the Irish navvy engaged on the construction of the line observed, " Sure, it's the most amphibious country ever seen by the naked eye " — so many sheets of deep blue water break upon the sight as the train sweeps round each curve, that to the non-engineering traveller, it seems as if a new Caledonian Canal might have been constructed almost as easily as a railway ; while the hills are piled on each other in such multitudinous profusion that the opening out of each new vista of towering peaks fairly intoxicates an artist with delight. 13 B 2 The scenery may be divided roughly into four sections. From Helensburgh to Ardlui the line hugs in succession the shores of three great lochs — Gareloch, Loch Long, and Loch Lomond — which cleave their way through grand mountain barriers ; from Ardlui to Gortan, it threads its course along a bewildering maze of stupendous crags ; from Gortan to Rannoch, it traverses the great Moor of Rannoch, which has no parallel in Britain ; and from Rannoch to Fort William it passes through a country that combines all the features of the previous stretches, loch, moor and glen, overhung by vast eminences scattered over the land with lavish prodigality — Ben Lomond, Ben Ime, Ben Vane, Ben Voirlich, Ben More, Ben Doran, and a phalanx of other mountains, culminating in mighty Ben Nevis. Never was there a railway that less disfigured the country through which it passed. Like a mere scratch on the mountain slopes, it glides from valley to valley, unobtrusive as a sheep path, and not even John Ruskin would regard it as a desecration of the Highland solitudes. Along the course of this West Highland Railway little evidence of cultivation meets the eye of the super- ficial observer ; and yet many of the best sheep farms of Scotland — in some instances feeding not less than 20,000 head of the finest black-faced sheep ot the country — are found on the lands traversed by it. It is a land of sport, the home of the deer, the grouse and the white hare, while the streams abound with trout, and those who know it will cease to wonder why the old clansmen who inhabited those bare yet beautiful glens sought so often and so successfully to make the cattle of the Lowlands their own. Up to Ardlui, houses are far apart, but still one feels that the country is inhabited ; north of that place houses are few, and when a dwelling-place appears it is generally a low thatched hut, and you have to look twice before asserting dogmatically which is the house and which is the haystack. If ever there was a railway which was so evidently a railway for the tourist and holiday-seeker, it is the West Highland. Manufactures there are none, but the railway will give to agriculture and farming, facilities hitherto unknown, and there will, without doubt, be an increased traffic in sheep and cattle, which will find a new outlet to the South from the 14 districts converging on Spean Bridge and at other points of the Hne. Industries will doubtless grow, now that the railway is opened, but goods traffic will require some years to develop, although the well-known " Long John " whiskies of Fort William will contribute something. It opens up a world hitherto known only to the sportsman and to the comparative few who, with abundant leisure and means, could penetrate the magnificent country through which it passes. Beyond this, the extensive country which is brought within STRATHFILLAN. easy access ot the commercial metropolis ol Scotland will be developed by the industry and enterprise, characteristic ot the industrious and intelligent community which has given Glasgow so prominent a place among the cities of the Empire. Not only does it throw open a new land of promise, as we have shown, but it will shorten by upwards of an hour the journey between Edinburgh or Glasgow and Oban — a watering-place that requires no introduction to popular favour. Along the line, coach roads strike off to right 15 and left, taking the traveller through the niany interesting districts into which the railway runs — the " Rob Roy " country, the " Lady of the Lake " country, and the ever famous Glencoe — making connection with steamboat services on the lochs, and transporting him whither he will, by land or by water, over this happy hunting ground of the tourist Now that the bridle track and sheep path have been supplemented by the iron-way, in such an embarrassment of alluring alter- natives, the difficulty is not to find a route, but to select one, • for the West Highland Railway emphatically forms perhaps the greatest of the great " show-routes " of Britain. C-'i^^: c " LOCH EARN. i6 ! y ^ TOLBOOTH, EDINBURGH HE traveller, having arrived in Scotland, finds two centres from which the West Highland Railway may be reached — viz., Edinburgh and Glasgow — and, starting from the former, he passes through the latter, thus seeing both the principal cities of Scotland. The approach from both points is by the North British Railway, under whose auspices the West Highland has been constructed, the distance between Edinburgh and Glasgow being covered in about an hour and a quarter. No tourist from the South can afford to dispense with a visit to Edinburgh," the capital ol Scotland, and one of the most picturesque and polished cities in Europe. Since Stuart, author of T/ie Antiquities of Greece^ dubbed it the " Modern Athens," the phrase has become hackneyed; but the first glance at Edinburgh, from almost any point of view, will show the stranger that this description, though rendered trite by repeti- tion, is happily selected. On three hills the city is built, overlooking the waters of the Firth of Forth, which lie two miles distant to the north-east. Around the city are grouped commanding eminences, Salisbury M^'- flUl . i S%i^-4d»' 17 SCOTT MONUMENT, EDINBURGH. Crags and Arthur's Seat towering up in the east from the plain on which stands old Holyrood Palace ; while to the south-west lie the Pentland, PRINCES STReCT, EOINBURSH. Braid, and Blackford Hills, and to the north-west the high ground of Corstor- phine. Over the three ridges on which it is placed, the city undulates with a fine but yet harmonious irregularity that renders " the long vely street " of other towns the exception in- stead ot the rule. The grey Castle, on its com- manding rock, verlooks the quaint '' Old Town " peopled with the ghosts EDINBURGH FROM CALTON HILL. i8 INBURGH. of Scottish history ; and the Calton Hill, crowned with im- posing monuments, j?. looks down on the "New Town," beauti- ful in architecture generally, and especi- ally striking in the view along Princes Street, flanked on the left by public gardens — filling the ravine, known of old as the " Lang Dike," and more ANTHONY"* CHAPEL EDINBURSH. w- recently as the " North Loch," and on the right by its parallel lines of HOLYROOD. FROM CALTON HILL. fjj^g StrCCtS, brokCH with others intersecting, giving glimpses of the Firth — glittering in summer sunshine — beyond, making it undoubtedly the handsomest thorough- fare in the three kingdoms. As the day darkens into night a most imposing and singular sight is the display of lights from the irregular levels of the buildings of the " Old Town," as seen from Princes Street, giving one the idea of some general illumina- tion rather than the ordinary every night aspect of the city. Leaving Waverley Station for Glasgow, the train passes under the shadow of the Castle Rock, past the Princes Street 19 EDINBURGH CASTLE: WEST GATE. Gardens, and is almost immediately in the country, skirting Corstorphine Hill on the right, and the Pentland Hills on the left. There is no grandeur in the scenery, but it is pleasant and varied. On the right a view of the Forth Bridge ^^~— _ may presently be obtained, if the day be clear, joining the shores of the Firth. Memories of the unfortunate Mary Queen of Scots linger around Edinburgh, as we are reminded by a glimpse, on the right, of the ruins of Niddrie Castle, the residence of the Setons in those days. Readers may remember the song supposed to have been sung by one of the Queen's Maries on the day of her leaving Scotland : — A GLIMPSE OF THE FORTH BRIDGE FROM CALTON HILL. (( Last night there were four Maries ; To-night there will be but three ! There was Mary Beaton, and Mary Seton, And Mary Carmichael — and me." Mary Seton was one of Mary Stuart's dearest friends, and to Niddrie QUEEN MARY'S BATH, EDINBURGH 20 EDINBURGH CASTLE FROM THE MOUNO. Castle the Queen fled straight- way, on her escape from Loch- leven Castle. Another historical resting - place is soon passed — Winchburgh — where Edward the Second first drew bridle after his crushing defeat by Robert the Bruce, at Bannockburn — about twenty miles distant as the crow flies. The next point of interest is Linlithgow, where we see, LINLITHGOW PALACE. on the right, the fine ruins of the Palace, on an emi- nence overlooking the lake. Here Mary Queen of Scots was born in 1542 ; and in the vaults James the Third sought refuge from assassi- nation. In St. Michael's Church, near by, the finest of the collegiate build- ings of Scotland, and closely associated with the history of the Stuart Kings, James the Fourth saw in the aisle by night the vision that warned him against the coming fate of Flodden, as related under Sir David Lindesay's tale in "Marmion." In the streets of the town the Regent Murray was shot from an upper case- ment, as he rode along, by Hamilton of Bothwell- haugh. Fal- kirk next attracts atten- tion on account of the great ironworks there — conspicuous- ly the Carron Company on the right, the first in Scotland QUEEN STREET LOW LEVEL STATION, GLASGOW. to start iron- 22 smelting on a large scale. Falkirk is not picturesque by day, but by night, when the blast furnaces are blazing n the darkness, it might be ^ ^ a scene from ^ "' "Paradise Lost," or the '' I nferno." From this point there is a fine view ^ over the ^z^^^^ winding GLASGOW UNIVERSITY. 1 • I \iy/*f["'' 1 1 Forth to the Trossachs, presently to be shut out by the Lennox Hills, until Glasgow is approached, when a foretaste of what is coming is afforded by a glimpse of the West Highlands to the right, a great rib of rock in the distance marking the southern boundary of Loch Lomond, the Queen of the Scottish Lakes. Glasgow, as a commercial centre, has in the rapidity and solidity of its expansion, hardly any parallel in the kingdom, and the interest which belongs to it archaeologically and historically gives way to that of its industrial pursuits, which bring it in close touch with the markets of the world. The immediate approach to the city, dull enough in an artistic sense, is rendered interesting by the famous Cow- lairs Incline, the train being lowered by wire SCOTT MONUMENT, GLASGOW. 23 ropes along a steep tunnel nearly a mile long, which brings us to Queen Street Station. George Square, on which the North British Station Hotel looks out, is a handsome open space, with a num- ber of good statues and a Scott memo- rial, suggestive of the Nelson monument in Tra- falgar Square, while it is surrounded by impressive architecture, notably the Municipal Buildings, which form its east side. All round one sees, in Glasgow, abundant evidences of wealth. To the practical character of the city the dark waters ot the Clyde bear witness, as they rush through the heart of the streets, and it is difficult to credit the fact that less than twenty miles from this humming hive of trade lie the crystal waters of Loch Lomond, reflecting the beauties of the eternal hills. 'M4^' • ■tv^-*-'-' THE BROOMIELAW, GLASGOW. 24 From Glasgow, a journey of about an hour by rail (still on the North British line), brings us to Craigendoran, the base of the new West Highland route, and the trip is well worth the ta own account, apart altogethe ulterior intention in the way of touring. The moment the train emerges from the Queen Street tunnel, the Clyde comes into view, ^ and it is closely ^ followed all the way, changing its character from mile to mile. At first nothing but docks are seen, crowded with shipping ; but the water gradually widens until it is a broad estuary of the sea. To the bustling docks succeed clanging ship -building yards, the riveters hammering on the plates of great vessels, standing in the stocks like the skeletons of mighty whales ; but it is not until Partick is reached that the Clyde assumes the aspect GLASGOW CATHEDRAL. t . in;ipifi[aiii3Miii!!lTll illlll^J. k !ipilftI*.->iS^tllt»i. , . OEORGC SQUARE, GLASGOW. 25 THE EXCHANGE, GLASGOW. of a river, while the ground on the right becomes high and wooded. From this point on, Glasgow is completely left be- hind, the pleasant valley and the busy stream absorbing at- tention. Presently Bowling is reached, the winter quarters of the splendid tourist steamers that ply up and down the Firth in the summer and autumn months. Here is the western exit of the great junction Canal, which joins the Forth and Clyde, the eastern exit being at Grangemouth, which is passed on the way from Edinburgh to Glasgow. Pretty much the same route appears to have been followed by the Emperor Antoninus, when he built, in A.D. 140, the Roman Wall across the country, as a defence against the attacks of the Picts and Scots; for at Dunglass Point, a little further on, this barrier terminated in the Clyde, while traces of the same " Graham's Dyke " {griem diog — the strong trench) are also found near Falkirk. This wall, which was 36 miles long, is related to have been a rampart of earth 20 feet high and 24 feet thick, built on a stone foundation. At Dunglass may be seen the ruins of a castle formerly held by the Colquhouns of Luss, of whom we shall have more to tell ; and on the Point stands an obelisk in memory of Henry Bell, the pioneer of steam navigation in Europe, of whom, also, there is more to say presently. DUNGLASS CASTLE, AND BELL'S MONUMENT, BOWLING. 26 DUMBARTON CASTLE: NORTH SIDE. ,^.# A little beyond Dunglass comes the first strikingly picturesque point of the route — Dumbarton Castle, which stands out boldly on the left. Where the Leven, pouring from Loch Lomond, enters the Clyde, rises a great mass of basalt, a mile in circumference, and shaped like a kneeling dromedary, being formed in two " humps " rather than peaks. The higher of these "humps" is about 250 feet above the water level, while the lower is not much inferior. Around these summits, on the northern side, is built the Castle, with rambling battlements of considerable strength for the olden times, and to which access is gained by a narrow stair- case, winding up steeply in the cleft between the two heights. From time immemorial the rock has been a stronghold, as was inevitable from its splendid defensive position — the remains of a Roman fort are seen on the top of the higher eminence, but the Castle itself is of more modern date. This Gibraltar of the Clyde cannot fail to rivet attention as it rears its vast bulk from the Firth like some leviathan dragging itself from the deep : records of it are left from every age. The Romans called it " Theodosia " ; the Ven- erable Bede knew it as " Alcluid " ; Macpherson's Ossian sang of it as " Balclutha," and blind Harry has handed down its praises. From the time of the ancient Britons to the present day it has ARCHWAY ST. PATRICK' DUMBARTON. 27 carried a garrison, and in the days when Scotland had an independent navy, Dumbarton was one of the principal ports. In the time of William the Lion it was chief of the many strongholds of the Earl of Lennox ; it was from the Castle that Mary Queen of Scots departed for the French court, and it is said that Sir William Wallace was imprisoned in one of the towers (now called after him), while the higher summit is known as " Wallace's Seat." Sir John Menteith was certainly the keeper, for Bruce took the Castle from under his control ; and on the narrow gateway, that acts as portcullis to the ascent we have described, there remain DUMBARTON CASTLE : SOUTH SIOE. rudely carved on either side, heads of Wallace and Menteith — the latter with his finger in his cheek — the sign he gave when he betrayed : » the Scottish hero to the English. Many a siege and many an attack has it stood — the most interesting episode on record in its warlike history being its capture in 1571 by Captain Crawford, of Jordanhill, on behalf of the infant King, James 28 the Sixth. With a handful of men this gallant soldier crept to the base of the impregnable rock with scaling ladders one misty and moonless night, selecting for the escalade the point where the rock was highest and least likely to be guarded. The first ladder broke under the ascending men, but the noise of their fall did not arouse the sentinels, owing to the remote- ness of the attacking point. Captain Crawford then clambered up in person and succeeded in making the ladder fast to the roots of a tree growing on the face of the rock, and thus secured a footing for his little band. From a historical de- scription of the affair we quote a graphic paragraph: "In scaling the second precipice another accident took place — one of the party, subject to epileptic fits, was seized by one of these attacks, brought on perhaps by terror, while he was in the act of climbing up the ladder. His illness made it im- possible for him either to ascend or descend. To have slain the man would have been a cruel expedient, besides that, the fall of his body from the ladder might have alarmed the garrison. Crawford caused him, therefore, to be tied to the ladder, then all the rest descending, they turned the ladder, and thus mounted with ease over the body of the epileptic." Silently stabbing the careless sentinel when they reached the summit, the brave stormers surprised the sleep- ing garrison and obtained possession of the Castle by an almost bloodless victory. STEAMERS AT BOWLING. 29 C 2 ALONG THE LOCHS. AT Dalreoch, a little beyond Dumbarton, we have another reminder of the prox- imity of the picturesque, in a short branch :^ line that strikes off on the right to Balloch, the most southerly point on Loch Lomond. A favourite excursion in the past, and one that will remain popular, is to run down by train to Balloch, take there one of the North British Steam Packet Company's steamers and circumnavigate the Loch, re_ turning to Balloch after visiting Tarbet, Inversnaid and Ardlui, or, varying the route, to cross the narrow neck of land which intervenes between Tarbet and Arrochar, on the shores of Loch Long, sail down that Loch in one of the^^ BALLOCH PIER. same Com- pany's steamers to Craigendoran, re-joining the train there Now that the railway is opened, there is a new day-trip, by rail to Ardlui, at the northern extremity of the Loch, and thence to Balloch by steamer, the charm of the excursion being thus doubled by its variety. 30 CRAIGENOORAN STATrON. A few minutes after leaving Dalreoch we pass Cardross, where stood the Castle in which King Robert the Bruce died, then Ardmore Point, a bold promontory on the left hand, extending into the Clyde, and immediately behind the line of beacons marking the termination of the jurisdiction of the Clyde Trustees, who are responsible for maintaining the navigation of the river up to Glasgow; and the next station ^y, '^ Craigen- -=r^ doran, the starting point of the _ capital fleet of the North British Packet Company, where the West High- land Railway begins. CRAIGENOORAN PIER. 31 & m0^ BELL'S MONUMENT, HELENSBURGH. The West Highland and the North British Rail- ways overlap about a mile, the latter going on to Helensburgh. A few years ago it was intended to run the North British metals right down to Helensburgh pier, in the middle of the parade, and there erect a station ; but the town objected, on the ground that if passengers were carried straight through to the side of the steamers, the local shopkeepers would miss the orders that might be given had the passengers a little way to walk after leaving the train ! This is an attitude worthy of ranking with that of Dumbarton, which rejected the proposal to make that town the port of Glasgow, by the construction of a harbour and docks, lest the conse- quent addition to the population should raise the price of butter and eggs. The North British Railway, however, built GARELOCH. a pier of its own at Craigendoran, and this pier is the terminus on the south of the West Highland Railway ; but beyond the pier and the station there is, at present, nothing at Craigendoran. The landowner, Mr. Middleton Campbell, of Colgrain, prefers to retain his property intact and declines to let off ground for building purposes. Helensburgh may therefore be regarded as the starting point of the West Highland Railway, for Craigendoran is merely a difference in name. The town (which was com- menced in 1777 by Sir James Colquhoun of Luss, the great 32 -A ; -' landowner of the dis- trict, and was named by him after his wife) is a pleasantly situated watering place, of about 9,000 inhabitants, lying at the mouth of the Gareloch and on the side of a gently sloping hill. It is the Brighton of Glasgow, the favour- 1^ ite resting-place of the busy City man, and is composed almost entire- ly of villas for summer occupation. There is no place on the Clyde where so many Glas- gow men reside all the year ; at present it par- takes much more of this residential character than as a mere summer resort. Across the Firth of Clyde, about three and a half miles distant, lies grimy Greenock, "a crow facing a swan," as somebody has neatly put it. It is no wonder the weary Glaswegian finds it an agreeable relaxation to run down here whenever possible, to breathe the fresh sea air and con- tentedly watch the smoke of distant Greenock rising against the heights on the opposite shore, separated from its cease- less energy by miles of sparkling water, lively with shipping. In past days Helensburgh was noted for its sea fishing, the remains still being shown of a wall, built out in the Firth, which was covered at high tide ; and when the tide began to fall, men used to row out and open sluices so that the water was drained from the enclosure, leaving an extra- ordinary collection of fish, which was gathered into carts and sent off to market. But the proximity of Glasgow has now driven the fish away. Peculiar interest attaches to Helensburgh from the fact OARELOCH-HEAD. 33 that it is the birthplace of steam navigation in Europe ; Henry Bell, the father of the craft, having lived here for years and perfected his ideas, while it was from Glasgow to Greenock that his first steamer was run. Bell was a Linlithgow man, born in 1767, and he began life as a stone- mason, developed into a millwright, and finally became an engineer, serving under the famous Rennie in London, and afterwards working in a shipbuilding-yard at Borrowstounness. In 1790 he settled in Glasgow, and in 1807 came to Helens- burgh, where his wife kept the " Baths " Hotel — still in existence as the " Queen's," the old name having become inappropriate. He had a strong mechanical bent, and de- voted himself to experiments on the lines of applying steam- power to sailing vessels. As early as 1800 he suggested the principle to the British Government, but was treated as a visionary. In 1803 he again pressed the idea on the atten- tion of the Government, but without avail. In exasperation he then communicated his theories, of how vessels mio;ht be propelled by steam, against both wind and tide, to all the Crowned Heads of Europe and to the President of the United States. Meanwhile, he himself was busy, and on the 1 2th January, 18 12, the first British steamer was launched at Port Glasgow on the Clyde. It was built under his direc- tions, and its engine was constructed according to his long thought out plan. This pioneer of European steamships was called the "Comet," on account of its extraordinary speed — which was five miles an hour ! The vessel was 42 feet long and II feet broad, its draught was 5 J feet, and its engine was of 3 horse-power, and there were two paddles on each side. The engine is preserved in the Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow. The curious may still see the " Comet," lying at Bowling (the station we passed before Dumbarton), but it is not precisely the vessel as launched, for a few years later, as other vessels were built with improvements, the length of the boat was increased to 60 feet, a new engine was put in, and a single paddle on each side took the place of the double, thus raising its sailing power to the appalling rate of six miles an hour ! As a curiosity, we give an advertisement from a Glasgow newspaper of 5th August, 1812, the year of the launch : — 34 STEAM PASSAGE BOAT, THE COMET, BETWEEN GLASGOW, GREENOCK, AND HELENSBURGH, FOR PASSENGERS ONLY. THE Subscriber having, at much expense, fitted up a handsome Vessel to ply upon the RIVER CLYDE, between GLASGOW and GREENOCK — to sail by the power of Wind, Air and Steam — he intends that the Vessel shall leave the Broomielaw on Tues- days, Thursdays, and Saturdays, about Mid-day, or at such hour thereafter as may answer from the state of the Tide — and to leave Greenock on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, in the morn- ing, to suit the Tide. The elegance, comfort, safety, and speed of this Vessel requires only to be proved, to meet the approbation of the Public ; and the Proprietor is determined to do everything in his power to merit public encouragement. The terms are, for the present, fixed at 4s. for the best Cabin, and 3s. for the Second ; but beyond these rates nothing is to be allowed to Servants, or any other person employed about the Vessel. The Subscriber continues his Establishment at HELENSBURGH BATHS, the same as for years past, and a Vessel will be in readiness to convey Passengers in the Comet from Greenock to Helensburgh. Passengers by the Comet will receive information of the Hours of Sailing, by applying at Mr. Houston's Office, Broomielaw ; or Mr. Thomas Blackney's, East Quay Head, Greenock. HENRY BELL. Helensburgh Baths, $th August, 181 2. Visitors to the Queen's Hotel, which lies on the very- shore of the Firth, may still see the remains of the pier at which the "Comet" lay when it arrived at the "Helensburgh Baths." To stand there and watch the great steamers go past by the hundred is a curious experience, for 181 2 seems so close at hand that it is difficult to believe that this HELENSBURGH, FROM CRAIGENOORAN PIER 35 wonderful revolution in the world's progress has been achieved in fourscore years, and that the little pier at your feet was its starting point. Henry Bell died in his own hotel on 14th November, 1830, and was buried in the village of Row — the next station on the West Highland Railway. The obelisk to his memory at Dunglass Point we have already seen in passing ; and there is another on Helensburgh espla- nade, at the head of the pier, a graceful needle of polished red granite, one of the largest granite monoliths ever cut. It was erected in 1872, and the inscription testifies that Bell was " the first in Great Britain who was successful in prac- tically applying steam power for the purpose of navigation." Fulton, in America, and others, had previously constructed experimental steamers, but it was Bell who made the steam- ship an actual commercial fact, and when he conceived the idea in 1786 he seems to have been first in the field. From Helensburgh, or rather Craigendoran, there are good services of steamers to Dunoon, Rothesay, Gareloch-head, Arrochar, and other picturesque points, but our immediate concern is with the West Highland Railway, which we reach at Craigendoran. #/^] ^ ya UP THE LOCH, FROM QA R ELOCH- H EAD The railway passes round the north side of Helensburgh, looking down on the town, and affording a fine view of the Firth of Clyde at its widest part, across to Greenock and the " Tail of the Bank," an extensive sand shoal, and near to the 36 > best anchor- the age in ARDENCAPEL CASTLE, HELENSBURGH. Firth— the praises of which have been sung by a Greenock poet in the comprehensive Hnes : — Tail of the Bank ! Arm of the Sea ! Where deep and shallow waters be ! a couplet that might be applied with equal felicity to almost any point in the neighbourhood ; but Greenock has less poetry even than Glasgow. The country through which we are now passing is the estate of the Colquhoun family ; the clan to which belongs the Luss district, on the western shore of Loch Lomond, having — not without many a conflict in the old clan days — gradually extended its lands far and wide. As may be seen by the contour of the Luss hills on the right, the line runs almost parallel with the famous Glen Fruin, sloping from the south-western extremity of Loch Lomond towards Gareloch-head, whither we are now making our way. This is the glen where the repeated slaughter of the Colquhouns, by their enemies the MacGregors, took place, as related in the preface to " Rob Roy." The Laird of Luss having slain two MacGregors for killing and eating one of his wedders, when they found themselves benighted in his country and denied hospitality, MacGregor marched from the banks of Loch Long with three or four hundred men, and met Sir Humphrey Colquhoun with his six or eight hundred men, in Glen Fruin, the " Glen of Sorrow." Thanks to the fact that the Colquhoun force was mainly cavalry, and that the boggy nature of the ground hampered its movements, the Clan MacGregor utterly routed their enemies, killing between two and three hundred, with a loss to themselves of only two men. In this fight, an ancestor of Rob Roy is said to have massacred, with his own dirk, a party of young divinity students from Glasgow, who had merely come out to see the fight, and a stone is still shown from which their blood can never be washed out. Sir Humphrey Colquhoun 37 fled to the Castle of Banachar, near by, where he was soon after murdered in the vaults. This was in the reign of James the Sixth, and was the cause of the name of MacGregor being abolished by law, the widows of the slain, eleven score in number, appearing at Stirling in deep mourning, riding upon white palfreys, and each bearing her husband's bloody shirt on a spear, to invoke the King's vengeance. Readers of the " Lady of the Lake " will remember the stanza in the Boat Song, "Hail to the Chief":— Proudly our pibroch has thrilled in Glen Fruin, And Banachar's groans to our slogan replied : Glen Luss and Ross-dhu, they are smoking in ruin, And the best of Loch Lomond lie dead on her side, Widow and Saxon maid Long shall lament our raid, Think of Clan-Alpine with fear and with woe ; Lennox and Leven-glen Shake when they hear agen, " Roderigh Vich Alpine dhu, ho ! ieroe ! " ROW, GARELOCH. Hardly have we left Helensburgh when we find the train running close alongside the Gareloch, the line being cut on the hillside a considerable height above the water. The Gareloch is an arm of the Firth of Clyde, about six miles long and about a mile in width at the broadest part. On both sides it is shut in by low hills, right and left, covered with foliage ; and so still and deep are its waters, and so free are the surrounding hills from magnetic influences, that it is the favourite place for the testing of ships' compasses, and is a popular anchorage for vessels lying up. About i^3,ooo,ooo worth of shipping, it is estimated, at present lies there rusting, including the hull of the steamship Utopia, which was sunk off Gibraltar by collision with one of Her Majesty's ships, and the raising of which was such a notable feat of engineering. Between Gareloch and Loch Long there is only a narrow promontory, hardly two miles across at most, and over the gentle range that shuts in the waters of the Gareloch rise the bold peaks of the crags that enclose the greater Loch. On the extremity of this promontory, opposite Helensburgh, may be seen Roseneath Castle, one of the seats of the Duke of Argyll, surrounded by a clump of trees, comprising "Adam and Eve," the two largest silver firs in Scotland, measuring twenty-three feet in girth five feet from the ground. All along the eastern side of the Loch are dotted beautiful villas in profusion, built on the hill slope 39 \ >••<* amid the woods, and clustered ^ether at the ^ points where sta- tions have been fixed ■. by the West Highland Railway — at Row (pronounced Rue, from ' the Gaelic derivation) ; at Shandon (where the well- known Hydropathic stands, over- looking one of the finest views in the valley) ; and at Gareloch-head, where the houses lie in a semi-circle around the head of the Loch. All along the course of the Loch it is a fairy retreat, silent, secluded, well sheltered and glowing with colour, the many tinted trees and the heather-clad slopes being reflected in the glassy water as in a mirror. So soft and beautiful is the landscape that it might have been the imagination of some gifted artist, combining to best advantage the graces of hill and wood and lake. But not a Royal Academician amongst them all can compete with Nature — a lesson that is impressed on one at every turning of this new road through a region THE COBBLCR" FROM NEAR GLEN DOUGLAS 40 -»«s-^.;s^ »- 'w . n ii,iT;algrtf-^ ARROCHAR, ON HEAD OF LOCH LONG FROM THE RAILWAY. hitherto almost inaccess- ible in many parts. Leaving Gareloch- head behind, the railway ascends the ridge on which stands Whistlefield, one of the healthiest and most romantic spots on the line. Here another striking change of scene is met, the railway running to the very verge of Loch Long, a magnificent piece of water, narrow but deep, which stretches from Strone some four-and-twenty miles inland, curving round the promontory that shuts in the Gareloch and forming the boundary between Argyllshire and Dumbartonshire. If it be possible, Loch Long is even more beautiful than the Gareloch, and it is infinitely more impressive. From Whistlefield onwards, it is only about half a mile wide, but instead of the low rounded heights that lie along the Gareloch, the hills rise sheer from the water in stern outlines far over-topping the previous eminences. Their summits and shoulders are clad in purple heather and mosses of richest brown and yellow, while along the water's edge lie belts of trees, presenting a variety of greens of bewildering beauty. Against the dark background of Scotch firs and oaks the lighter tints of spruce and larch stand out with wonderful vividness, while here and there gleams a clump of silver birches, and in autumn the scarlet berries of the rowan throw in the touch of red so dear to the heart of the artist. In the narrow waters the hills seem to stretch down until the glowing slopes disappear 41 in the depths of the blue. The fascination of the scenery is that it never looks twice the same, changing into new aspects of beauty with every change of light and shade. A cloud passes over the sun, and the tones deepen and merge into new effects undreamt of a minute before ; a slight shower descends, and the eye is bewitched with a new colour- ing. Where the railway meets the Loch is perhaps the most lovely in this respect, the point where Loch Goil branches off to the north-west leaving a steep promontory abutting on the Loch, with, at its foot, LOOKING UP GLEN DOUGLAS. Q. Small island which is a spot much favoured by the Loch fisherman. Whether this is the scene described in the ballad of *' Lord Ullin's Daughter " is open to question, as that " dark and stormy water " lies a long way off, west of Mull, with " Ulva's Isle" adjoining, though, strictly speaking, the name is Loch-na-Keal and not Loch Goil ; and our Loch Goil may well be the point intended by the poet, because three days from the mainland, opposite Mull, would bring " her father's men " to it. After following for a short distance the shore of Loch Long, the railway bends to the right and plunges into the lonely Glen Mallin, the passenger sighing to think that the glories of the Loch have been abandoned. But the road has been diverted merely as a piece of good engineering, in order that a stretch of comparatively easy ground may be taken advantage of, and before many minutes have passed the line has curved back again to the water's edge. The country has now become wilder and more deserted, the railway being cut 42 BEN LOMOND, FROM ARROCHAR. in the sides of steep hills, the embankments on the left dip- ping almost sheer into the water. On the further side of the Loch the hills become still grander and more precipitous. On their dark sides trees can hardly find root-hold, although the green bracken still flourishes to relieve the gloom of the black rocks and the brown heath. Their heads are reared to the clouds in a fine confusion of jagged peaks, that speaks a finely grim humour in the ironical observer who dubbed TARBCT HOTEL. them " The Duke of Argyll's Bowling Green " — a name that still clings to the range. With the Bass Rock, or Ailsa Craig, for a ball, the ancient gods might have enjoyed a roaring game of skittles among those peaks. At the point where there is a passing place (the West Highland Railway being only a single line) Glen Douglas strikes off to the right, a rugged pass through the hills, which debouches on Loch Lomond opposite Rowardennan. A little further on to the 43 D left, on the opposite side of Loch Long, may be seen the opening of a similar pass, Glen Croe, leading to Loch Fyne and Inverary. Those who wish to visit that notable little town, the chief seat of the MacCallum More, will find at Tarbet a coach that will take them round the head of Loch Long, through Glen Croe, and round the head of Loch Fyne to Inverary. There they will be able to get on board the " Lord of the Isles," A BIT or GENERAL WADE'S MILITARY ROAD, NEAR TARBET. ->; , <^^^gi«.. and sail back by Loch Fyne, Ardla- m o n t, the Kyi es of Bute, Rothe- say, and Dunoon to C ra i g e n - doran. An alternative circular route from I n- verary is to take coach from Strachur on Loch Fyne to the head of Loch Eck, sail down that Loch, the narrowest sheet of water in Scotland ENTRANCE TO GLEN CROE NEAR ARROCHAR. 44 in relation to its length of about seven miles, and coach to Dunoon, thence by steamer again to Craigendoran. At " Rest and be thankful," at the head of Glen Croe, the well-known doggerel rhyme is said to have been written : " Had you seen these roads before they were made You'd go down on your knees and bless General Wade" — an enigmatical couplet smacking more of the sister island than of the usually clearly expressed Scottish diction. *j» BEN LOMOND, FROM LUSS. About the point at which Glen Croe is seen branching off on the far side of Loch Long, a little further ahead on the same side of the water, the first of the real mountains comes in sight. This is Ben Arthur, or, as it is generally called, "The Cobbler," which rises to a height of 2,891 feet. Un- less a hill reaches somewhere near 3,000 feet, it is a mere nonentity in these West Highlands, and although the peaks we have passed have been impressive, rising, as they do, almost perpendicularly from the waters that wash their bases, their height has ranged only from 1,500 to 2,000 feet. In the Midlands or Southern England, each one of them would be reckoned a marvel, but here it is difficult to ascertain even their names. "The Cobbler," however, commands respect at once, not only from its dominating height, but from its peculiar formation. Strictly speaking, there are two hills in one, Ben 45 D 2 Arthur, which has a rounded summit, and " The Cobbler," which terminates in two sharp peaks, split like a mitre. On the top of the southern peak is a great boulder, which, looked at from below on a clear day, has an unmistakable resemblance to a cobbler at work, bending over a shoe, with elbows extended as he stitches the leather. On the northern peak is a companion boulder, which has a certain likeness to an old woman, and which is known as Jean, his wife. There is a sort of fairy tale about the pair : and a thin white stream that trickles down the side of the hill is supposed to be a bowl of milk that she has spilt. Beyond rise the heads of four other mountains which form, with "The Cobbler," what are known as the Arrochar Alps — Ben Crois (2,785 feet), Ben Ime (3,318 feet), Ben Vane (3,002 feet), and Ben Voirlich • (3,092 feet). We are now at the head of the Loch, and the hills gather in closely all around, with brown summits and purple flanks, glowing warmly in the sun, or loom- ing darkly in the shadow, hardly a tree to be seen, except around the Loch itself As the line curves to the right, away from the water, the mighty bulk of Ben Lomond is descried on that side, close by, as the train pulls up A BIT OF THE ROAO THROUGH THE TROSSACHS. 46 at Arrochar and Tarbet Station, about twenty miles from Craigendoran. This is the most individual point on the whole route, for the station lies midway between Loch Long, the great salt water estuary, and Loch Lomond, the vast fresh water lake, only about three-quarters of a mile apart, for the two great sheets of water converge and almost meet, the former slanting to the north-east and the latter to the north-west. A better spot for the tourist to break his journey could not be imagined, for he is in the very heart of the picturesque ; and ?1^ ^ -I"*/ : lEN LOMOND, FROM ARROCHAR STATION. has, moreover, every facility for accommodation. In Arrochar, which is a pleasant little village, lying at the head of Loch Long, and facing ** The Cobbler," there is a comfortable inn ; and at Tarbet, a cluster of houses on the shore of Loch Lomond, there is a hotel that is positively palatial, with bedrooms for nearly a hundred guests. It is a surprise to find such a luxurious resting place in the wilds, but the explanation is that Tarbet is the popular stopping point with the steamers that ply on Loch Lomond, and in summer the holiday guest taxes the accommodation to the full. How 47 the tourist whose time is limited may make a round trip vid Inverary we have just shown, and a still shorter method will be to take steamer at Arrochar and sail back to Dunoon, traversing by water the route he has covered by land, with the new attraction thrown in of that part of Loch Long hidden from the railway by the peninsula which separates it from the Gareloch — a very enjoy- able one-day trip. Loch Long being an arm of the Firth of Clyde, its level is that of the sea, but Loch Lomond lies twenty-two feet higher. In shape it may be compared to a Malay crease or dagger, the waving I blade being about fourteen miles long and of a breadth ranging from half a mile to a mile and a half; while the hilt, about eight miles long, is some five miles wide at the broadest part. Its depth is as variable as its width, being measured by hundreds of feet at the northern end, where the vast flood is pent by granite mountains, and by tens of feet only at the southern extremity, where it is spread over a less precipitous country ; the maximum depth is at Craigenarden, being 660 feet. The superficial area of the lake is about twenty thousand acres, and it is by far the largest fresh-water loch in Scotland. As Christopher North exclaims, " Loch Lomond is a sea ! Along its shores you might voyage in your swift schooner, with shifting breezes, all a summer's day, nor at sunset, when you dropped anchor, have seen half the beautiful wonders." Wordsworth, who visited the locality with Coleridge in 1803, thought "the proportion of diffused water was too great," a sentiment that brought old Christopher down on him in a fine torrent of indignation. " It is out of our power," he THE MANSE BURN, ARROCHAR. 48 ,^<-.r^. 'i-m.-^^W^thf^M-. "^ m-^ ^<4.^V LOCH LOMOND, FROM ABOVE LU88. says, ^' to look on Loch Lomond without a feeling of perfection. The * diffusion of water ' is indeed great ; but in what a world it floats ! At first sight of it, how our soul expands ! The sudden revelation of such majestic beauty, wide as it is, and extending afar, inspires us with a power of comprehending it all." Totally distinct in character are the two sections of the Loch, the narrow and the wide. From the northern end down to Luss, the water is hemmed in on both sides by mighty hills, springing from the water and mounting to the sky so steeply that it looks as if a boulder started from the summit of any one of them would never cease its downward rush until it plunged into the Loch. "The lake is felt to belong to them — to be subjected to their will — and that is capricious; for some- 7rA Jjj: