Loch Katrine, one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Highlands.
A photograph c1880 of the old boathouse at Loch Katrine. George Washington Wilson was the photographer.
Few places can rival Loch Katrine as a destination for tourists in the Highlands. Situated not far from Glasgow, it offered a taste of the finest Highland scenery that could be easily digested in a day or two.
"Loch Katrine from Ben A'an, Trossachs" A postcard issued by the Scottish Youth Hostel Association.
Another reason for its choice as a destination was the popularity of the works of Sir Walter Scott, in particular The Lady of the Lake. Before they were published the area seems hardly to have been known. The geologist John MacCulloch, who explored much of Scotland in the early years of the 19th century in connection with his scientific work, thought he was "the very first absolute stranger to visit Loch Cateran [Katrine]", and complained that it wasn't even marked on his map.
An early sketch of Loch Katrine, from a series of sketches by Alfred Swaine Taylor, "the Father of British Forensic Medicine", 1833.
Little seems to have changed by the end of the 19thC, apart from the construction of the landing pier. This a photograph by Samuel Poulton (1819 - 1898).
"The Boat House, Loch Katrine." A Victorian watercolour, artist unknown.
With the publication of Scott's The Lady of the Lake in 1810, the situation changed dramatically: visitors flocked to the region in their hundreds. Henry Cockburn recorded in his Journal (1838) that, at a hotel that was hopelessly overcrowded, he saw "three or four english gentlemen speading their own straw on the earthen floor of an outhouse....the pigs were as comfortably accommodated." But the draw of the place was irrestistable: one anonymous visitor from Dover exclaimed in ecstasy that when "standing on Ellen's Isle, one almost became a convert to the belief of the natives of the district, that the incident related in Scott's charming dramatic poem really occurred."
"Ellen's Isle and Ben Venue, Loch Katrine." A late 19thC photograph by Poulton.
"The Trossachs of Loch Katrine." A fine graphite drawing, indistinctly signed with a monogram, from a collection of artwork owned by Emily Heath (b. 1830).
A postcard published in Stirling by Robert Shearer.
Other authors popularized the area, such as Jules Verne, who set his story The Underground City almost entirely underneath Loch Katrine.
Steamers carried day-trippers up and down the lake
By the end of the 19th century, with excellent railway connections at Aberfoyle, Stirling, Callander, etc., tour operators were able to offer a complete "The Lady of the Lake and Trossachs Tour."
Boats like the SS Rob Roy....
"Pier & Sir Walter Scott Steamer, Loch katrine." A Tuck postcard sent in 1913. The sender comments regarding the Loch that "the first sight of it could remind one of Heaven!"
As late as the 1930s, visitors could enhance the whole experience by being brought to the Loch on coaches pulled by horses.
"Trossachs Pier & SS "Rob Roy." A photograph by G.W. Wilson.
....and the Sir Walter Scott (which is still carrying passengers on the Loch).
Two postcards showing travel by coach to Loch Katrine, the lower one dated 1932.
This was one of the hotels used by the visitors, Stronachlachar, with Rob Roy's prison & Ben Venue. A photo by G.W. Wilson. Note the lovely hay ricks on the right.
At the Trossachs pier, the visitor could expect to be met by a piper....
"The Trossach's Tea Rooms, Loch Katrine."
....and enjoiy the delights of a lavish Highland tea.
"Loch Katrine Tea Rooms, Trossachs."
But it is the early images of this wonderful spot that I believe capture the essence of the place, not least the remarkable boathouse that was replaced sometime early in the 20th century.
Photographer unknown. Another magic lantern slide.
"The Boat Pier" at Loch Katrine, from a magic lantern slide by G.W. Wilson.
"Pier, Loch Katrine, July 1884." An original watercolour by 'CH'.
"View of the Head of Loch Katrine, W. Highlands, Scotland by Nicholson" [Titled on the back].