End of the Road

The rain was stottin' off the ground yesterday (as confirmed by Toots and the Don who came back from their run richt drookit) so our kayaking outing on Loch Tay was most definitely off.  Instead we decided to take a bonny drive over the hills along the lochs, basically to the end of the world - otherwise known as Rannoch Station, right on the edge of Rannoch Moor.

At 1,000 feet above sea level, the 56 square miles of Rannoch Moor provides one of the wildest and forbidding landscapes in Scotland.  Treacherous mires, boulder strewn moorland, complete lack of shelter and exposure to wind and rain, makes this an inhospitable environment.

Scientific evidence indicates that about 20,000 years ago a huge glacier moved across Rannoch Moor. When the ice sheets melted the area was left as an undulating plateau of morainic deposits punctuated by hundreds of small lochans and a few larger lochs.  The vegetation that subsequently developed represents the most extensive area of western blanket mire in Great Britain and it is of international nature conservation importance.

The world famous Rannoch Station was opened on 7th August 1894.  It stands on the edge of the Moor and is part of the West Highland Line, a romantic and beautiful railway that travels from Glasgow to Mallaig through heather moors, hills and viaducts.  When the West Highland Line was built across moor its builders had to float the tracks on a mattress of tree roots, brushwood and thousands of tons of earth and ashes to prevent the heavy steel tracks singing in the bog.  The station still hosts a wonderful cafe which warmed us up wonderfully after the bleak and wet drive.

On the way home we crossed the humpbacked Tummel Bridge, built by General Wade in about 1734 as part of his construction of some 240 miles of roads and 30 bridges in Scotland between 1725 and 1737.  His military roads linked the garrisons as Ruthven, Fort George, Fort Augustus and Fort William.

Today dawned slightly less wet, and as we were invited to another final (ha!) BBQ at the LambClans we decided on a big round route to Perth via Glen Lyon, Ben Lawers, Loch Tay, Killin, Lochearnhead and finally Crieff.

On our way to Glen Lyon, the longest enclosed glen in Scotland at 32 miles), we stopped at the tiny, picturesque village of Fortingall for a gander at its yew tree.

Believed to be Europe's - and possible event the world's - oldest living thing are two relic trunks of a huge, ancient yew tree.  Scholars believe the roots of this tree to be over 5,000 years old.  The markers on the ground show the size of the original evergreen giant in 1769 when it had a girth of over 56 feet (17m).  Sadly it attracted souvenir hunters who removed large sections, and children then lit fires inside the hollow trunks while funeral processions passed through its midst.  Eventually a wall had to built to stop the tree disappearing altogether.

Lunch stop was at the Falls of Dochart on the western edge of Loch Tay.  Unlike some other famous cataracts, these falls aren't steep, but narrow.  The River Dochart is short but powerful, and the river's name is thought to mean 'Scourer of Evil', suggesting a pure and cleansing force.  

Lunch was actually in the car, because you know... summer in Scotland... but the falls were nice nevertheless!