Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 1

BENHONZIE
and is the seat of Hercules Scott, Esq. , whose ancestors
hare held the estate for 200 years and more, and who
himself is owner of 3912 acres in the shire of £53S8
annual value. One other proprietor holds a yearly value
of £500 and upwards, and 1 of from £50 to £100, while
5 hold each between £20 and £50. Benholm is in the
presbytery of Fordoun and synod of Angus and Mearns ;
its minister's income is £349. The parish church (1832 ;
76S sittings) is If mile NNE of Johnshaven, and near it
is a public school, with acco mm odation for 76 children,
an average attendance (1879) of 24, and a grant of £26,
13s. 4d. ; while at Johnshaven are a Free church, a
U.P. church, and another school. Valuation (1SS1)
£8520, 13s. lid., including £423 for the railway. Pop.
(1801) 1412, (1841) 1648, (1871) 1569, (1SS1) 1525.—
Ord. Sur., shs. 57, 57a, 66, 67, 1863-74.
Benhonzie. See Ben Chonzie.
Ben Hope, a mountain near the eastern border of Dur-
ness parish, Sutherland, culminating If mile E by S of
the head of Loch Hope at 3040 feet above sea-level. It
has a rounded mass and imposing precipices, and, as seen
from the "W, it presents perhaps the most picturesque
mountain outline in the kingdom. It consists chiefly of
mica slate and quartzite.
Ben Horn or Eeinn nan Corn, a mountain on the
mutual border of Golspie and Clyne parishes, Suther-
land, culminating 4J miles NNW of Golspie village, at
1706 feet above sea-level, and consisting of Old Red sand-
stone and breccia.
Ben Hutig, a mountain in the !N"W of Tongue parish,
Sutherland, extending to the coast, and culminating 3J
miles SE of Ceana Geal Mor or "Whiten Head at 1340
feet above sea-level. Consisting chiefly of gneiss, it
forms the commencement of a range about 10 miles long,
which terminates suddenly in the huge and grand Ben
Hope.
Ben Ime, a mountain on the mutual border of Loch-
goilhead and Kilmorich parishes, E Argyllshire, cul-
minating 3f miles NW of Arrochar village at 331S feet
above sea-level.
Ben Inivaig. See Bentjeaxavaig.
Beninturk. See Ben-ax-Titikc.
Ben Killilan, a mountain (2466 feet) in Kintail parish,
SW Ross-shire, 7 miles N by E of the head of Loch
Duich.
Benkitlan or Ben Ceitlein, a mountain in Ardchattan
parish, Argyllshire, culminating in Stob Dubh (2S97
feet above sea-level), f mile E of the left bank of the
river Etive, and 7| miles SE of Ballachulish.
Benklibrick. See Benolibrick.
Ben Lair or Larig, a mountain (2S17 feet) in Gairloch
parish, Ross-shire, 2J miles from the NE shore of Loch
Maree. It dips romantic skirts into the lake ; ascends
in broad, graceful outline ; and is indented, toward the
summit, with a series of shell-shaped corries.
Ben Laoghal. See Bex Loyal.
Benlaoigh. See Benloy.
Ben Lawers, (Gael, bcinn-labhra, 'speaking or echoing
mountain '), one of the Breadalbane mountains in Ken-
more and "Weem parishes, Perthshire. It flanks the
NW shore of the middle waters of Loch Tay, and cul-
minates 9 miles "WSW of Kenmore village, at 3984 feet
above sea-level (or 4004 if one includes a cairn, rebuilt in
July 1 S78), being thus the loftiest mountain in thecounty,
and the fifth loftiest in all Scotland. It does not con-
sist of a single mass, but, rising from a broad base, in
fusion with contiguous mountains, rolls upward in a series
of shoulders or subordinate summits, and terminates
in a noble cone that towers more than 1000 feet above
all the neighbouring eminences. Its skirts, to a con-
siderable height, are cultivated, wooded, or verdant ; and
its upper portions, over nearly all their extent, are either
softly pastoral or heathy. The ascent is generally made
from Ben Lawers Hotel, on the shore of Loch Tay ;
measures between 4 and 5 miles to the top ; and is so
easy that it can all be made on horseback. The pro-
spect from its summit is wide and beautiful, embracing
splendid combinations of valleys, lakes, and mountains,
from the Ochils to Ben Nevis, and from Ben Lomond to
10
BEN LOMOND
Cairngorm, and excelled by no view in Scotland but
that from the top of Ben Lomond. The mountain chiefly
consists of mica slate ; on its summit are found the
small gentian, round-headed cotton-grass, and other
alpine plants.
Ben Lea, a hill (1473 feet) in Portree parish, Isle of
Skye, Inverness-shire, N of Loch Sligachan, and 6 miles
S by E of Portree village.
Ben Ledi, a mountain in Callander parish, Perthshire,
culminating 4J miles W by N of Callander town. It
rises from a base of about 11 miles in circuit ; occupies
most of the space between Loch Lubnaig on the E, Loch
Yenachar on the S, and Glen Finglas on the W ; soars
to an altitude of 2S75 feet above sea-level ; and com-
mands a gorgeous prospect from the Bass Rock to the
Paps of Jura, and from the Moray Firth to the Lowther
Mountains. The ascent of it is everywhere difficult, and
in many parts dangerous, but can be best effected from
Portnellan, 2| miles "WS"W of Callander. Its Gaelic
name, read commonly as bcinn-le-dia, ' mountain of God,'
is more correctly beinn schleibktc or schleibtean, ' moun-
tain of mountains,' or ' mountain girt with sloping hills.'
A tarn, called Lochan-nan-Corp, signifying ' the loch of
dead bodies,' lies far up the mountain, and got its name
from the drowning in it of about 200 persons attending
a funeral from Glen Finglas to a churchyard on the N of
the Pass of Leny.
Ben Leoid, a mountain in the SE of Eddrachillis parish,
Sutherland, culminating 4 miles SS"\Y of the head of
Loch More at 2597 feet above sea-level.
Benleven, the western or peninsular section of Dum-
bartonshire, bounded on the N by the isthmus of Tarbet,
on the E by Loch Lomond and the river Leven, on the
S by the Firth of Clyde, on the SW by Gare Loch, on the
W by the upper part of Loch Long. It comprehends
the parishes of Luss, Row, and Cardross, and parts of
the parishes of Arrochar and Bonhill, but excludes the
parish of Roseneath.
Ben Liath Mhor, a mountain (2464 feet) of central
Ross-shire, 3| miles iSTX"E of the foot of Loch Fannich.
Ben Liughaeh, a grand mountain in Gairloch parish,
W Ross-shire, 1J mile from the northern shore of Upper
Loch Torridon, and 4 miles SV r of Ben Eay. Its height
is about 3000 feet.
Ben Lochain, a mountain on the mutual border of
Strachur and Lochgoilhead parishes, Cowal, Argyllshire,
culminating 2 miles "W by S of the head of Loch Goil
at 2306 feet above sea-level. It takes its name from
Curra Lochain, a tarn on its southern slope, 4J furlongs
long and f furlong wide.
Benlochan, a hill (721 feet) in Logie-Easter parish,
Ross-shire, 3J miles SW of Tain.
Ben Lomond, a mountain in Buchanan parish, Stirling-
shire, extending along the E side of the upper part of
Loch Lomond, and culminating 6 J miles SSY' of the head
of Loch Katrine, and IS J N by W of Dumbarton. Its
summit line runs within 2 miles of the eastern shore
of Loch Lomond, yet forms part of the watershed be-
tween the river systems of the Forth and Clyde. Its
base measures about 5 miles from N to S, and about 3 J
miles from E to W. Ascending from the S in a long and
gradual mass, it presently rises more steeply aloft in a
great crowning cone, which breaks down on the N in a pre-
cipitous or almost mural face about 2000 feet in depth.
Its summit-altitude is 3192 feet above sea-level. Its
general outline, in multitudes of distant views, in many
different directions or with many different phases, is
grandly beautiful, and its western acclivities, closely
overhanging Loch Lomond, as seen from the further
shores or from the surface of the lake, are sublime and
strikingly impressive. The ascent of it is commonly
made on foot from Rowardennan, on the shore of Loch
Lomond, at its SW base, and measures geographically
about 4 miles, and in traversed distance about 6 miles,
but can be effected also, from the same point, on pony
back, up to a point very near the summit. The view
from the top has less breadth, less force, less gorgeous-
ness than the view from the top of Ben Lawers, but in
aggregate diversity, brilliance, and picturesque magni-
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