EK NEWS ARTICLE: ERIC KENT  

The latest Duncanrig Ramblers walks were located near Callander, Stirling Region. The main walk today started at Strathyre just beyond the head of Loch Lubnaig and the walkers followed the part of the Rob Roy Way down past Loch Lubnaig through the pass of Leny, past Kilmahog and into Callander. The Rob Roy Way is a long distance walk which partly opened in 2003 and the last section opened in 2008. This route is 79 miles (126 km) long and starts at Drymen on the edge of the Trossachs and ends at Pitlochry in Perthshire. The route is supposed to be based on some of the known wanderings of Rob Roy on legitimate cattle business legal or possibly not so legitimate! The alternative walk today started just before  the hamlet of Kilmahog. We headed along the A821 for a short distance and then climbed up on to Bochastle hill close to Samson’s stone and Dunmore Fort (Iron age) using a forestry track. Samson's Putting Stone sits precariously on Bochastle hill. Local tradition has it that this stone came to be here as a result of a putting competition between a family of giants. The winner of the competition was Samson who lived on Ben Ledi. A modern interpretation is that the stone was carried by glaciers from the Glen Dochart region and left here when the ice retreated.

The weather on the walk was outstanding for the time of year. It was cool with blue skies wall to wall and, no wind. As we climbed higher up the hill the views got better and better and everyone was delighted with the wonderful autumn vista which unfolded as we climbed. The colours were truly remarkable and the views over to Stirling and the  Wallace Monument were even more remarkable due to the temperature inversion lying in the Forth valley under the Ochil hills. The views northward were just as good with the slopes of  Ben Each and Stuc a’ Chroin reflecting on the surface of Loch Lubnaig. When we reached Stank Glen we detoured off the forest track up the glen almost as far as Creag na h-lolaire. At this point we were able to enjoy great views up the corrie and up to Ben Ledi. This part of our route was originally an old coffin road which ran from Glen Finglas to St Brides Chapel near the Pass of Leny. Little is known about the chapel but it is reputed to be the burial ground of the McKinlay’s.  These coffin routes were used to transport the dead by the men carrying the coffins over the hills to their burial grounds from villages and they exist all over Scotland. They are often associated with folklore and mysteries in this case a small Lochan known as Lochan nan Corp (loch of the dead) lies close to the Bealach nan Corp (pass of the dead) on the saddle below Ben Ledi and is associated with the following story. According to local lore a funeral party of 200 people was travelling the coffin road in the dead of winter and due to the poor weather they became lost on the high point and accidentally crossed the frozen ice of the Lochan which gave way, drowning a number of the party and probably killing a further number due to  exposure in the bad weather conditions. Stank Glen sounds a rather unattractive name, but Stank is a Scottish name for a water course. We returned down another path  back on the forest track which slowly descended down to Loch Lubnaig. At the Loch the photographers had great fun getting  some unusual photographs due to the calm conditions allowing them to take reflective picture of the hill and trees. We also joined on to the Rob Roy way at this point and the track from here down to Callander is on the old Callander and Oban Railway, railway line which opened in 1870 and was closed in 1965 after a landslide on the track in Glen Ogle. The walk continued down past Stank Glen close to the southern end of Loch Lubnaig. The name Lubnaig is a Gaelic one, meaning crooked. From the loch we followed the River Teith down to the Falls of Leny where the running water of the falls was spectacular due to the recent heavy rain. The trees around the river looked great in their Autumn garb and we enjoyed these down to the A821. We crossed the road and carried on a good path which followed the old railway line to Callander. On the way on this part of the walk were able see clearly the earthwork remains of a first century Roman camp built during the campaigns of Agricola the Roman General who conquered Wales and Northern England and ventured into southern Scotland. The straight line square earthworks can be clearly seen on Bochastle Farm between the river Leny and the old railway embankment.

The social hour was enjoyed by all in Callander the gateway to the Highlands.