Lochs & Glens

On August 8th, 100 years ago the Jed-Forest band accompanied by many of the people of the border town of Jedburgh set out on an epic journey to the Inversnaid Hotel. It was to be a long day! To quote the Jedburgh Gazette - "The bugle call was given at 4.30am on Saturday morning. Three young trumpeters paraded the streets rousing the inhabitants. Now and again in the course of their perambulations they stopped and sentforth a blast to penetrate the dullest mind in deepest sleep". Once roused almost 400 of the inhabitants set forth by special train, picking up more passengers at each stop on the branch line until they arrived on the pier at the southern end of Loch Lomond where they boarded the steamship "Empress" for the final part of the journey.

At that time the Inversnaid Hotel was known as Blair's Hotel and there was some considerable consternation when each disembarking passenger was asked for 2d pier dues!

During the course of the day a concert was arranged and dance music played and the area was generally explored. Apparently a number of the visitors, or excursionists as the Jedburgh Gazette called them, visited Rob Roy's Cave near the hotel and although "the way to it was rough and toilsome it was well worthy of the visit, No dignity could be maintained in descending to the entrance of the cave. The way is crooked and the foothold precarious, so that the explorer is wise to discard all efforts of elegance". Little has changed since then!

One hundred years later the band returned to Inversnaid for a centennial visit, this time by coach and ferry as, sadly, both the railway line and the steamer service are no more. Surprisingly, some of the band were related to the earlier group! The weather was kind and the three concerts provided were very much appreciated by the hotel guests.

The final paragraph of the Jedburgh Gazette of 10th August, 1899 applied just as much to this year's visit as it had to the original - "Jed-Forest Band gave excellent performances during the day and added much to the enjoyment of the time passed at Inversnaid".

On the last Sunday in September, the Arrochar Church bell rang out across the loch for the first time in many years marking the reopening of the building.

Three years ago the church, built in 1847, was declared unsafe and beyond repair and was closed. Finally the Church of Scotland decided to demolish the building.

However, one determined Arrochar lady made a vow to save her place of worship. She worked ceaselessly, raising money and campaigning against closure, until people realised that unless something was done quickly they would lose their church forever! A small group of residents got together and asked local tradesmen to assess the cost of the work required to make the structure safe so that they could approach the Church of Scotland with evidence that the work could be done for less than the cost of demolition.

Since then a massive task has been achieved. The Church of Scotland agreed to lease the building to a local community trust and local tradesmen gave hours of their own time rebuilding the roof, rewiring, plastering and decorating. Local villagers helped in any way they could, labouring, cleaning and completing the necessary paper work and in fact there can be few in the village who have not helped either physically or financially. I am pleased to say that Lochs and Glens Holidays were able to play their part in this community project by donating the replacement pair of cedar doors at the main entrance. However, although the church now looks very beautiful, there is still much to be done in the months ahead.

When the bell rang on that September afternoon at the service of dedication and thanksgiving, and the seats and aisles were filled to capacity with local people, there must have been many who felt a pride in the part they had played in returning the church to the community.

Winkie Moore

Just a few miles away from the Loch Tummel Hotel lies the remarkable Blair Castle, for seven centuries home to the Atholl family. Centre of a vast estate, the castle was strategically positioned to guard the mountain pass that leads north to Inverness and beyond.

Over the years many monarchs have enjoyed the castle's unique hospitality. In 1564, a hunt was arranged during Mary, Queen of Scots visit when 360 deer and five wolves were killed. Three hundred years later Queen Victoria stayed in the castle for a summer holiday and was so impressed at the vigilance of the estate guards, she granted the Duke of Atholl and his men her colours and thus the Atholl Highlanders became a private army. Today they are the only one remaining in Europe. In 1936 the castle became the first private house to be opened to the public and a few years later, during the war, it became home to a prep school and Glasgow evacuees.

Normally closed to visitors during the winter months, it will be opened especially for Lochs and Glens guests staying at the Loch Tummel Hotel in 2000 during February and March. The castle is crammed with a fascinating array of beautiful and intriguing objects collected by the family over the centuries - in fact it would be impossible to see all that is on view in the 20 odd rooms that will be open. Some are on a grand scale, but just as interesting are the rooms that show it as a family home - be sure to see the family's treasure room and the nursery!