7th October 1819, Falls of Bruar, fall of Tilt, Glen Tilt, Forest Lodge

Thursday 7th October 1819

Thursday Oct 7th Before breakfast we rode in the barouche 3 miles to the falls of the Bruar they are in a most romantic dell in the Dukes grounds & the rocks over which they dash peculiarly rude & striking after breakfast we inspected the Dukes house which is very large but nothing particular the grounds are very beautiful but not to be compared either in extent or beauty to those at Dunkeld there is a pretty fall of the Tilt near the house & a most romantic walk by the side of the same river whose banks are very steep & thickly wooded; we afterwards took a ride of 16 miles to Forest Lodge situated in the middle of Glen Tilt which is in some parts finely wooded in others are very wild & gloomy the lodge belongs to the Duke which he keeps his deer hounds we returned the

opposite side of the glen being much pleased with our ride

OBSERVATIONS & COMMENTS:

Falls of Bruar have served as a tourist attraction since the 1700s. The poet Robert Burns commented that the falls were "exceedingly picturesque and beautiful", but that their effect "is much impaired by the want of trees and shrubs". He made his point in a poem The Humble Petition of Bruar Water to the Noble Duke of Atholl, with the lines: Would then my noble master please To grant my highest wishes, He'll shade my banks wi' tow'ring trees, And bonnie spreading bushes to the landowner, John Murray, 4th Duke of Atholl. https://www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/blairatholl/fallsofbruar/index.html

The Middle Falls, Bruar , seen from a viewpoint beyond a decorative arch near the lower bridge. The set of falls here total about 15m in height. © Copyright Jim Barton and licensed for reuse under the (CC BY-SA 2.0) Creative Commons Licence. https:/… — The Middle Falls, Bruar , seen from a viewpoint beyond a decorative arch near the lower bridge. The set of falls here total about 15m in height. © Copyright Jim Barton and licensed for reuse under the (CC BY-SA 2.0) Creative Commons Licence. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5144805

Almost ten years later, after Burn's death in 1796, Murray began an ambitious scheme of planting that would eventually include 120,000 Larch and Scots Pine. The Duke was of the opinion that the planting should be both pleasing to the eye and profitable. He was eventually to become known as "Planter John", planting over 15 million trees throughout his estates during his lifetime. At the Falls of Bruar he also laid out the path that is still in use today, constructed the two bridges as viewpoints over the falls, and built a large number of huts and shelters.

The huts were disliked by some visitors, and eventually fell into disrepair: only the partial remains of one stone hut can still be seen. William Wordsworth objected to the neatness of the paths when he visited in 1815, but the harsh lines of these have mellowed over the years. During the Victorian period many Rhododendron were planted to enhance the landscape. Most of the trees were cut down during World War II. Once hostilities ended, the trees were replanted, again with Scots Pine but this time mixed with Hybrid Larch, Fir and Spruce. Native species were also allowed to colonize the banks: nowadays, the conifers are mixed with Mountain Ash, Willow, Aspen and Birch. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falls_of_Bruar

Fall of Tilt: There are a number of falls on the River Tilt: https://www.ukriversguidebook.co.uk/rivers/scotland/central-highlands/photos/river-tilt-the-slot .

Lower Fallsof Tarf, Glen Tilt . The lower falls of Tarf above the Bedford Memorial Bridge in upper Glen Tilt. This is at the point where the more powerful Tarf flowing from the remote wilderness North of Glen Tilt joins the Allt Garbh Buidhe. © Copy… — Lower Fallsof Tarf, Glen Tilt . The lower falls of Tarf above the Bedford Memorial Bridge in upper Glen Tilt. This is at the point where the more powerful Tarf flowing from the remote wilderness North of Glen Tilt joins the Allt Garbh Buidhe. © Copyright Angus and licensed for reuse under the (CC BY-SA 2.0) Creative Commons Licence. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/263473

However, Lucy may have meant the Falls of Tarf, made famous as a favourite spot of Queen Victoria and consisting of a stunning set of cascading waterfalls with a suspension footbridge crossing. https://www.knockendarroch.co.uk/pitlochryhotel/glen-tilt-and-the-falls-of-tarf.html

Falls of Tarf. © Copyright Peter Ward and licensed for reuse under the (CC BY-SA 2.0) Creative Commons Licence. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/107787

This was the scene of a well known painting by W.Leitch of Queen Victoria fording the river Tarf on her traverse of Glen Tilt on the 9th Oct. 1861.(before the present Bedford Bridge). The Duke of Atholl offered to lead her pony, but she rejected him, "I prefer Brown." said she. The party is led by two pipers, up to a sensitive area, in the icy waters of the Tarf! https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/107787

Forest Lodge sits in a secluded location at the heart of Glen Tilt, eight miles along a private unsurfaced track from Blair Atholl.

1006.1 Forest Lodge in Gln Tilt near Blair Athol.jpg

Lucy’s sketch, above, entitled: “Forest Lodge in Glen Tilt near Blair Athol” - the two pictures below of Forest Lodge as it is now show that little has changed.

Originally a sporting lodge most of the original features remain. https://atholl-estates.co.uk/stay-on-the-estate/highland-lodges/forest-lodge/

Glen Tilt: The River Tilt follows a geological fault through the hills for much of its length through Glen Tilt, entering the River Garry after a course of 14 miles, then receiving the River Tarf on the right, which forms some beautiful falls just above the confluence, and on the left the Fender, which has some fine falls also.

Glen Tilt ; Glen Tilt is deepened along fault lines and is very straight with steep sides. Thanks to the mineral rich soils it is very green. © Copyright Richard Webb and licensed for reuse under the (CC BY-SA 2.0) Creative Commons Licence. https://… — Glen Tilt ; Glen Tilt is deepened along fault lines and is very straight with steep sides. Thanks to the mineral rich soils it is very green. © Copyright Richard Webb and licensed for reuse under the (CC BY-SA 2.0) Creative Commons Licence. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2395620

Marble of good quality was occasionally quarried in Glen Tilt, and the rock formation has long attracted the attention of geologists, including James Hutton who visited the glen in 1785 in search of boulders which indicated to him that the granite had been molten at the time and that granite formed from cooling of molten rock, contradicting the ideas of Neptunism of that time that theorised that rocks were formed by precipitation out of water.

Glen Tilt view . A bend in the line of the glen seen from the path to Gaw's Bridge. © Copyright Jim Barton and licensed for reuse under the (CC BY-SA 2.0) Creative Commons Licence. https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/5183463

Hutton concluded that the granite must be younger than the schists, one of the findings that led him to develop his theory of Plutonism and the concept of an immensely long geologic time scale with "no vestige of a beginning, no prospect of an end". https://www.blairatholl.org.uk/things-to-see-do/nature/Glen-Tilt.html

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?

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