The Central Highlands - The Rough Guide to Scottish Highlands and Islands - page 133

ROB ROY
A member of the outlawed Macgregor clan, Rob Roy (meaning “Red Robert” in Gaelic) was born
in 1671 in Glengyle, just north of Loch Katrine, and lived for some time as a respectable cattle
farmer and trader, supported by the powerful duke of Montrose. In 1712, finding himself in a tight
spot when a cattle deal fell through, Rob Roy absconded with £1000, some of it belonging to the
duke. He took to the hills to live as a brigand, his feud with Montrose escalating after the duke
repossessed Rob Roy's land and drove his wife from their house. He was present at the Battle of
Sheriffmuir during the Jacobite uprising of 1715, ostensibly supporting the Jacobites but probably
as an opportunist: the chaos would have made cattle-raiding easier. Eventually captured and
sentenced to transportation, Rob Roy was pardoned and returned to Balquhidder (see p.139),
northeast of Glengyle, where he remained until his death in 1734.
Rob Roy's status as a local hero in the mould of Robin Hood should be tempered with the fact
that he was without doubt a bandit and blackmailer. His life has been much romanticized, from
Sir Walter Scott's 1818 novel Rob Roy to the 1995 film starring Liam Neeson, although the tale
does serve well to dramatize the clash between the doomed clan culture of the Gaelic-speaking
Highlanders and the organized feudal culture of lowland Scots, which effectively ended with
the defeat of the Jacobites at Culloden in 1746. His grave in Balquhidder, a simple affair behind
the ruined church, is mercifully free of the tartan trappings that plague parts of the Trossachs,
predictably dubbed “Rob Roy Country” by the tourist board.

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slopes. It is country ripe for stirring tales of brave kilted clansmen, a role fulfilled by Rob
Roy Macgregor, the seventeenth-century outlaw whose name seems to attach to every
second waterfall, cave and barely discernible path. Strictly speaking, the name “Trossachs”,
normally translated as either “bristly country” or “crossing place”, originally referred only
to the wooded glen between Loch Katrine and Loch Achray, but today it is usually taken as
being the whole area from Callander right up to the eastern banks of Loch Lomond, with
which it has been grouped as one of Scotland's national parks.
The Trossachs' high tourist profile was largely attributable in the early days to
Sir Walter Scott, whose novels Lady of the Lake and Rob Roy were set in and around the
area. According to one contemporaneous account, after Scott's Lady of the Lake was
published in 1810, the number of carriages passing Loch Katrine rose from fifty the
previous year to 270. Since then, neither the popularity nor beauty of the region has
waned, and in high season the place is jam-packed with coaches full of tourists as well
as walkers and mountain-bikers taking advantage of the easily accessed scenery.
Autumn is a better time to come, when the hills are blanketed in rich, rusty colours
and the crowds are thinner. In terms of where to stay, Aberfoyle has a rather dowdy air
while Callander feels somewhat overrun, and you're often better of seeking out one of
the guesthouses or B&Bs tucked away in secluded corners of the region.

Aberfoyle
Each summer the sleepy little town of ABERFOYLE , twenty miles west of Stirling, dusts
itself down for its annual influx of tourists. Though of little appeal itself, Aberfoyle's
position in the heart of the Trossachs is ideal, with Loch Ard Forest and Queen Elizabeth
Forest Park stretching across to Ben Lomond and Loch Lomond to the west, the long
curve of Loch Katrine and Ben Venue to the northwest, and Ben Ledi to the northeast.
Don't come here for lively nightlife or entertainment, but for a good, healthy blast of
the outdoors.

Fairy Knowe
From Aberfoyle you might like to wander north of the village to Doon Hill : cross the
bridge over the Forth, continue past the cemetery and then follow signs to the Fairy
Knowe (knoll). A toadstool marker points you through oak and holly trees to the
summit of the Knowe where there is a pine tree said to contain the unquiet spirit of the