Loch Lomond and the Trossachs in History and Legend

The beautiful region which contains Loch Lomond and the Trossachs has long been a magnet for visitors. It was already popular when Sir Walter Scott made it world-famous. Here are the stories of the people who came to it, why they came, how they travelled and what they found. Most visitors came as tourists: they included Wordsworth, Mendelssohn, Hans Andersen, even Queen Victoria herself. Others came in the course of their work: sixth-century saints brought Christianity, redcoats – and sailors – pursued Rob Roy, politicians and engineers came to revive the fortunes of Scotland with hydro-electricity after the Second World War. The region is notable for variety in means of travel. Tourists a century ago found an intricate network of connecting trains, steamers and horse-drawn coaches – by which they could range about the region with greater facility than their descendants can today. This too is fully described. The story of how Loch Lomond and the fast-flowing River Leven were used as a highway for trade and commerce – by galleys, birlinns, sailing gabbarts and, on the loch, paddle-steamers – is told more comprehensively here than anywhere else. The story of how the decayed military