PerthshireCrieffStrathearn Local History

The Ossian Stone or Clach Ossian in the Sma’ Glen near Crieff The A 822   road running from Crieff to Amulree takes   one through the picturesque Sma Glen amidst   some of the most spectacular scenery imaginable . Apart from its   natural rugged   beauty   the road is steeped in Highland history. It was used by the drovers a s a gateway to the lucrative markets on the periphery of the Lowlands. Places such as Fowlis Wester and most notably Crieff where the annual Michaelmas Tryst was a magnet for sellers and buyers alike. Much earlier in time it was the Romans who realised the potential dangers that this natural route could bring and constructed their “glen blocker “fort and watch tower at Fendoch where the Glen truly begins or indeed ends! It was however a professional soldier from Meath in Ireland who transformed the rough tracks into a well-engineered roadway. Major General George Wade had carried out and a study of Highland Scotland in the aftermath of the    1

Having recently moved   home   from Crieff to the picturesque   village of Comrie   some   seven miles   to the west, I am enjoying   a wide   variety   of different   walks with Bo my border terrier as well as exploring   a number of   new   places in and round the village . Comrie has an interesting heritage having played host over the centuries to Picts and Romans and a diversity of others. The name reveals its Highland and Gaelic origins meaning the confluence or   joining of   the rivers – the Earn, the Ruchill and Lednock . Interestingly I have a regular encounter with one of the areas better known historical characters, namely Viscount Melville aka Baron Dunira or to go back to his   roots – Henry Dundas . Although he has long since departed this mortal coil, his memory and influence lives on in the spectacular obelisk that was erected in his memory atop Dun More, the steep crag lying immediately to the north of the village. It   dominates all around