Thursday 26th August 1819
Thursday Augt 26th Cairndow is situated nearly at the
top of Loch Fine we went to Inverary to breakfast the road to this place lies on the banks of Loch Fine the town is small and the Inn tolerable after breakfast we inspected the Duke of Argyll’s castle which is well worthy of notice the park is well wooded we then again started for Dalmally through a wild country where we caught a beautiful view of Loch Awe, surrounded by stupendous fine mountains which continue till we arrived at Dalmally a comfortable little Inn
OBSERVATIONS & COMMENTS:
Loch Fyne is a sea loch. In the north the terrain is mountainous, with the Arrochar Alps, Beinn Bhuidhe, Glen Shira, Glen Fyne, Glen Croe, Arrochar, Tyndrum and Loch Lomond nearby.
Loch Fyne near Inverary Argyleshire , engraved by J Mayson after J Ferguson & published by J Menzies 61 Princes St Edinbr. http://www.rareoldprints.com/z/21766
2018: The head of Loch Fyne, with a reflection of Àird na Slaite house seen from Tighcladich, near St Catherines. On the far left, Dunderave Castle stands on the opposite shore. Author Dave Souza, the copyright holder of this work. Published under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Loch_Fyne_from_Tighcladich.jpg
It is overlooked by the Tinkers' Heart, an old travellers’ monument.
2008: Bellanoch: Canal reflections Looking across the Crinan Canal, by Chris Downer. This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. The copyright on this image is owned by Chris Downer and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bellanoch,_canal_reflections_-_geograph.org.uk_-_915988.jpg
The Crinan Canal, built between 1794 and 1801 under the supervision of John Rennie, provides a shortcut for smaller vessels out to the Hebrides saving the longer route of going around the Kintyre peninsula. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Fyne
2000: Inveraray Bridge on Loch Fyne. The spires of Inveraray Castle can just be seen on the left. The hill behind the bridge is Dun Corr Bhile. Author Michael Parry. This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. The copyright on this image is owned by Michael Parry and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Inveraray_Bridge_-_Loch_Fyne.jpg
Inveraray is the ancestral home to the Duke of Argyll. In 1747 William Adam had drawn up plans for the creation of a new Inveraray. By 1770 little had been done, and the fifth Duke set about rebuilding the town in its present form.
2003: Inveraray, Scotland by DrTorstenHenning, the copyright holder of this work, released by him into the public domain. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TyInveraray20030829r25f32.jpg
Some of the work on the rebuilt Inveraray was done by John Adam. The Inveraray Inn (formerly known as the New Inn, Great Inn, Argyll Arms Hotel and Argyll Hotel) on Front Street being his, as well as the Town House. Much of the rest of the town, including the church, was designed and built by Robert Mylne (1733-1811) between 1772 and 1800. The end product was an attractive town which included houses for estate workers, a woollen mill, and a pier to exploit herring fishing, which was to mushroom in later years to play a major role in the town's economy. The finished product is one of the best examples of an 18th-century new town in Scotland. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inveraray
Inveraray Inn was opened in 1755 initially for officials visiting the castle https://inveraray-inn.co.uk/ They have a charming Video on YouTube which shows the Inn and town scenes of Inverary at https://www.youtube.com/embed/4VNFhezUJYE
Stupendous Fine Mountains: We know from her sketchbook that on 26th August Lucy sketched Ben Lui (she captions her sketch Ben Lay) and that she ascended “Nelson’s Monument” to sketch Ben Cruachan (captioned Ben Chruachan). She may well have stopped to sketch Ben Lui on the road to Dalmally, but “Nelsons Monument”, a prehistoric standing stone, is on the road from Dalmally to Taynuilt, which she journeyed along the following day. We shall be placing that drawing in tomorrow’s entry when we shall comment on the monument.
Ben Lui
Dalmally village benefited from Ludovic Picard, an architect who worked for Lord Breadalbane. In 1780–81 he built various edifices at the western end of the Breadalbane Estates: Dalmally Bridge, the Bridge of Awe, which was swept away in 1992, Dalmally Inn, a renovated church, and several other houses in the area. Dalmally Bridge was built to make movements of cattle and troops easier: it was on the military road between Tyndrum and Oban. Since 1780, Dalmally Bridge has been strengthened and repaired.
1836: Kilchurn Castle, Loch Awe. Looking Towards Dalmally. (Argyleshire.) Engraved by Thomas Barber from an original study by the painter-architect Thomas Allom. Originally produced for the part-work series “Scotland Illustrated” (London : 1835-1838). https://www.ashrare.com/argyll_prints.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dalmally
Loch Awe is renowned for its trout fishing. Salmon pass through the loch, coming past the barrage in the River Awe and continuing into the River Orchy. It contains several ruined castles on islands, and at the northern end has one of the most photographed castles in Scotland, Kilchurn Castle. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loch_Awe
Loch Awe, Argyleshire , by W.Banks & Son, Edinburgh http://www.rareoldprints.com/z/3716
2005: Loch Awe. Photo taken from the Falls of Cruachan by James Hearton. This image was taken from the Geograph project collection. The copyright on this image is owned by James Hearton and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/Loch_Awe_-_geograph.org.uk_-_171800.jpg
Lucy’s sketch of Loch Awe is dated the previous day. She made a number of errors when dating her sketches later
Dalmally Hotel: in 1781 Ludovic Picard built a three-storey, three–bay hotel on the site of the present-day Dalmally Hotel. Later (1841- 44) the hotel was extended with the addition of a west wing. http://www.dalmallyhistory.org/history-timeline/
The Muthu Dalmally Hotel today, from their website, https://www.muthuhotels.com/muthu-dalmally-hotel/en/gallery.html
Inverary Castle replaced an earlier 15th-century castle. The foundation stone was laid in October 1746 making it one of the earliest Gothic Revival buildings, together with Strawberry Hill House.
Inverary Castle, from Morris's Seats http://www.rareoldprints.com/z/22194
2015: Inveraray Castle, Scotland from the south-west by DeFacto, who published it under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/archive/b/bf/20150917105043%21Inveraray_Castle_-_south-west_facade.jpg
The village of Inveraray was moved in the 1770s to give the castle a more secluded setting. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inveraray_Castle
Can you help us?
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?