Loch Voil, the land of Rob Roy!

We left Loch Ness before noon as we had quite a drive ahead of us to Monachyle Mhor in Trossachs National Park. The drive down the bank of Loch Ness was wonderful with gorgeous views, sunshine and fresh berries (raspberry and strawberry), purchased from a roadside stand operated by two wee Scottish ladies. About half way through the drive, we stopped off at the Ben Nevis distillery, which unlike the other two distilleries we had already visited is not owned by a large liquor consortium (ie Diageo) but was not Scottish owned, having been purchased by a Japanese concern some time earlier. Ben Nevis Scotch is almost exclusively exported to SE Asia so of course we could not leave without buying a bottle!

We then headed away from the coast into the highlands and through Glencoe. While Glencoe is amazingly beautiful, it is also the site of a sad history for in February 1692, 38 members of Clan MacDonald of Glencoe, including the chief Alasdair MacIain, were brutally murdered by British soldiers after they had provided hospitality and billeted said troops for almost two weeks. A further 40 women and children of the Clan died due to exposure in the harsh Scottish winter. Two of the British soldiers refused to obey their orders and instead broke their swords but still, the Scottish did not forget and subsequent support for the Stuarts amongst the highlanders had a least some origins in this vicious act. We visited the small museum at Glencoe with its exhibits relating to the massacre and also encountered a kilted highlander playing bagpipes in the Glen itself!

We arrived at lovely Monachyle Mhor late in the afternoon and relaxed for a few hours before dining at the fabulous restaurant around 9pm. Monachyle Mhor is quite amazing as it is located some eight miles off the main highway at the end of Loch Voil. One drives down a tree lined, single lane country road beside Loch Voil to get to the place, having to pull aside on occasion in order to let other vehicles by and it seems as one goes that perhaps one is chasing a dream; could a fine establishment really be located in such a remote place? All doubts are dispelled upon arrival when the property comes into view; it is a lovely building with views over the Loch and a top notch staff. The restaurant serves an expensive but amazing dinner complete with amuse bouches, small soups between courses and fine wines! It is the kind of place that has a helipad nearby as celebrities and other bigwigs do on occasion make an appearance.

We were quite lucky in that we received a room upgrade and our suite had not only the most wonderful plush bed but the bathroom had two clawfoot tubs beside eachother so that both guests could bathe at the same time! We ended up having two baths while there and watched the film "A Most Violent Year" while in the tub resulting in Christos becoming a human prune one night. We spent three wonderful nights at the place and enjoyed deep, relaxing sleeps while there of the kind that only rural tranquility brings, although we were awoken the last night by a very noisy, perturbed crow at 5am!

While there, we trekked down the road to the local "Kirk" wherein can be found the grave of Rob Roy along with his wife and two of his sons. The area was in fact home to the famous Scottish folk hero.

Behind the old church is a path that leads up to the old MacLaren lookout point with stunning views down the Loch and to its entrance, allowing a clan lookout to warn should outsiders enter the Glen.

We also took a day trip into the local town of Callander during our time at Monachyle Mhor to get a little laundry done as well as some shopping. Callander is quaint, cute and small but one can get Guinness at the pub so a visit was critical given the lack of said beverage at MM.

We finally left MM on a rainy Saturday morning; we would not have minded extending our stay but the whole place was booked for a wedding on the weekend. So off we headed to our next destination, the MacDonald Forest Spa near Aberfoyle.