Lochearnhead

   LOCHEARNHEAD, a village, in the parish of Balquhidder, county of Perth, 3½ miles (N. E. by E.) from the village of Balquhidder; containing 46 inhabitants. This place is at the western extremity of Loch Earn, and 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; and its depth is said to be a hundred 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 pour from above, and, as they descend, become shrouded in trees, until they lose themselves in the waters of the lake. On the south is Ben-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 on a 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.