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GOOD THINGS TO SEE AND DO IN BALQUHIDDER
LITTLE WALKS AND BIG WALKS
As Balquhidder lies amidst mountains and glens, there are walks all over the place, and it would be impossible for me to mention them all. If you're a rough tough hill-walking type then choices are endless. I have in the past, for example, walked north from Balquhidder to Killin, following Kirkton Glen then the Ledcharrie Burn then either a small road or a railway path into Killin. That's a long walk, let me tell you, and not for the faint-hearted or the unfit. The required map is the Ordnance Survey Landranger series sheet 51, 'Loch Tay', with a scale of 1:50000 or one-and-a-quarter inches to a mile.
I have also walked to Balquhidder from Brig o' Turk on the eastern edge of Loch Venachar, a distance of some nine miles to the south over some very rough boggy ground, if my memory serves me well. You should only do walks like this if you're fit, have full hill-walking kit, and know what to do with maps, compasses and whistles. The map for this one would be the Ordnance Survey Landranger sheet 57, 'Stirling & The Trossachs', with a scale of 1:50000 or one-and-a-quarter inches to a mile.
On a smaller scale, you could follow the narrow road to Strathyre. It forms part of the National Cycle Network Route 7. It's only about 3 miles, but every time I've walked it I've thought the miles were exceedingly long ones.
For other walks in the area you've got The Rob Roy Way, which you can pick up near The Kings House Hotel. [CLICK HERE FOR A SPECIAL PAGE ON THE ROB ROY WAY BETWEEN BALQUHIDDER AND STRATHYRE, WITH AN INTERACTIVE OS MAP.]
At the end of the day the choice is yours. You have to know what your capabilities are, how much time you've got, and all that kind of thing. Take it easy at first, gain experience, and gradually branch out.
As Balquhidder lies amidst mountains and glens, there are walks all over the place, and it would be impossible for me to mention them all. If you're a rough tough hill-walking type then choices are endless. I have in the past, for example, walked north from Balquhidder to Killin, following Kirkton Glen then the Ledcharrie Burn then either a small road or a railway path into Killin. That's a long walk, let me tell you, and not for the faint-hearted or the unfit. The required map is the Ordnance Survey Landranger series sheet 51, 'Loch Tay', with a scale of 1:50000 or one-and-a-quarter inches to a mile.
I have also walked to Balquhidder from Brig o' Turk on the eastern edge of Loch Venachar, a distance of some nine miles to the south over some very rough boggy ground, if my memory serves me well. You should only do walks like this if you're fit, have full hill-walking kit, and know what to do with maps, compasses and whistles. The map for this one would be the Ordnance Survey Landranger sheet 57, 'Stirling & The Trossachs', with a scale of 1:50000 or one-and-a-quarter inches to a mile.
On a smaller scale, you could follow the narrow road to Strathyre. It forms part of the National Cycle Network Route 7. It's only about 3 miles, but every time I've walked it I've thought the miles were exceedingly long ones.
For other walks in the area you've got The Rob Roy Way, which you can pick up near The Kings House Hotel. [CLICK HERE FOR A SPECIAL PAGE ON THE ROB ROY WAY BETWEEN BALQUHIDDER AND STRATHYRE, WITH AN INTERACTIVE OS MAP.]
At the end of the day the choice is yours. You have to know what your capabilities are, how much time you've got, and all that kind of thing. Take it easy at first, gain experience, and gradually branch out.
THE GRAVE OF ROB ROY MacGREGOR
By the tiny roofless ruin of a kirk in Balquhidder there is what is reputed to be the grave of Robert MacGregor, or 'Rob Roy', as he came to be known. He died in 1734, living out the last few years of his life in the western end of the glen at Balquhidder. He may not actually be buried here, but don't tell anyone. He lies in a secret place, the location of which I am trusted to never reveal.
The old ruin of the seventeenth century kirk is in itself of some interest. For it was in an earlier kirk at this very spot that the MacGregor clan gathered around the head of the King's forester (which had been removed from his body - so he wus deid!) and 'swore to protect the murderers.'
By the tiny roofless ruin of a kirk in Balquhidder there is what is reputed to be the grave of Robert MacGregor, or 'Rob Roy', as he came to be known. He died in 1734, living out the last few years of his life in the western end of the glen at Balquhidder. He may not actually be buried here, but don't tell anyone. He lies in a secret place, the location of which I am trusted to never reveal.
The old ruin of the seventeenth century kirk is in itself of some interest. For it was in an earlier kirk at this very spot that the MacGregor clan gathered around the head of the King's forester (which had been removed from his body - so he wus deid!) and 'swore to protect the murderers.'
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