The Birthplace of Scottish Tourism

You don’t get many better stories than the story of The Trossachs. No wonder that for over 200 years it has attracted some of Scotland’s most renowned writers and artists. 

The two most visited historic buildings in The Trossachs Doune Castle and Inchmahome Priory, both dating back to the 13th century.

Doune Castle

By the 1800s Doune Castle was in ruins, a casualty of civil wars. By the end of that century re-building had commenced and today, like Inchmahome Priory, it is looked after by Historic Environment Scotland. The medieval castle has featured in many films and TV programmes, like Outlander and Monty Python’s Holy Grail. Click HERE for the Doune Castle website for details and costs of visiting.

Inchmahome Priory

Inchmahome Priory is on an island in the Lake of Menteith, famously Scotland’s only lake (as opposed to loch). In 1547 it was used as a hiding place for Mary, Queen of Scots who was just four years old at the time. Take an on-demand ferry across to the island. Click HERE for Inchmahome website where you will find opening times and prices.

Rob Roy MacGregor

In 1671, at Glengyle, a small hamlet on the banks of Loch Katrine, famous outlaw and cattle dealer Rob Roy MacGregor was born. His exploits as a cattle trader and rustler in turbulent times in Scottish history were made famous by Sir Walter Scott. Rob Roy is buried in the Kirkyard at Balquhidder, while other MacGregors lie in the clan burial ground at Portnellan, by the loch shore of Loch Katrine.  

Rev Robert Kirk

Robert Kirk, a former minister of Balquhidder was to take on the same role in Aberfoyle. He had been interested in the magical world of fairies since an early age and in 1691 he published The Secret Commonwealth, which told of the lives of fairies, fauns and elves. One day in May 1692, during his daily walk from the manse in Aberfoyle to nearby Doon Hill, Reverend Kirk disappeared. Displeased with him for giving away their secrets, fairies are said to have carried him to the underground world of fairyland. The pine tree at the top of Doon Hill is said to contain his spirit, imprisoned by the fairies. A walk to Doon Hill is signed from the car park in Aberfoyle. 

Artists & Poets

For the last 200 years, tourists have flocked to the Trossachs, inspired by the vivid landscapes depicted in paintings and poems from the visiting artists and writers of the 18th and 19th centuries. These include JMW Turner who toured and sketched in the Trossachs, artists John Ruskin and John Everett Millais who stayed in a cottage in Brig O’Turk, poets John Keats, Robert Louis Stephenson, Dorothy Wordsworth and Samuel Coleridge, and not forgetting Sir Walter Scott. Find out more on an Art & Literary Trail that takes in Glen Finglas, Loch Katrine and Inversnaid. Download a guide to the trail HERE.

The Lady of the Lake

Sir Walter Scott’s 1810 poem ‘The Lady of the Lake’ really put the Trossachs on the map. It was the blockbuster of the day, with 25,000 editions sold in the first eight months after release. Scott’s follow up in 1817 is also set in the Trossachs, featuring the romantic adventure story of Rob Roy.

Steamships on Loch Katrine

To meet the needs of early tourists an eight-oared wooden galley was introduced to Loch Katrine. An attempt to replace the ‘Water Witch’ galley with Gypsy, the first steamship on the loch, backfired when the steamer sank under mysterious circumstances a week after launch. It was alleged that the act was carried out in the dead of night by the ferrymen, fearful of their jobs. Rob Roy and then Rob Roy II steamers followed, with the current steamship Sir Walter Scott introduced to Loch Katrine in 1900.

Railways

Meanwhile, on land horses and carts were replaced by char-a-banc, an early form of bus. The boom of the railways arrived in the Trossachs with the opening of new stations in Callander in 1858 and Aberfoyle in 1882. Sadly, neither of those stations still exist, and much of the rail lines are used as cycle paths. 

It was by train that Queen Victoria arrived in Callander in 1859. From there she travelled to Loch Katrine by horse and carriage. White milestone markers, installed for the occasion, allowed her to view the progress in her journey to Trossachs Pier and many are still at the roadsides. At the pier, the Royal party set sail on Rob Roy II to Stronachlachar, before being rowed to the newly built Royal Cottage. 

Queen Victoria - Loch Katrine Waterworks

Queen Victoria first visited Loch Katrine to open the new waterworks. This feat of Victorian engineering consists of 23.5 miles of aqueducts and tunnels, providing a water supply for Glasgow and Central Scotland from Loch Katrine. The clean water supply transformed the health of Glasgow’s vast population, a role that it continues to provide today.   

The Trossachs Tour

The Trossachs Tour was a popular Edwardian tour, using the golden era of steam trains to connect Glasgow and Edinburgh to the Trossachs. Visitors started the classic tour with a train ride to Balloch Pier Station to connect with a paddle-steamer sailing up Loch Lomond to Inversnaid, where a horse-drawn vehicle took them up the hill to Stronachlachar to embark on another steamer to Trossachs Pier and an onward coach trip to Callander for a return train journey to Glasgow. The tour could also be done in reverse and there were variations for example by taking a train to Aberfoyle and coach over the Duke’s Pass to Trossachs Pier. 

Scotland’s first National Park

The Trossachs were included in the formation of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park in 2002 - Scotland’s first national park – an area or outstanding natural beauty close to the Central Belt where most of the country’s population live. The Park Authority aims to protect and preserve the natural and cultural heritage, while enhancing the visitor experience and promoting sustainable social and economic development for their communities.

The Trossachs Trail

When it was developed in the early 1990s, the Trossachs Trail was the first officially recognised geographic tourist trail in Scotland. It became a leading Tourism and Environment initiative, with considerable investment in visitor infrastructure around the trail. In 2020 and 2021, conservation charity Friends of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs led on a major project to rejuvenate the Trossachs Trail. Supported by local communities, attractions and businesses this new website was launched. An accompanying map and guide have also been distributed, with brown road signs and information boards added or restored around the trail.

More History

Click HERE to visit the Friends of Loch Lomond website for more history of the Trossachs.