Sunday 10th October 1819
Sunday Oct 10th At 12 o’clock we left Killin & passing 8 miles of a most wild & mountainous country arrived at Lochearnhead situated at the top of Lochearn a fine lake having rested the horses we proceeded to Callander 16 miles the road is very bad, but
the country excessively fine in our way we passed Loch Lubnaig surrounded by most rugged & stupendous mountains the rain which has continued violently since yesterday made cataracts & rocks views enormously fine. The Inn at Callander is very good.
OBSERVATIONS & COMMENTS:
Lochearnhead lies at the foot of Glen Ogle and is situated at the western end of Loch Earn, with the settlement running from its shores up to higher ground on the hills at the mouth of Glen Ogle.
2007: Lochearnhead and Glen Ogle by Gartnait at English Wikipedia and released into the public domain by its author. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lochearnhead_and_Glen_Ogle.JPG
It lies within the Breadalbane area of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.Numerous tales of hauntings and legends are associated with the place that make fun reading (wikipedia link, below, from which this information and image have been extracted) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lochearnhead
Loch Earn is long and narrow but is unusual in that it has its own apparent 'tidal system', or seiche, caused by the action of the prevailing wind blowing along the loch.
2007: View from Loch Earn sailing club towards St. Fillans in the early hours of the morning by Inafinus, the copyright holder of this work, and published under the Creative Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_Fillans_from_Loch_Earn_Sailing_Club.jpg
This wind pressure on the surface causes the water level to build up at one end of the loch and the water will return to the opposite end of the loch over time, in the case of Loch Earn over 16 hours. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Earn
Callander serves as the eastern gateway to the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, the first National Park in Scotland, and is often referred to as the "Gateway to the Highlands".
2006: Bridgend from Callander Crags by Colin Smith. Lying south of the bridge, this is the oldest part of Callander. The long and narrow burgage plots are seen running away at right angles from the street. The newer, planned gridiron, part of the village is north of the river ie bottom edge of the photograph. Also visible at this edge is the small hill, Tom na Kessog, which may have been built as a Norman motte. This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. The copyright on this image is owned by Colin Smith and is licensed for reuse under the (CC BY-SA 2.0) Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bridgend_from_Callander_Crags_-_geograph.org.uk_-_222369.jpg
A 19th century Gothic church stands in the town square, named after Saint Kessog, an Irish missionary who is said to have preached in the area in the sixth-century.
2006: Church at Callander Used as a tourist office now by Kenneth Allen. This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. The copyright on this image is owned by Kenneth Allen and is licensed for reuse under the (CC BY-SA 2.0) Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Church_at_Callander_-_geograph.org.uk_-_250407.jpg
The church closed in 1985 but became home to a visitor centre and audio-visual attraction telling the story of local outlaw, Rob Roy MacGregor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callander
Loch Lubnaig is a small freshwater loch near Callander
2004: Loch Lubnaig in Scotland, taken by John Fader at English Wikipedia. This file is licensed under the (CC BY-SA 3.0) Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jfader_lubnaig.jpg
It is part of the Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park and nestles in the space between Ben Ledi and Ben Vorlich. Fed by the River Balvaig from the north and drained by the Garbh Uisge to the south, Loch Lubnaig offers fishing from the shore while canoes can be rented at the north end. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Lubnaig
The Crown Hotel at Callander is “an 18th century former coaching inn”.
Crown Hotel, Callander . It is located along Main Street. © Copyright Kenneth Allen and licensed for reuse under the (CC BY-SA 2.0) Creative Commons Licence. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1843554
“Serving since 1740, we have modern, newly refurbished en-suite rooms and locally sourced, home cooked food reflecting a true taste of Scotland”. http://www.crownhotelcallander.co.uk/
Dreadnought Hotel: “Centrally situated in the popular holiday town of Callander, the 17th century Dreadnought Hotel successfully combines the attractions of a historical building with modern day comforts.
Image from the Dreadnaught Hotel entry in "Visit Scotland" at https://www.visitscotland.com/info/accommodation/dreadnought-hotel-p921901
Callander is the gateway to the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park, making it the ideal location for a Scottish Break”. https://www.visitscotland.com/info/accommodation/dreadnought-hotel-p921901
Can you help us?
Inn?: Did Lucy stay at either of these inns, or was there another quality hotel in Callander in 1819? She records that The Inn at Callander is very good.
Old Regency Prints, Pictures an Coaching maps: Do you have access to any prints or pictures showing what town and country would have looked like when Lucy travelled through? Any illustrations of what she would have seen in 1819 will enliven our research.
New Pictures: Do you have any modern pictures of the streets, buildings, gardens and views that would enable us to see the changes that two centuries have wrought?