Tuesday 31st August 1819
Tuesday 31st The morning was beautifully serene & after breakfast we embarked for Ballachulish a breeze fortunately
sprang up in our favour which kindly wafted us to our place of destination in two or three hours the Ferry house which is the Inn is tolerably comfortable; the gentlemen sailed on some miles further to see a waterfall.
OBSERVATIONS & COMMENTS:
Ballachulish Ferry House. Its history timeline is carefully detailed by the Ballachulish Community Association:
1800: Dr Thomas Garnett undertook a tour of the Highlands in 1800, and wrote an ‘Observation’ or diary of his journey. He had the following to say of his stay at the Ballachulish Ferry House: “We found the accommodation both for ourselves and our horse at the ferry-house of Ballichellish very uncomfortable, but being fatigued by the labour and heat of the preceding day, we slept tolerably, and early the next morning set off for Glencoe.”
1801: After over a Decade at Christ Church College in Oxford, John Stoddart undertook a tour of Scotland in 1801. He was later to be editor of The Times, but his main career was as a lawyer and later Judge. He wrote about his tour of Scotland in ‘Remarks on the Local Scenery and Manners of Scotland’ and has this to say about his stay in Ballachulish: “A mile or two more brought us to Ballachulish, where we experienced the warmest welcome from Captain and Mrs Stewart… The landscape is continually varied, by cottages, by the great slate-work of Ballachulish, by a lime-kiln, and various other objects on the wayside; by the islands in the lake; and by the woods and residences at the base of the mountains.”
1801: Mrs Mary Aust wrote a ‘Companion and Useful Guide to Beauties of Scotland’ in which she says that “The Inn at Bailechoalish is small, but it was neatly kept by a new landlady. In general it is ill kept.” This seems to support Garnett’s opinion of the previous year, but suggests that the new landlady may be trying to improve matters. There are further words of warning, however, as she also claims that it once took 11 hours to do the ‘about 26 miles’ from Oban to Ballachulish, thanks to the lack of people available to help load her carriage at Connel and Shian ferries. Sadly there is no mention of her experience with the Ballachulish Ferry.
1817-21: The Commission for Highland Roads and Bridges, under the supervision of Thomas Telford takes over responsibility for the Military Roads and also the Glencoe Drove Road. Subsequent to this, improvements are carried out on the route along Loch Leven and over the Ballachulish Ferry.
In 1819, on their tour of Telford’s Works, Thomas Telford, his colleagues Joseph Mitchell and John Rickman and their friend the poet Robert Southey stayed at Ballachulish Ferry for the night. Because neither Inn had enough room for all of their party, they split into two groups, half staying on each side of the ferry. http://balla-hall.co.uk/ballachulish-heritage/ballachulish-timeline/1800-1869/
This photograph was taken from the hotel’s website, http://www.lochlevenhotel.co.uk/
The Loch Leven Hotel claims to be a historic ferry Inn dating back to the time of Bonnie Prince Charlie. http://www.lochlevenhotel.co.uk/ However, The Ballachulish Community Association notes that: “As with the Ballachulish Hotel above, there has almost certainly been an Inn or Hotel on the current site since the early 18th Century when the ferry started operating, if not long before. However, the current building appears to largely date from c1860.”
Can you help us?
Ballachulish Ferry House: Does it still exist?
Loch Levin Hotel: Could this be where the Coplands stayed?
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?