Focus on The Trossachs!
- shinytime
- Jan 21, 2015
- 2 min read
During the quiet Winter months, i've decided to blog on certain areas in Scotland that you may want to visit with us.
Why not start at the place where I live and love, "The Trossachs!" It's not an area particulary defined on a map...it's starts around 15 miles west of Stirling all the way up north to Strathyre and west to Loch Lomond. Indeed, it is within the boundaries of 'The Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park'.
Believe it or not, Scotland did not have a national park until 2003, even though John Muir, founder of the National Parks in the USA was born in Scotland.
The Trossachs are where the Highlands meet the Lowlands, an area of warring clans, of Cattle thieves, of romantic poetry from Sir Walter Scott. I had the great honour of playing Sir Walter Scott (on Russian TV) a few years ago when an unpublished poem was discovered locally after 200 years!.
There are two main towns in the area, Callander and Aberfoyle, connected by a fabulous drive called the 'Trossachs Trail'. On this drive we pass through stunning villages such as Brig o' Turk and Port of Mentieth. Part of this drive is a mountain pass, an ancient toll road opened by the Duke of Argyle. This road is impassable more often than not in the winter!
A small deviation from the trail takes us to Loch Katrine. It was here where Rob Roy MacGregor kidnapped the Dukes Factor and murdered him on an island on the Loch.
You can walk around the loch 14 miles, hire a bicycle or a buggy car. You can also sail on the old paddle steamer 'The Sir Walter Scott'. Stunning!
Heading around the trail we pass the only 'lake' in Scotland, the Lake of Mentieth! Why 'lake'? The story goes that the man that betrayed William Wallace was the Earl of Mentieth,
hence his Loch was given the English name, to remind the decendents of the ten Earl of the betrayel of their ancester!
For your Scottish Holiday, why not base yourself in the Trossachs, easy reach for the Highlands and only one hour from either Glasgow or Edinburgh Airports!
Trossachs Clans include: MacGregor,MacLaren,Buchanan, Culquoun and McNab
