LOCHEARNHEAD, a village, in the parish of BalaUHiDDER,
county of Perth, 3^ miles (N. E. by E.)
from the village of Balquhidder; contaming 46 inhabitants.
This place stands at the western extremity of
Loch Earn, on the great military road from Stirling to
Fort-William; and is a beautiful little village, having a
well-known inn, and a post-office; but deriving its chief
interest and attraction from its situation at the head of
the loch from which it has its name. The loch is one
of the most delightful of the many lakes in Perthshire,
and has justly been described as a miniature and model
of the most splendid and varied scenery. It is in length
about nine miles, and in breadth one; its depth is said
to be about 100 fathoms, a circumstance to which is attributed
its never freezing. The banks on both sides
are clothed in luxuriant verdure; and the mountains
that surround it rise in majestic simplicity to an immense
height, terminating in bold and rocky outlines, and
having their sides diversified with precipices, and deep
hollows and ravines. Wild woods ascend in many places
along the surface of these heights; and innumerable
torrents jjour from above, and, as they descend become
shrouded in trees, until they lose themselves in the waters
of the lake. On the south is 15en-Voirlich, or " the
Great Mountain of the Loch ", which attains an altitude
of 3300 feet, and from whose summit is a magnificent
prospect over the south of Scotland, stretching to the
eastern and western seas, and to the mountains on the
English borders. In the vicinity of the village, the
beauty and grandeur of the scenery seem condensed and
combined. On the north side of the lake is the modern
village of St. Fillan's; and in the eastern extremity of
it, is a small but charming island, said to be artificial, and
which was once the rendezvous of desperate banditti,
who were surprised one night by the clan Macnab,
whom they had plundered of provisions, and all put to
the sword. At Lochearnhead is a place of worship for
members of the Free Church.