An Eye to the Hills by Cameron McNeish

Author:Cameron McNeish
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sandstone Press Ltd
Published: 2022-06-13T00:00:00+00:00

Callander Craigs, Stirlingshire November 1987

I wanted to see the effect a week’s rain and melted snow had on one of my favourite waterfalls: the Bracklinn Falls near Callander. This is a wonderful spot, a dramatic cleave in the landscape through which the River Keltie roars over a succession of huge sandstone blocks that form a rough natural staircase. The colouring is rich, with a profusion of mountain ash, oak and beech. A fiercely theatrical spot, which so obviously inspired the bard of the Trossachs himself. Sir Walter Scott, never one to miss a good scene, brought the Bracklinn Falls into his great story, The Lady of the Lake.

As Bracklinn’s chasm, so black and steep,

Receives her roaring linn,

As the dark caverns of the deep,

Suck the wild whirlpool in,

So did the deep and darksome pass,

Devour the battle’s mingled mass.

No exaggeration there. The walk to Bracklinn Falls can be combined with a longer walk over the Callander Craigs, which rise in wooded splendour to the north-east of Callander. This has been a popular route with locals and visitors to this highland border town for generations and the paths are well signposted and easy to follow.

The highest point of the Craigs, Beacon Crag or as it is locally known, Willoughby’s Craig, rises to a height of 335m/1100ft. Its ascent, while steep and rough in places, is not too difficult. When we parked our old campervan in the car park beside the River Teith I was vaguely aware that the access road to the Callander Craigs path sounded something like Taliban. I was close, and as soon as the sign marked Tulapin Crescent appeared I knew we were going in the right direction.

Another signpost pointed out: ‘To the Crags and Woodland Walk’, and within minutes we were climbing steeply through mixed woodlands of oaks, chestnuts, beeches and firs, mixing with the twentieth-century conifers, with occasional glimpses across the serried roofs of Callander to the distant Gargunnock Hills and Campsie Fells.

The path climbs gently at first, below the wide, green canopy, and then more steeply up a series of natural steps. Here and there we had to use our hands to negotiate steeper, rockier sections but soon the path levelled off as it wound its way through some young birches and pines to the summit. The view that opens up as you reach the summit cairn is wide-ranging for such a lowly viewpoint. Look west along the length of silvery Loch Vennachar, its head seemingly choked by the high hills of the Trossachs. To the right you can peer into the very bosom of Ben Ledi, that great wild north-east corrie, and to the east your gaze carries you along the broad strath to Stirling, the Ochils and beyond to the dim outline of the Pentlands near Edinburgh.

An impressive cairn decorates the summit mound. It was built in 1887 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s Silver Jubilee, and from it we squelched down the muddy path, squiggled our way through the birch scrub and eventually reached the tarmac in Glen Artney.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.