Topographical, statistical, and historical gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 1

400
DUNKELD.
length of twenty inches, is of a yellowish colour, and
speckled all over with brown spots, which give it
the appearance of a beautiful marble. Its bite is not
thought poisonous. This reptile is never seen in
elevated situations, but always in grounds of a warm
exposure. The black snake worm, from eight to
ten inches in length, a noxious animal, is sometimes
met with, but very seldom, in the same tract of
ground." The same writer mentions a remarkable
variety of the lizard tribe, which is found in the
moors at the eastern extremity of the parish. " It
is," says he, "about nine inches long ; the body or
trunk is of an unusual length in proportion to the
tail, which does not taper gradually from the hind
feet as in other lizards, but becomes suddenly small
like that of a mouse. The back is full of small pro-
tuberances, and guarded with a skin almost as hard
as a sea-shell. The eyes are large, clear, and circu-
lar, like those of an ordinary trout ; the jaws more
than an inch in length, and the teeth so strong as to
be heard making a ringing noise upon the iron point
of a pole, at the distance of more than 10 feet.
When irritated it expresses its rage by the reddening
and glistening of its eyes." [Old Statistical Account,
vol. vi. p. 361.] — Near the bottom of the south-east
side of the celebrated Birnam hill, which is in this
parish, [see article Birnam] there is a round
mound which bears some traces of a rude fortifica-
tion. It has been known from time immemorial by
the names of Court hill and Duncan's hill ; and tra-
dition reports that it was occasionally occupied by
the unfortunate King Duncan. A number of small
cairns are in the immediate neighbourhood. A little
higher up the same hill are the ruins of an oblong
building, called in Gaelic Forhaillon, with circular
turrets at the corners. Birnam, as is well known,
was anciently a forest, and part of the domain of the
Scottish kings The following interesting tradition
is given by the author of the Old Statistical Account
of Little Dunkeld, with regard to a small field called
the Yoke-haugh, which lies about 2 miles above
Little Dunkeld. " A man who may be called the
Cincinnatus of Scotland happened, along with his
two sons, to be ploughing in this field on the day
of the battle of Luncarty. Hearing the fate of the
battle, and seeing the Scottish army retreating, he
was instantly fired with heroic indignation, and, to-
gether with his sons, seized each of them the yoke
of an oxen-plough, persuaded their countrymen to
rally, and marching at their head, met the Danes on
the banks of the Tay, near Caputh, where, having
renewed the combat, the aged hero exhibited pro-
digies of valour, and the Danes were completely de-
feated. In consequence of this he was dignified by
his sovereign with peculiar honours, obtained the
name of Hay, and the implement with which he
fought for his arms." "The yoke," adds the Re-
porter, " is still the arms of the noble family of Kin-
noul, who are thought to be descended from this
saviour of his country." — Besides the remains of
antiquity which we have already mentioned, there
are a number of Druidical circles, British forts, and
immense cairns. A stone-bridge over the Bran, a
little above Trochrie, is said, in Sir John Sinclair's
Statistical Account, to be the oldest in Perthshire.
The castle of Trochrie on the banks of the Bran,
and about 3 miles above Little Dunkeld, was a seat
of the unfortunate John, Earl of Gowrie. It is now
a complete ruin The valued rent of this parish is
£4,805 10s. 4d. Scots. The value of assessed pro-
pertv, in 1815, was £5,595. Population, in 1801,
2,977; in 1831, 2,867. Houses 578. Except in the
town of Little Dunkeld, the inhabitants are dis-
persed over the parish in hamlets or small vil-
lages. — The parish of Little Dunkeld is in the
presbytery of Dunkeld, and synod of Perth and Stir-
ling. Patron, the Crown. There are two churches
in the parish ; — one at Little Dunkeld, which was
built in 1798, with 820 sittings; the other at Lagan-
allachy, which is situated in the district of Strath-
bran, about 3 miles from Little Dunkeld. It can
contain about 500 people. Stipend £157 10s. 3d. ;
glebes at Little Dunkeld and Laganallachy worth
about £28 a-year. The minister has also a right of
cutting peats for fuel There are two parish-schools.
The salary of one is £20 18s. ILid., and £10 of
school-fees ;— that of the other £10, and £15 of
school-fees. Total average attendance about 100.
There are 5 other schools in the parish, the average
number of scholars attending which is about 250
The town of Little Dunkeld is situated close on the
banks of the Tay, in the south-eastern part of the
parish, and may not improperly be regarded as a
suburb of old Dunkeld, being, in fact, united with
it by a bridge over the river The small village of
Invar, on the Bran near Dunkeld, was the birth-
place of Neil Gow. An old oak in the Athole
grounds, near this place, is still pointed out as his
favourite tree, under which he used to sit for hours
composing his beautiful airs.
The following description of the scenery of Dun-
keld, by the celebrated traveller, Dr. E. D. Clarke,
will probably be new to some of our readers. We
quote it, not the less willingly that it contains an
ingenious defence of what appears to us the silly ar-
tificialities of Ossian's hall, on approaching Dunkeld
from the north : — " Nothing," says the Doetdf, "oc-
curs particularly remarkable until just before you
arrive at the toll-gate, before descending into the
beautiful vale of the Tay, and from that moment a
scene opens before you, which perhaps has not its
parallel in Europe. I know not in all Scotland, nor
in any part of Great Britain, a scene more striking
than Dunkeld, as you descend to cross the ferry.
From the toll-gate towards the river you have the
great forest of Birnam above you on the left> and
down far to the right a long hollow valley, watered
by the rapid meandering Tay, attracts the attention.
Dunkeld, shut in by high mountains, rises with its
ruined cathedral, its church and houses above the
water. To enrich this noble scene, the finest trees
are seen flourishing with the greatest redundancy.
How weak and groundless are the expressions of
Johnson respecting Scotland and. its timber, when
one beholds this luxuriant valley proudly decorated
with majestic oaks, sycamore, limes, beech, maple,
birch, and all the glories of the forest! I measured
a single oak close to the ferry, and found it to be 17
feet in the girth ; and near it stood a sycamore of
much greater magnitude. The grounds belonging to
the Duke of Athole, I do not hesitate to pronounce,
are almost without a rival. There are some scenes
about them which bear a resemblance to the finest
parts of Mount Edgeeumbe in Cornwall. The walks
alone form an extent of 16 or 17 miles,* and these
are kept in the finest order, not fantastically cut ac-
cording to any absurd rule which may violate the
grandeur of nature, but winding among the most
solemn groves and majestic trees which the earth
produces. I cannot pretend to detail their beauties.
The pencil alone can, and even that would but in-
adequately describe them. The greatest curiosity
of Dunkeld — at least that which is generally esteemed
such — is a cascade formed by a fall of the Bran, about
J mile from the ferry of Invar. The manner in
which this is presented to the spectator has been
much reprobated by several of our modern tourists,
* This is probably under-stated. Dr. Mnecullocjl mentions
that the extent of the walks is 50 miles, and that of the rioee.
SO miles.