UMBRELLA FIR, GLAS LEITIRE.
As we approach the strand of Loch Maree the woods of Glas Leitire begin, and now the interest heightens. Wildfowl may often be seen about the marshy ground at the head of the loch. On theleft a spur of Meall a Ghuibhais, with wild ravines, comes near the road, and the mingled foliage of the firs and birches enhances the charms of the scene.
Ru Nohar, with its little pier or jetty, is soon reached and passed. Were it not for the great convenience of the steamer on Loch Maree, and the new beauties it unfolds, most people would think it out of character with the wild surroundings.
Passing through theGlas Leitirewoods roe-deer and black game may often be observed. One or two fir trees are of umbrella-like form (seeillustration).
Her most gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, in "More Leaves from the Journal of a Life in the Highlands," describes this part of the route in the following graphic language:—
"The windings of the road are beautiful, and afford charming glimpses of the lake, which is quite locked in by the overlapping mountains. There are trees above and below it, of all kinds, but chiefly birch, pine, larch, and alder, with quantities of high and most beautiful heather and bracken growing luxuriantly, high rocks surmounting the whole. Here and there a fine Scotch fir, twisted, and with a stem and head like a stone-pine, stands out on a rocky projection into the loch, relieved against the blue hills as in some Italian view."
ABOVE GRUDIDH BRIDGE.
The road is almost level until a mile beyond the bridge of Grudidh. Before we reach this bridge the wild GlenGrudidh, which is one of the most telling features in the scenery of Gairloch, has come in view. Its noble centre-piece is the fine peak ofRuadh StacofBeinn Eighe, which is the highest summit in Gairloch parish, and attains an altitude of 3309 feet. The smaller peak beyond it acts as a foil to set off its grandeur.
There are fine old fir trees nearGrudidhbridge; in combination with the rocky course of theGrudidhwater they supply a series of splendid subjects for the artist's brush (seeillustrations).
A mile furtherEilean Grudidhis seen in a little bay. This island is mentioned onpages 21,24, and43, and is described onpage 98. It was many centuries ago a stronghold of the MacBeaths, and afterwards of the MacLeods.
The road here is wild and dreary. Her Majesty speaks of it thus:—"Part of the way the road emerges altogether from the trees and passes by a mass of huge piled-up and tumbled-about stones, which everywhere are curiously marked, almost as though they were portions of a building, and have the appearance of having been thrown about by some upheaving of the earth."
Some rocks by the roadside exhibit fine examples of groovings and scratchings effected by ice in the glacial epoch.
The rocky hill along the base of which the road passes isCoinneachadh Beag(1830 feet), a spur ofBeinn a Chearcaill. The English ofCoinneachadhis a "meeting-place;" it does not require a great flight of imagination to picture the famous Hector Roy meeting his warrior forces on the slope of this wild hill to plan dire vengeance against the blood-stained M'Leods. Two miles beyond Grudidh bridge the road ascends and climbs the shoulder ofCoinneachadh Beag, which runs out in a low promontory almost dividing Loch Maree. The highest part of the road is 130 feet above the level of the loch, and affords a fine view of Letterewe at the other side, and of the hills beyond it, on which is the place called to this day the Hollow of the son of Black John. An account of the death of this Macleod at the spot which bears his name will be found onpages 43and44. Descending the western side of the hill we reach the hamlet of Talladale, at the foot of the Talladale river, which comes from Strath Lungard. Here are picturesque trees. On the right is an old lime-kiln, and a little further on the same side the keeper's house. In the corner of the first field on the left were formerly ironworks (seepage 92). John Roy Mackenzie, fourth laird of Gairloch, died at Talladale; his piper, Rorie Mackay, spent part of his life here, and here Rorie's son, the celebrated "Blind piper," was born. Crossing the bridge, notice the stony bed of the small river and the steep end of Beinn an Eoin in the distance to the right. Almost immediately we reach
The Loch Maree Hotel, Talladale.
This hotel was built in 1872, and is beautifully placed in a sheltered bay, backed by a hill called Sron a Choit, 970 feet in height, whose rocky tops rise above most beautiful natural birch woods. A small pier or jetty was erected here in 1884 as a landing-place for the steamer. There are good stables, in connection with the larger posting establishment at Gairloch. Mr M'Iver, of Achnasheen, has also a stable not far from the hotel for the horses which work his mail-cars. The hotel, which has lovelyviews ofSliochand the islands of Loch Maree, contains a spacious coffee-room, a private sitting-room, and near a score of bedrooms. There is a telegraph and post office, and a supply of boats and gillies waiting for engagement. Visitors here have the privilege of fishing some of the best parts of Loch Maree. The sport varies in different years, and is frequently very good.Part IV., chap. xvii., is devoted to the subject of angling in Loch Maree, which may be said to continue from the middle of May to the middle of October. The greatest rush of anglers is from the middle of August to the middle of September; I recommend those who can to come earlier in the season.
The Loch Maree Hotel has been distinguished by the visit of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, who occupied the house from 12th to 18th September 1877. Her Majesty narrates the incidents of this visit very fully in her book already quoted, to which I beg to refer the tourist. Her Majesty has the following entry on the day of her departure:—"Got up early and breakfasted at half-past eight, and at a quarter to nine we left with regret our nice cozy little hotel at Loch Maree, which I hope I may some day see again." This visit of our most gracious Sovereign evoked the reverential loyalty of all in Gairloch, and the popular wish still cherished among us may be accurately expressed in the old words,—
"Will ye no come back agen?"
In commemoration of the visit of Her Majesty, Sir Kenneth Mackenzie caused an inscription to be carved on a boulder of the "Torridon red" sandstone, which stands opposite the front door of the hotel. The inscription is in Gaelic, and is as follows:—"Air an dara latha-deug deth mhios meadhonach an fhoghair, 1877, thainig Ban-Righ Bhictoria a dh' fhaicinn Loch-Maruibhe, agus nan criochan mu'n cuairt. Dh'fhan i sea oidhche s'an tigh-osda so thall; agus 'na caomhalachd, dheonaich i g'um biodh a' chlach so 'na cuimhneachan air an tlachd a fhuair i 'na teachd do 'n chearn so de Ros."
The following is a literal translation:—"On the twelfth day of the middle month of autumn 1877 Queen Victoria came to visit Loch Maree and the country round it. She remained six nights in the opposite hotel, and, in her kindness, agreed that this stone should be a memorial of the pleasure she experienced in coming to this quarter of Ross."
Theroad from Talladale to Gairloch passes for more than a mile through the woods which here skirt Loch Maree. Pretty peeps of the loch are obtained here and there where the trees permit.
As the natural birch wood grows thinner, its place is taken by a thick plantation of larch. This is bounded by the Garavaig burn, which is surmounted by a substantial bridge. Crossing the bridge weget a glimpse of the Victoria Falls (Part III., chap. i.). On the right begin the fields or parks (as enclosed cultivated lands are always called in the north) of Slatadale. In the angle formed by the loch and the Garavaig burn, at the corner of the first park, was the old Garavaig iron-smelting furnace; and if this field should happen to have been lately ploughed, the traveller may notice that parts of it are stained black with charcoal burnings (seepage 93). The house of Slatadale, which is distant two miles from the Loch Maree Hotel, is a neat building, prettily situated near the margin of the loch.
Along the shore at Slatadale commences the section of the old road, which follows the line of the loch for some two miles further, and then strikes up the depression to the south-west of the Craig Tollie range, and so reaches Poolewe. Remains of this old military road have been visible all the way from Achnasheen, except in some parts where the present road is on the same track.
From Slatadale the road to Gairloch rapidly ascends, winding round the base of a hill namedMeall Lochan a Chleirich(1319 feet), which rises to the left; on the right, but further away, isMeall an Doire. As we approach the summit, lovely views are obtained of the range of mountains on the north-east side of Loch Maree (including the conical peak ofSlioch), and of the wide part of the loch with its numerous islands, which from this point of view stand out distinctly separate from each other.
A little above the road, on the left, is a large detached fragment of rock, which bears a curious resemblance to an old stage coach, or perhaps, more accurately speaking, to one of the old lumberingdiligencesof France.
Just beyond the apex of the watershed is a small loch, on the left, called Fear (orFeir) Loch, and a little further a larger and very picturesque loch calledLoch Bad na Sgalaig; in the distance is the superb peak ofBathaisor BusBheinn. For an account of the introduction of pike into these lochs seePart IV., chap. xviii. The good bag of eagles recorded inPart III., chap. iii., was made on Bus-Bheinn; and Iain Liath's well (seepage 39) is at the base of the mountain. Near the road, but on the other side of the River Kerry where it leaves LochBad na Sgalaig, is a keeper's house; and a little beyond it the old road diverges to the right, at the foot of a hill calledMeall Aundrairidh(1068 feet).
The road now rapidly descends, and in half a mile passes alongside the Kerry Falls (Part III., chap. i.). Another mile brings us to Kerry bridge, where Her Majesty Queen Victoria, on 17th September 1877, graciously met above two hundred and fifty Lews people, who had come over by steamer from Stornoway to see their beloved Queen, accompanied by the Rev. Mr Greenfield, their minister.
The road over this bridge leads to Shieldaig and the other places on the south side of Gairloch. Beautiful patches of natural wood are seen on all sides, and the colouring of the lower hills is very fine.
A little further, Kerrysdale House is passed. It is a small farmhouse, with very picturesque surroundings, but is placed rather low.The road now enters a large larch plantation, and runs for some distance along the Kerry river. This was a well-known resort of the fairies. The Gaelic name of Kerrysdale isCathair Bheag, or the "little seat" of the fairies. Emerging from the wood, look back at the remarkably fine view ofBathaisor BusBheinn. It rises beyond the centre of the deep gorge, which has dense woods on either side. In the dark depths of this gorge the River Kerry is seen gleaming far below. Another mile brings us to the bay and hamlet of Charlestown, in an inner recess of the Gairloch sea-loch. The houses clustered about the head of this bay (called in GaelicCeann an t' Sail, or "the head of the salt water") are now generally included in the term Gairloch, as applied to a village or place. The first house we come to is Glen Cottage, the residence of Mr Donald Mackenzie, west coast manager for Sir Kenneth Mackenzie. Before arriving at the post-office several houses are seen below the road and near the sea to the left, where are some trees of remarkable size, considering that they actually overhang the tide. The best of these houses is a lodging-house kept by Miss M'Iver; another is the only bakehouse in the parish. On the other side of the little bay is the Gairloch pier, with its storehouse and several houses beyond, called Port na Heile.
The post-office (which was formerly the Gairloch Inn) is at the head of the bay of Charlestown. Close by is the burn or small river which comes from the Flowerdale glen.
Immediately over the bridge that spans this burn is the road, to the right, leading to Flowerdale House and farm. This road is private. About a quarter of a mile up it is Flowerdale House, on the left. On the right, in a field below the road, may be seen the remains of the garden walls of the Tigh Dige and Stank-house, recalling memories of the old chiefs of Gairloch, and in a paddock beyond is "the island of justice," all described in former pages. Among the farm buildings is the old barn with the Mackenzie coat-of-arms, including the figure of Donald Odhar, the great Macrae archer.
After passing the end of the Flowerdale road, the short road leading to the pier at Port na Heile turns off almost immediately to the left. Just beyond this point the main road passes the well called "the Gairloch," from the story told onpage 30.
Before leaving this picturesque little bay, the view up the Flowerdale glen, with the rockyCraig a Chaitrising above the woods immediately behind the house, ought to be particularly noted. Think of DonaldOdhar's wonderful shot recorded onpage 46. Looking out towards the sea-loch,Fraoch Eileanis seen, celebrated for the slaughter of so many Macleods in the affair of Leac nan Saighead, the story of which is told onpages 45 and 46.
It is about a mile further to the Gairloch Hotel. Mounting a "brae," we pass the Caledonian Bank on the right, and a little further the Established church, also on the right. Just below the road on the left, alongside of the Established church, is the hollow in the turf-covered sand called theLeabaidh na ba bàine, or "bed of the white cow," where the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is dispensedtwice a year. The gathering on these occasions is well worth seeing; it is described onpages 118et seq.
A little further, to the left of the road, in a flat hollow in the sand hills, is the Gairloch churchyard or burial-ground, where lie the remains of the older lairds of Gairloch, and of many of the bards, poets, and pipers mentioned in this book, as well as of a great number of the less-known inhabitants of Gairloch. Here also was formerly the church of StMaelrubha, probably a thatched edifice. Perhaps the most remarkable gravestone in the churchyard is that of John Hay (seepages 82 and 83), said to have been the last manager of the Letterewe ironworks. Outside the entrance to the churchyard some fragments of slag may be seen (page 95). Between the churchyard and the road is the monument erected to the memory of John Mackenzie of "The Beauties" (Part II., chap. xxii.). The road now mounts the shoulder of the hill called the Crasg (mentioned onpage 40); and fine views open out of the largest sandy beach at Gairloch, and of the wide expanse of the bay or sea-loch of the same name, with the hills of Skye, and some smaller islands further north, in the distance. At the south-west end of this sandy beach, a little to the right of the volunteer targets, is the hillock on which the Dun, the ancient castle of Gairloch, often named in the traditions given in Part I., and described onpage 98, formerly stood. Some traces of its foundations are still to be seen, as well as slight remains of a vitrified fort, which is supposed to have occupied the same site before the castle stood there. On the side of the Crasg overlooking the churchyard, and a few yards west of the high road, is theCnoc a Croiche, or "gallows hill," overhanging a steep ravine (seepage 116).
Surmounting the Crasg we rapidly descend, and passing the new Free church (which actually contains a stained-glass rose window) on the left, and the Free church manse with its well-kept garden on the right, we reach at last
The Gairloch Hotel.
This hotel was erected in 1872, and enlarged in 1881. It has a large coffee-room, a good drawing-room, a reading-room, a smoke-room, a billiard-room, and several good private sitting-rooms, whilst nearly one hundred and fifty beds can be made up. The hotel is conducted on the best modern system, and no one should object to the charges, for when the highest degree of comfort is provided it should be ungrudgingly paid for. The season is short, and the crowds of visitors it brings are necessarily a great tax on the resources of the establishment.
During the season services according to the form of the Church of England are conducted in the house, whilst those who prefer the Presbyterian churches will find the Established and Free churches in close proximity.
There is a stall in the hotel where Gairloch hose, photographs of the district, and other souvenirs can be purchased.
There are excellent gardens and hothouses on the slope behind the hotel, which is well supplied from them not only with vegetables in season, but with grapes, flowers, and decorative plants.
Near the hotel is a lawn-tennis ground, which may also be used as a bowling-green.
Sea-bathing may be had on the sandy beach below; a suitable bathing-machine is provided. Those who prefer to batheal frescoand are able to swim, will find a retired nook immediately to the south-west of the eminence where the Dun and vitrified fort formerly stood; here there is a sort of natural swimming-bath, into which a header may be taken, and which gives space for a good swim. The sea is always as clear as crystal on this rock-bound coast.
Boats may be hired from the hotel for sea-fishing, or for expeditions on the Gairloch. The smaller islands may be visited, and the coast on either side examined.
Loch Tollie is appropriated for anglers staying at the hotel. There is a boat on the loch, and good trout-fishing may be had on its waters.
There is a small shop in the vicinity of the hotel. In the neighbouring village of Strath, about a mile from the hotel, are good general merchants' stores where most things may be purchased.
The Gairloch Hotel is remarkable for the fine view of the broad bay which is obtained from all the front windows of the house. Beyond the bay is the Minch, bounded in the extreme distance by the Isle of Skye. Every atmospheric change invests this beautiful view with a new character.
Startingnorthwards from the Gairloch Hotel, the hamlet of Achtercairn (Part IV., chap, x.) is the first place we pass; Achtercairn House (Dr Robertson) is on the right.
As the road ascends the Achtercairn Brae the village of Strath of Gairloch is well seen. The house in the largest grove of trees is the Established church manse (Rev. D. S. Mackenzie), in the enlargement of which in 1823 the celebrated geologist and author, Hugh Miller, took part as a mason's lad. In another grove in Strath is the Cottage Hospital, founded by Mr Francis H. Mackenzie, but now disused and occupied as a dwelling-house.
From the higher parts of the Achtercairn Brae there are splendid views of the Bay of Gairloch and the hills of Skye. From one point near the top of the Brae the jagged summits of the Cuchullins in Skye may be discerned.
To the left of the road, as the higher part is gained, there is a fine deep gorge down which the Achtercairn burn or river rushes; it forms a pretty cascade in the higher part. A rock on the north side of the gorge is calledCraig an Fhithich, because a raven formerlynested in a crevice on the face of it. After a short descent notice a large boulder on the right of the road called "The shoestone" (Clach nam Brog), from the fact that women who had walked barefoot over the hills on their way to church at Gairloch were (and still frequently are) accustomed here to resume their shoes and stockings. To the left is a reedy loch on the minister's glebe, called LochFeur, a haunt of ducks and other wildfowl. Another small loch, calledLochan nan Breac, orLochan nan Breac Adhair, lies still further to the left.
At this point notice a singular-looking hill to the right of and nearer to the road than theLochan nan Breac. It is an interesting subject for the geologist. Dr Geikie, speaking of the hummocky outlines of the gneiss emerging from under the overlying sandstones, writes as follows of this hill:—"Little more than a mile to the north of the church (Gairloch) the road to Poolewe descends into a short valley surrounded with gneiss hills. From the top of the descent the eye is at once arrested by a flat-topped hill standing in the middle of the valley at the upper end, and suggesting some kind of fortification; so different from the surrounding hummocky declivities of gneiss is its level grassy top, flanked by wall-like cliffs rising upon a glacis-slope of debris and herbage." Further on, this flat-topped hill, seen in profile, looks like an enormous railway embankment.
By the side of the road, on the left, there is or was one of those heaps of stones formed by funeral parties (seepages 115 and 116).
About half a mile beyond the shoestone, and some two hundred yards to the right of the road, is a pond or very small loch, called Lochan nan Airm, or the "tarn of the arms," into which long ago warriors vanquished in a fight near the place threw their weapons (seepage 21). The commencement of a drain, intended to empty the tarn so as to discover the weapons, is still to be seen; it was stopped by the then laird of Gairloch, whose permission had not been obtained for draining the tarn. This tarn is in a hollow on the side of one of the moraines of ancient glaciers which hereabouts flank the highroad.
About two and a half miles from the Gairloch Hotel the summit of the watershed is reached. The pass through which the road turns, after a long ascent, is called "The glen," where is a good spring. To the left is the rock calledCraig Bhadain an Aisc, at which the two little boys of Allan M'Leod, of Gairloch, were murdered by their uncles and then buried (seepage 26).
At the further end of "The glen" there is on the right hand side of the road a flat moss calledBlar na Fala, or "the plain of the blood," because this was a place to which cattle were driven in order that blood might be taken from them (seepage 136).
Further on, Loch Tollie, a mile in length, is spread out on the right. The trout-fishing of this loch is attached to the Gairloch Hotel, and there is a boat for the use of anglers. The small island near the shore with a few bushes on it (seeillustration) is of artificial origin; it was a crannog or fortress of the MacBeaths, and afterwards of the M'Leods. The traditions connected with the island will befound inchaps. vi. andvii.of Part I. An anecdote of a very different character, telling how a wild cat and her young were killed on this island, is given inPart III., chap. iii.
The hill to the south of "The Glen" bears the name of MeallAridh Mhic Criadh, and is 1140 feet in height.
Beyond Loch Tollie, to the right, is the northern end of the fine range of Craig Tollie, which is peculiarly rocky and wild.
The hill to the left of the road before we got to Loch Tollie was Meall a Deas (749 feet); and now, as we leave Loch Tollie, we have on the left the end ofMeall na Cluibha, or Cliff Hill (750 feet), which is much finer on its face towards Poolewe, where it rises from a lower plateau.
From the higher part of the road as we skirt Loch Tollie there is a good view before us, at a distance of some six or eight miles, ofBeinn a Chaisgean(2802 feet), in the parish of Loch Broom, beyond Fionn Loch, and through a gap in it may be seen some of the jagged summits of the Dundonell mountains.
At the lower end of Loch Tollie there was formerly a weir or dam in connection with a mill far down the burn which flows from the loch, and this kept the water of the loch at a higher level than it now stands at.
LETH CHREAG, TOLLIE.
After leaving Loch Tollie we can easily trace the old road from Slatadale winding down the glen behind Craig Tollie. Shortly before it joins the road we are travelling it is overshadowed by a bold crag, calledLeth Chreag(seeillustration), on the opposite side of the burn. The name means the "half rock," and refers to the sheer aspect (as if half had been broken off) of the face of the rock towards the burn.
The first view of the lower end of Loch Maree now comes in sight, with the graceful form ofBeinn Aridh Charrrising above it. A peak close to the summit of this mountain bears the name ofSpidean Moirich, or "Martha's peak." It is said that a woman of that name having climbed this peak sat down and began winding thread on her spindle. The spindle fell from her hand down the steep rocks to the north-east. Martha tried to recover the spindle, but fell over the rock and was killed. Hence the name. To the left ofBeinn Aridh Charrare the spurs ofBeinn a Chaisgean Mor, called Scuir a Laocainn andScuir na Feart, with theMaighdeanto the right. Reaching the point where the branch road leads down to Tollie pier, a magnificent view of Loch Maree presents itself to the eye. The whole length of the loch, and Glen Dochartie beyond it, are in sight. On any tolerably fine day the road up Glen Dochartie is plainly seen at a distance of not less than fifteen to sixteen miles, a proof of the wonderful clearness of the northern atmosphere. Beyond Glen Dochartie in the extreme distance are peaks, thirty miles away, of mountains in the Monar forest, which retain some snow long after it has disappeared from the mountains of Loch Maree. Half-way up Loch Maree is seen Isle Maree, with its grove of tall trees. The immediate foreground is softened by the natural woods of birch, oak, and rowan round the bases of Craig Tollie and of the lower hills on the east side of Tollie farm. This view of Loch Maree has formed the subject of celebrated pictures by the late Horatio M'Culloch, Mr H. W. B. Davis, R.A., Mr A. W. Weedon, and other well-known artists. The road so far is the same as that which is traversed by the carriages or "machines" conveying voyageurs to the Loch Maree steamer. For our present purpose we shall suppose the tourist to be proceeding towards Poolewe.
The road now turns abruptly to the left, and rapidly descends the hill called Croft Brae. The present road is a great improvement upon the old one, which takes a higher course and has a steeper incline. The old road went straight down to the banks of the Ewe, but our way proceeds from the foot of the hill along level ground a little above the river. The small hamlet or village here is properly called Croft of Tollie, misspelt in the Old Statistical Account "Croft of Jolly," the last word being decidedly alucus a non lucendo. This hamlet is usually called Croft. A short bit of road to the right leads to the landing-place at the lower extremity of the navigable part of the River Ewe, calledCeann a Chro, or Cruive End,i.e.the head or end of the cruive (for taking salmon), which formerly spanned the river just below. At Cruive End is a thatched house called "The still," occupied rent free by several poor widows. It was originally built for a whisky distillery. Close to Cruive End there formerly stood a small thatched church or place of worship (seepages 70and99), which was used in the memory of old people now living,i.e.up to about 1826. All traces of it have now disappeared.
On the left of the high road, two hundred yards beyond Cruive End, is the green hillock called "The hill of evil counsel," where Allan Macleod, who lived in the island of Loch Tollie (seepage 25), was murdered by his brothers.
Looking back there are beautiful views of the upper reaches of the river Ewe winding through low wooded hills, which may be called "the Trossachs of Loch Maree," and a distant peep of the loch itself heightens the charm of the view.
Further on to the right is the Poolewe manse, well placed on a brow overlooking the river. To the left is the Poolewe post and telegraph office, formerly a school.
The group of houses a little further on to the left is called Mossbank. The tallest house (Mrs Morrison) is a lodging-house. The next is Mossbank Cottage, occupied by Dr M'Ewen; it has a fruitful walled garden. Another house, of the usual local type, is occupied by John Mackenzie (Iain Glas), the present water-bailiff of the river. In a cottage a little further on lives Finlay M'Kinnon, the Poolewe artist (Part II., chap. xxiv.). We now enter the village of
Poolewe.
It is not a beautiful spot, but it perhaps gives one more the idea of a village than some other more scattered places in Gairloch parish. Mr H. F. Wilson, of Cambridge, has well described Poolewe, in his racy ode, dated August 1885, and entitled "Carmen Pooleviense." After speaking of the Ewe, he says you may see,—
"Just where that river feels the brine,A bridge, a pool, a whitewash'd lineOf unpretentious cottages,Differing in sizes and degrees;A kirk, too ample in extentTo house the shrunk 'Establishment;'An inn, our 'guard-room,' to commandWide-reaching view by sea and land;A windy green, a sandy cliff,A flag-staff standing stark and stiff;Such is ourπολις, proud to beCompact,αναγκαιοτὰτη."
"Just where that river feels the brine,A bridge, a pool, a whitewash'd lineOf unpretentious cottages,Differing in sizes and degrees;A kirk, too ample in extentTo house the shrunk 'Establishment;'An inn, our 'guard-room,' to commandWide-reaching view by sea and land;A windy green, a sandy cliff,A flag-staff standing stark and stiff;Such is ourπολις, proud to beCompact,αναγκαιοτὰτη."
Poolewe was formerly called Clive, and, according to the retour of 1638 (page 61), was once "a burgh of barony." There are three merchants' shops in the village street, also (on the left) the salmon depôt or boiling-house of Mr A. P. Hogarth, of Aberdeen, the lessee of the salmon-fishings on the extensive sea coast of Gairloch. It is managed by Alexander Mutch, of Aberdeen, who generally arrives at Poolewe early in April and remains until September.
The first building on the right is the Poolewe Public Hall, which though but a small room suffices for the wants of the place (seePart IV., chap. i.).
On the same side at the further end of the village street is the Established church (Church of Scotland), and on the right is the Poolewe Inn or Hotel, kept by Mr A. Maclennan. Compared withthe Gairloch, Loch Maree, and Kenlochewe hotels, it yields but humble accommodation. Some improvements are being effected, and I believe even ladies find the house comfortable enough. Mr Maclennan carries on a posting business. Boats can be hired for sea-fishing in Loch Ewe, and trout-fishing can generally be had on some fresh-water lochs.
On the flat plain behind and to the south of Poolewe and Moss Bank (calledBac Dubh), a large market, called the Feill Iudha, or "ewe market" (page 104), was held for generations, and was discontinued about 1720.
Mr Macbrayne's large steamers call at Poolewe once a fortnight. A jetty and storehouse, where goods are landed and kept dry, have recently been provided just below Poolewe church. There are considerable quantities of clayband and hematite iron ores to be seen both here and nearer Poolewe bridge,—evidences of those ores having been landed here (seepage 89).
The Poolewe Free Church meeting-house, and the smithy, with a number of dwellings, are on the other side of the river. They are, properly speaking, inLondubh.
At the other side of the mouth of the river is Pool House, formerly the Londubh Inn. It has been enlarged and improved by Sir Thomas Edwards Moss, Bart., who has a lease of it with some shootings. He has erected a stable near the east end of Poolewe bridge, where the smithy formerly stood.
The hamlet or township ofLondubh, including all the dwellings and buildings on the east side of the lower part of the River Ewe, has since the erection of Poolewe bridge become virtually a part of Poolewe. The name Londubh signifies "the black bog." I have heard a native suggest that the name of the metropolis of Great Britain is pure Gaelic, for the Gaelic for a brown bog (which the Strand is said to have originally been) is just Lon-donn!
Many of the houses inLondubhare on a flat hidden by the old sea terrace, and are therefore scarcely visible from the main road. Londubh, orBaile na h'Eaglais, was formerly called Inverewe, a name now only applied to Mr Osgood H. Mackenzie's house opposite. The most conspicuous house inLondubhis that called Kirkton House, a little above the road skirting Loch Ewe beyond Pool House. Londubh was formerly part of the Kernsary estate, and this house, where James Mackenzie, so often quoted in these pages, now lives, was then the home of the proprietors of Kernsary. Close to it is the old Inverewe burial-ground. A wall was built round it a few years ago. Here is the burial-place of the Kernsary family, formed out of the ancient church or chapel (page 101) which in old days occupied the site.
LeavingPoolewe we follow the county road over Poolewe bridge, behind Pool House, and along the shore of the bay that forms the head of Loch Ewe. Notice the picturesque pool in which the River Ewe joins Loch Ewe, so much finer than the usual muddy estuary of an east coast river.
After passing on the right the Londubh or Inverewe burial-ground and the home of James Mackenzie at Kirkton (referred to in the last chapter), we cross a small burn. This forms the march or boundary between the estates of Sir Kenneth Mackenzie, Bart. of Gairloch, and his half-brother Mr Osgood H. Mackenzie of Inverewe. Since the parish of Gairloch was entered atLuibmhor, near the west end of Loch Rosque, we have been on the territory of Sir Kenneth Mackenzie.
On the right isSrondubh, with a few trees, and by it the farm buildings of the home farm in connection with Inverewe House. The road skirts along well cultivated arable land until the Inverewe plantations are reached.
Inverewe House was erected by Mr Osgood H. Mackenzie in 1865. It is beautifully situated in a northern recess of the bay at the head of Loch Ewe, in the shelter of a rocky headland called Ploc-ard. The house has a Highland character; it faces due south, and commands a fine view ofBeinn Aridh Charr. To the south the summits of the distant Gairloch mountains and the rocky ranges of Craig Tollie and Cliff Hill, with the mouth of the River Ewe and the bay at the head, of Loch Ewe in the foreground, form an enchanting picture. From the village of Poolewe the house—surrounded as it is with planted woods now well grown—is a pleasing object. There are walks in these woods, and separate sea-bathing places for ladies and gentlemen. There is the best anchorage for yachts of the largest size close to the house.
The Inverewe gardens are wonderfully attractive, yielding as they do exquisite flowers nearly all the year round. The following remarks about these gardens are from one of a series of letters from the Highlands which appeared in theTimesin the autumn of 1883:—
"Thanks to genial winters, from the softening influence of the Gulf Stream, ornamental gardening richly repays one in those sheltered situations that slope to the sea-arms. The most enchanting spot in that way which I have seen is the garden of Inverewe, on Loch Ewe, rented at present by Lord Fitzwilliam. The garden was laid out by the proprietor, Mr Osgood Mackenzie, whose taste must be as unimpeachable as his knowledge of flowers. The gardens form a terraced amphitheatre, shelving gently towards the Loch, and backed up by the hanging woods, which have only been recently planted. Fruit-trees, but a very few years old, are already loaded with plums, pears, &c.The low stone walls that front the earth-banks are covered with many of the rarer creepers, some of them almost semi-tropical, with luxuriant myrtles just bursting into flower, and with clusters of roses of wonderful size. But what is most remarkable is the marvellous vividness of the colours in such brightly tinted flowers as crimson roses and scarlet gladioli. The warm damp seems to give a brilliancy to the tints which I have never seen either in England or in southern Europe."
The highroad now takes an easterly course, and, passing young plantations, soon comes in sight ofLoch-nan-Dailthean. Here is Tournaig, the residence of the Dowager Lady Mackenzie of Gairloch, with its beautiful little garden, described in theTimesletter just quoted, as follows:—
"Even more noteworthy, perhaps, is the less pretentious garden at Mr Mackenzie's pretty cottage of Tournaig, situate two miles inland. There, a mere pit in the heather, which must have originally resembled a stone quarry, has been turned, chiefly by blasting, into a little fairyland of leafy luxuriance and gorgeous colouring, though where the plants find soil to strike their roots is a puzzle. As for the cabbages, in their swelling proportions they are rather like balloons than ordinary vegetables. And it must be a piquant experience to stroll of a morning among flower-beds that recall the beauties ofBellagioor theIsola Bella, and afterwards to go out ptarmigan shooting or deer-stalking on some of the most storm-beaten hills in the whole breadth of the Highlands."