Fortingall and MacGregor's Leap

The walk begins by Fortingall's church, which was reconstructed in 1902. The church is relatively modern, but the graveyard is ancient. Near the entrance, a tombstone dated 1774 bears the skull and crossbones, often erroneously associated with death by plague or the burial place of pirates. Left of the stone stands the famous Fortingall Yew. Estimated at between 3,000 and 5,000 years old, it is one of the oldest living things in Europe. In 1769, its girth was measured at over 56 feet, but by 1825 it had divided, and it was possible to drive a coach and horses through the centre. Victorian curio hunters carved chunks from its bark while village boys lit fires in its heart.

Vandalised to the brink of destruction, it is now protected by a fence and the tree's twisted limbs are supported by stone pillars. And, in recent years, the yew which was assumed to be male has been discovered with berries; a female trait. The truly magical yew overhangs the burial ground of the Stewarts of Garth, descendants of Alexander Stewart, the son of King Robert II. Nearby is a fine example of a cup marked stone, found eight feet below ground level - one of many similar stones found in the area.

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To the right of the road leading east out of the village are three triangles of standing stones. Their origins and purpose are unknown, but the stones retain a powerful presence. From the stones, the path winds along narrow country lanes overhung with pine, birch, oak, beech and rowan. Roe and red deer graze undisturbed along the wooded banks of the River Lyon, and bushy tailed red squirrels can be seen all year round. Treecreepers, goldcrests, crossbills, chaffinches, jackdaws and long tailed tits live among the trees in the mixed woodland, while mewing buzzards and magnificent golden eagles sometimes glide down from the high corries of Glen Lyon.

You cross the 18th century Bridge of Lyon, then walk along a sparkling river, prized by anglers for its salmon and trout. A lane leads into a narrow pass. This is the entrance to Glen Lyon, undoubtedly one of Scotland's finest glens.

Just off the lane, down a wooded slope is a dramatic, rock strewn chasm, MacGregor's Leap. In the 16th century Clan MacGregor were an outlawed, landless clan. The father of Gregor MacGregor, heir to the chieftainship was slain, and the orphaned boy was fostered by the Laird of Glen Lyon, Duncan Roy Campbell.

The orphan was Rob Roy MacGregor, a Scottish folk hero. On coming of age, he asked for the return of his ancestral lands, which had been seized by the Campbells. His request was refused and a bitter feud developed as MacGregor led his kinsmen in a series of wild and bloody raids on the Campbell estates. He was hunted for seven years and one episode, while visiting his wife, forced him to make a dramatic escape by leaping into the foaming River Lyon. Eventually though he was captured and imprisoned for five years before being pardoned.

From MacGregor's Leap the walk heads back to Fortingall. Soon, an earth mound known as 'Roman Camp' is passed but it is more likely to be, as excavation findings suggest, a medieval work - few Romans came this far north. Just before the village is Glenlyon House, built in the 1720's for a close relative of Robert Campbell, suspected instigator of the infamous Glencoe Massacre.

Opposite Fortingall Hotel is Carn na Marbh, which translates as "the cairn of the dead". In the 14th century, plague swept through the village and the bodies were assembled together in a mass grave. A large cairn was placed over the pit, and later, a solitary stone was erected, a monument to the tragedy.