Ordnance gazetteer of Scotland > Volume 6

TARRENSAY
" are now extinct ; but the good bull-trout is still
famous.' See Harden. — Orel. Sur., sli. 11, 1863.
Tarrensay. See Taransay.
Tarth Water, a sluggish but troutful rivulet of
Peeblesshire, rising 2$ miles SW of West Linton, and
running 6J miles south-south-eastward, chiefly along
the boundaries of Linton, Dolphinton, Kirkurd, New-
lands, and Stobo parishes, till it falls into Lyne Water
near Drochil Castle. — Ord. Sur., sh. 24, 1864.
Tarves, a village and a parish of central Aberdeen-
shire. The village, standing 274 feet above sea-level,
is 5| miles NE of Old Meldrum, 6| W by N of Ellon,
and 5A NNW of Udny station. It has a post office
under Aberdeen and a branch of the Aberdeen Town
and Couuty Bank.
The parish, very irregular in outline, is bounded N
by Methlick, NE by New Deer, E by Ellon and Heth-
lick (detached), SE by Udny, SW by Bourtie and Mel-
drum, and NW by Fyvie. Its utmost length, from
NNE to SSW, is Sf miles ; its utmost breadth, from E
to W, is 7f miles ; and its area is 25^ square miles or
16,333§ acres, of which 30J are water. The only stream
of any size is the Ythan, which here has a south-south-
easterly course of nearly 2j miles, viz., 1J mile along
the boundary with Methlick proper, then 1£ furlong
along the base of the Schivas or north-eastern wing of
the parish, and lastly 1J mile along the boundary with
the detached portion of Methlick. The triangular
Upper Lake (2f x 1 furl.) in the Haddo grounds lies on
the Methlick boundary, 2 J miles N by E of the village.
In the extreme E the surface declines to 48 feet above
sea-level ; and thence it rises gently to 578 feet at the
Hill of Skilmafilly on the New Deer boundary, 389 at
the Earl of Aberdeen's monument on the Hill of Ythsie,
45S near Tolquhon, 363 near Courtstone, and 476 at
Couchercairn near the western border. The rocks in-
clude granite, gneiss, and limestone ; and the soil for
the most part is a fertile loam, incumbent on clay drift.
Except in the vicinity of Haddo House, the parish is
rather bare of trees. Cattle-breeding is largely carried
on ; and an old established cattle, horse, and sheep fair
is held on the Friday after 28 August at Bartol or
Bartle (Bartholomew) Chapel, 4§ miles WNW of the
village and 5 N of Old Meldrum. Schivas, now a farm-
house, 4 1 miles NNE of the village, was built about
1640, and was the seat of a Roman Catholic branch of
the Grays. The ruined castle of Tolquhon, 2J miles S
by E of the village, with the exception of an older
tower, was built by William Forbes in 1584-89. Held
first by the Prestons, and then, from 1420, by the
Forbeses, the Tolquhon estate was purchased in 1716
by Lieut. -Col. Francis Farquhar, and from him it
passed to the second Earl of Aberdeen. The remains of
Tillyhilt Castle (1583) are 1$ mile WNW of the village.
The Earl of Aberdeen is sole proprietor, and one of his
titles is Baron Tarves. Giving off portions to the quoad
sacra parishes of Savoch and Barthol Chapel, Tarves is
in the presbytery of Ellon and the synod of Aberdeen ;
the living is worth £280. The parish church, at the
village, was built in 1798, and contains 870 sittings.
At Craigdam, 1£ mile WSW, is a U.P. church (1806;
600 sittings) ; and three public schools— Barthol Chapel,
Craigdam female, and Tarves — with respective accom-
modation for 132, 80, and 261 children, had (1884) an
average attendance of 99, 60, and 171, and grants of
£96, 4s., £54, 19s., and £156, 13s. 6d. Valuation
(1S60) £9310, (1885) £15,109, 5s. lOd. Pop. (1801)
1756, (1831) 2232, (1861) 2509, (1871) 2443, (1881)
2558, of whom, quoad sacra, 1827 belonged to Tarves,
169 to Savoch, and 562 to Barthol Chapel.— Or d. Sur.,
shs. 87, 77, 86, 1874-76.
Tarvit Hill. See Cupar.
Tayfield, a mansion in Forgan parish, Fife, close to
Newport, and opposite Dundee.
Tayinloan. See Killean and Kilchenzie.
Tay, Loch, a magnificent lake in Breadalbane, Perth-
shire. Commencing at the foot of Glendochart and
Glenlochy, where it receives the united waters of these
aglens, and lying 355 feet above sea-level, it extends 144
TAYMOUTH CASTLE
miles north-eastward from the vicinity of Killin to
Kenmore, where it discharges itself by the river Tay.
Its breadth ranges between 3J furlongs and 1J mile,
and its depth between 15 and 100 fathoms. It is
strictly a Highland lake, similar in character to the
lakes of Glenmore-nan'-albin, flanked by mountains
and occupying a glen. The mountains on its N side
form a bulky chain, rising into bare, lofty, finely-out-
lined heads, the most conspicuous of which is Ben
Lawers (3984 feet), the highest summit in Perthshire.
The heights on the S side are soft, regular, and much
less lofty ; but, like those on the N side, are well
clothed with heath and verdure. Good roads are carried
along both sides of the lake from end to end. The N
road is the best for carriages, and the one most com-
monly taken by travellers ; but it has the disadvantage
of being too distant from the lake's margin, too high up
the mountain slope, to command as good views as those
which are obtained from the other road. Though it
generally overlooks almost the entire expanse of the
lake, the prospect is unvaried and monotonous, the
foregrounds tame or altogether wanting ; and there
is an almost total absence of those delicious close views
which are the delight alike of the artist and the con-
noisseur. Had this road been carried nearer to the
margin of the lake, and amid the windings of the beauti-
ful promontories and bays with which it is bounded,
the effect of a ride up the N shore of Loch Tay would
have been very different. The man of taste would have
selected this line ; nor would he have found fault with
the additional 2 miles of road which are saved by the
straightforward views of Marshal Wade. In taking the
S road, however, the case is materially different. This
road generally runs near the lake, and follows in
numerous instances the sinuosities of its margin and
the inequalities of the ground. The declivities of the
southern range of mountains are, besides, much more
varied and intricate than those on the N ; while the
general outline of the northern range, being bolder and
loftier than the southern, forms a striking termination
to the views from this side. Few roads, therefore, are
more productive of a succession of picturesque land-
scapes, or offer greater temptations to the traveller than
this. The landscapes here present an ever- varied fore-
ground ; are rich and full in the middle distance ; while
the extreme distance is grand and imposing. Near the
foot of the lake, 3 furlongs from Kenmore, is a small
wooded islet, with the shapeless ruins of an Augustinian
priory, founded in 1122 by Alexander I. for himself
and the soul of his queen, Sibylla, a natural daughter
of Henry I. of England, who on 12 June of that year had
died suddenly at the castle of Loch Tay, and whom he
here interred. On 10 Sept. 1842 a splendid flotilla of
six gorgeous barges rowed up the lake to Auchmore,
bearing Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, the Marquis
of Breadalbane, Sir Eobert Peel, etc., etc. Since 1883
a steamer has plied to and fro on Loch Tay, which is
the finest salmon lake in Scotland. The fish range
from 18 to 48 lbs., and in Feb. 1S80 no fewer than 26,
together weighing 551 lbs., were caught in five days
by a single rod.— Ord. Sur., shs. 46, 47, 55, 1869-72.
Taymount, a mansion in Kinclaven parish, Perthshire,
on the right bank of the Tay, 2 miles NNE of Stanley.
Taymouth Castle, the seat of the Earl of Breadalbane,
in Kenmore parish, Perthshire, near the right bank of
the winding Tay, 1 mile NE of the foot of Loch Tay, and
5 miles WSW of Aberfeldy. Built between 1801 and 1842
on the site of the Castle of Balloch (1580), it is a magnifi-
cent pile of four stories, with round towers at the angles,
wings two stories high at opposite corners, and a massive
central quadrangular tower, forming an airy pavilion
150 feet high. It is constructed of a dark grey stone ;
and the interior is fitted up in a most princely style,
and adorned with paintings by Titian, Rubens, Van-
dyke, etc. The pleasure-grounds, comprising a circuit
of 1 3 miles, contain a great number of noble trees, and
ore laid out in a style of elaborate decoration which has
sometimes been pronounced too fine and formal. The
Queen and Prince Albert made a visit of three days to
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