The Trossachs
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|---|---|
 The forested area at the eastern end of Loch Katrine | |
  The Trossachs Location within theStirling council area | |
| OS grid reference | NN498068 |
| Council area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| 56°13′52″N4°25′30″W / 56.231°N 4.425°W /56.231; -4.425 | |
TheTrossachs (listenⓘ;Scottish Gaelic:Na Tròiseachan) generally refers to an area of woodedglens,braes, andlochs lying to the east ofBen Lomond in theStirling council area ofScotland. The name is taken from that of a small woodland glen that lies at the centre of the area, but is now generally applied to the wider region.
The wooded hills and lochs of the area may be considered to represent a microcosm of a typical highland landscape,[1] and the woodlands are an important habitat for many species.[2] Much of the Trossachs area is protected by various differentconservation designations, including theGreat Trossachs ForestNational Nature Reserve.[3]
The Trossachs form part of theLoch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park, which was established in 2002.[4] The area has long been visited by tourists due to the relative proximity of major population centres such asGlasgow andStirling, and remains popular with walkers, cyclists and tourists.[1] Scenic boat rides on Loch Katrine are popular with visitors: thesteamerSS Sir Walter Scott, launched in 1899, remains in operation.[5] TheGreat Trossachs Path, one ofScotland's Great Trails, is a 48 km route suitable forwalkers,cyclists andhorse riders. It runs betweenCallander in the east andInversnaid on the banks ofLoch Lomond in the west, passing along the northern shores of Loch Katrine and Loch Arklet.[6]
The nameTrossachs involves theBrittonic roottrōs meaning "across" (c.f.Welshtraws),[7][8] perhaps conserving the compoundtrawsfynydd meaning "cross-hill".[8]
Also suggested is a derivation from aGaelic word for "bristly".[9][10]
The Trossachs glen lies betweenBen A'an to the north andBen Venue to the south, withLoch Katrine to the west andLoch Achray to the east.[11] It lies at the centre of the wider region, which is generally regarded as being bounded by Glen Gyle to the south, with the western boundary being the road betweenStronachlachar andAberfoyle.[dubious –discuss]Loch Doine,Loch Voil, andLoch Lubnaig form the northern and eastern boundary of the area.[1]
TheA821 road betweenAberfoyle andCallander runs through this glen, and is the main access route into the Trossachs from the south and east. The section between Aberfoyle and the Trossachs glen runs through the Achray Forest, reaching a height of 238 m above sea level at the summit of theDuke's Pass. The main route to Callander continues east via the north shores ofLoch Achray andLoch Venachar, whilst a branch of the A821 heads west to finish at the western end of Loch Katrine. No public road continues along the shore of Loch Katrine, although the Great Trossachs Path allows walkers and cyclists to follow the northern shore round toStronachlachar on the western shore. From here a minor road heads west toLoch Lomond. Stronachlachar can also be reached by theB829 road from Aberfoyle, which passes north of Loch Choin andLoch Ard.[11]
The small town ofCallander and the village ofAberfoyle lie at the edge of the Trossachs,[1] howeverBrig o' Turk is the only settlement of any size within the Trossachs.[11] TheLake of Menteith, situated near Aberfoyle, lies about six miles (10 km) to the south east of the glen, on the edge of the Trossachs area. The lake is a fishing destination that features the ruins ofInchmahome Priory on one of its islands,Inchmahome, whereMary, Queen of Scots was taken as a child before being taken to France for her protection.[12]
There are severalprehistoric sites in the area, including acup and ring marked rock andburnt mounds inGlen Finglas. There arecrannogs on Loch Ard and Loch Venachar, and anIron Agehill fort at Dunmore.[2]
The Trossachs were one of the first parts of Scotland to become a recognised tourist destination due to the area's position on the southern edge of thehighlands and the quality of the scenery, which may be considered to represent a microcosm of a typical highland landscape.[1] The poetWilliam Wordsworth and his sisterDorothy visited the area, with Dorothy publishing an account of their visit inRecollections of a Tour Made in Scotland in 1803.[13]
The scenic charms of the area came to popularity withSir Walter Scott's 1810 poemThe Lady of the Lake, extending his romantic portrayal of Scotland's past fromborder ballads to poems of a medieval past rich in chivalry and symbolism. The poem gives a roll call of Trossachs place names, the lady herself being found on Loch Katrine. Scott followed up with his 1817 historical novelRob Roy romanticising the outlaw cattle thiefRaibert Ruadh, who was born by Loch Katrine[9] and buried at nearbyBalquhidder.
The leadingVictorian art criticJohn Ruskin (1819–1900) and thePre-Raphaelite painterJohn Everett Millais (1829–1896) spent the summer of 1853 together at Glenfinlas in the Trossachs.[14] Millais started apainting of John Ruskin during the visit, which he finished the following year. The painting is held in a private collection, but was on show at an exhibition on the Pre-Raphaelites atTate Britain inLondon during 2004.[15] John Ruskin himself was especially interested in therock formations in the area and undertook his own studies of these.
The Trossachs Hotel was built on the north bank ofLoch Achray in response to the growing number of tourists visiting the region. The building now functions as the Tigh Mor Trossachs holiday apartments, owned by the Holiday Property Bond (HPB).[16] In 1859, a dam was built at the eastern end ofLoch Katrine and connectingaqueducts were added to as part of a new main water supply toGlasgow. At the expense of the Glasgow water company,Queen Victoria had a holiday house built overlooking the loch. The queen never stayed in the house, namedRoyal Cottage, as the windows were broken by the21-gun salute that welcomed her,[17] and the cottage later became accommodation for the employees ofScottish Water.[citation needed]
The forests of the Trossachs comprise both areas ofancient, semi-natural and traditionally managed woodland alongside commercialforestry plantations. The native woodland is largelydeciduous, whilst the commercial forestry consists mostly ofconifers.
Fauna found in the woods of the Trossachs includeblack grouse,capercaillie andgoshawk; mammal species includered androe deer,red squirrel andpine marten.[2]Beavers are also now present in the area, with signs of beaver activity being observed onLoch Achray during a survey undertaken over the winter of 2017–18; the beavers are assumed to have spread there from the existing population on theRiver Tay.[18]
Species of fish found in the lochs of the Trossachs includebrown trout,perch andpike, and the lochs are also a habitat forosprey andotter.Arctic char are known to have lived inLoch Venachar andLoch Achray, but as of 2006 it was believed that they were no longer present.[2] The more farmed areas of the Trossachs provide areas of marshland that are habitat forwildfowl andwaders, with both wintering and breeding species recorded.[2] In 2011 thepearl-bordered fritillary butterfly - a species considered rare in Britain - was found to be living around Loch Katrine, the first time the species had been identified in the area for 25 years.[19]
Much of the Trossachs area is protected via several differentconservation designations.[3]
The Great Trossachs Forest is a project that aims to deliver a 165 km2 forest in the heart of the Trossachs in order to develop a wide range of habitats for invertebrates, mammals, birds and other wildlife.[20] Since 2015 the area, which covers much of the core area of the Trossachs around Loch Katrine and Loch Arklet (including the Trossachs glen), has been classified asnational nature reserve with the titleGreat Trossachs Forest National Nature Reserve.[21] The reserve is considered to be a "forest in the making", and is managed jointly byForestry and Land Scotland,RSPB Scotland andWoodland Trust Scotland.[22] The reserve is classified as aCategory IIprotected area by theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature.[23] The project aims to deliver a varied landscape that provides habitats for species that are otherwise rare in Britain, includingblack grouse,golden eagle,osprey,wildcat,pine marten,red squirrel,water vole andotter.[24]
A smaller area (378 ha) of the Trossachs is protected as aSpecial Area of Conservation due to importance of the existing native forest.[25] The Trossachs are also defined as anational scenic area,[26] being one of 40 such areas in Scotland, which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection from inappropriate development.[27] Areas of forestry owned byForestry and Land Scotland within the Trossachs form part of theQueen Elizabeth Forest Park,[28] and the entire area lies within theLoch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.
The Trossachs area forms part of thecouncil area ofStirling; at the most local level there is a TrossachsCommunity Council.[29]
The area is part of theregistration county ofPerth, lying in the most westerly part of the county, close to the border withCounty of Stirling.[30] The area is represented in theScottish Parliament as part of theconstituency of Stirling, which elects oneMember of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by theplurality (first past the post) method of election. The area also forms part of theMid Scotland and Fifeelectoral region, which elects sevenadditional members, in addition to nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form ofproportional representation for the region as a whole. AtWestminster the Trossachs area is represented as part of a constituency also entitled Stirling, howeverthis constituency, which elects oneMember of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election, has different boundaries from the Scottish Parliament constituency.[31][32]
The chief hills of the Trossachs are:[1]
The major lochs in the area are:[9]
Additionally, theLake of Menteith may be regarded as lying on the boundaries of the district.[1]
![Engraving of a view of the Trossachs by James Fittler in Scotia Depicta, published 1804[33]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aScotia_Depicta_-_Trossacks_-Plate-.jpg)
