wee stories

A few wee stories of interest about the area:

The manmade Crannog within sight (north) from April Cottage (Cairn Dubh) was fairly recently inspected by a scuba diver who found that the timbers of the house are still there.
Crannogs are ancient loch dwellings, the earliest of which is some 5000 years old. They were used until the 17th century and were thought to be hunting and fishing getaways, retreats from warring clans, farmers' homesteads and even holiday residences. They were usually timber built roundhouses supported by piles or stilts driven in to the loch bed. For more information go to www.crannog.co.uk

A WWII Prisoner-of-War Camp stood in the immediate area of Inverinan; the warden's cottage and foundations of the cookhouse are still in evidence, as is one of the prisoners of war who married a local lass and settled in the area!

13th Century Innis Chonnel Castle and the Burial Island (both reachable by boat) belong to the Duke of Argyll who resides in Inverary Castle; his father, the previous Duke of Argyll was buried there a few years ago.

A monk by the name of St. Mochoe of Nendrum lived at nearby Kilmaha and died around 490AD, predating the great Columbus himself. His habitat can still be seen, along with the mysterious carving which forms a unique triple image. This may well be one of the earliest ecclesiastical sites yet discovered in this area. (standing stones now in Dalavich Church to protect them)

Snow-covered Ben Cruachan on the left

Stories and legends abound as to how Loch Awe came into being, this is one of them:
Ancient legend has it that once, in the dawn of time, a magic well of youth lay hidden in a secret corrie high on the slopes of Ben Cruachan. The guardian of this precious well was a lovely goddess named Bheithir, who preserved her beauty by bathing each evening in the enchanted waters. But one day at dusk, being tired, she fell asleep, carelessly forgetting to replace the capstone on the sacred spring. That night the crystal fountain cascaded down the mountain flooding the winded strath below to form the vast expanded water we now call Loch Awe. As for poor Bheithir, when the gods learned that all the virtue of the well was lost they banished her forever. As centuries passed she slowly grew more shrivelled and ugly and eventually transformed into the dreaded Cailleach Bheithir, the Celtic winter hag of death and darkness, whose icy voice still wails in torment round the snowbound corries of the mighty Ben Cruachan!

Sign left anonymously at a nearby village