Aberfoyle
Aberfoyle is a small town found nestling at the foot of the Trossachs, once the centre of the slate mining industry, it has as beautiful a setting as any village. Right in the heart of the Queen Elizabeth Forest Park, on the edge of the recently created Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. It offers excellent access to some truly diverse scenery and has a number of charming shops and sights of its own.
A village with a rich history it featured prominently in Walter Scott's Rob Roy as well as being a favoured haunt of the Rob himself. It is also something of a magical place with close associations to the faerie world, otherwise known as Elfland.
In the 17th Century, the local Reverend, Robert Kirk, was a firm believer of faeries. So much so he wrote a whole book entitled "The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Faeries". He was also the seventh son of a seventh son, giving him psychic powers. The Reverend was out walking one day, upon the faerie knoll known as Doon Hill when he died. His family took his body and laid it to rest. However with the Reverend being so closely involved with the faeries people thought it was too much of a coincidence the location of where he died. Instead they believed that the faeries had taken his body and left a changeling posing as Reverend Kirk.
It was said that Kirk appeared before his cousin and told him that at the Christening of his child, he would appear. This was the only chance for him to come back to our world. His cousin, Graham, had to throw an iron dagger over Kirk when he appeared. However at the Christening, Graham was too scared at the sight of the ghostly Kirk and failed to keep his promise. It is now believed that the Reverend Kirk's soul is still tormented within the Caledonian pine tree which stands on top of Doon Hill. A place which people still visit to this day to make wishes and leave presents for the faeries.
As well as many interesting and ancient graves (including Rev Kirk's earthly grave) the local graveyard contains heavy iron coffin covers, a strange thing to find so far from a major city. In the 1800's when Edinburgh was at the forefront of anatomical research, bodies were required on a regular basis. As the demand for bodies started to increase, supply had to keep up and this was how grave robbing became a lucrative business. Freshly buried bodies were uplifted and taken to the Universities where few questions were asked. People began to be terrified that when they died, their body would be exhumed. A number of preventative methods were used such as a relative watching over the grave constantly for a couple of weeks so that the body would be too old to be used. They also came up with iron coffin covers which would protect the wooden coffins underneath.
Loch Katrine is said to be one of the most beautiful Scottish Lochs, also inspiring Sir Walter Scott who lent it an air of mystery in his poem 'The Lady of the Lake'. You can hire bikes or electric buggies to travel along the path at a quicker pace or take the old steam boat out for a leisurely trip. The loch is also one of Glasgow's main water supplies.
What we do in Aberfoyle:
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