vity of the dusky pine forest of Balloch-bowie. They are approached by passing Braemar Castle on the left, and turning off at the Bridge of Invercauld, by the road to right, which forms one of the new drives constructed along the natural terraces of the forest banks. The Garrawalt Water rolls over several banks of considerable height, which, though not perpendicular, give a thundering and foamy torrent; but as a cataract, it is rather deficient in interest, from its not disgorging itself into one of those black cauldrons, which give a mysterious, frightful, and characteristic feature to most of the Highland falls. A neat wooden bridge crosses the stream and conducts to a fog-house, a favourite point for viewing the rushing water, with its rocks and trees. The Falls of Corriemulzie are three miles westwards from Castleton by the road passing the Fife Arms to the Linn of Dee and Ben-muich-dhui. The path to the falls strikes off from the main road on the right, a short way beyond Corriemulzie Cottage (Earl of Fife), and it leads first to a wooden seat commanding a view of the fall, and a little further down to a small rustic bridge across the stream. From this it is continued up the other side of the glen, with an exit at the side of the bridge forming part of the main road. The ravine is a deep gash in the rock, narrow and precipitous, but having all its asperities softened off by the profusion of birches and creeping plants with which it is matted. The fall slides down pearly white through a winding slit in the rock, where its gentle surface is in close companionship with the tender wild flowers that are kept in eternal green by its spray. The high single arch of the bridge, forming part of the roadway above, comes in with good effect. The Linn of Quoich, on the other side of the river (a couple of miles below the Earl of Fife's hunting-seat, Mar Lodge), is of a different character. It is on one of those powerful streams that tumble from the Cairngorm mountains, and the cataract is formed by a succession of precipitous ledges. The schist rock is perforated in many places by the whirling waters into deep circular holes, from the appearance of which it has received its name of the Quoich. Two miles beyond the Falls of Corriemulzie is Inverey, where a path strikes off on the left to a place called "The Colonel's Bed," a low cavern raised a few feet above the surface of the deep still water, the rocks on both sides rising perpendicularly to a considerable height.* The Linn of Dee is seven miles from Braemar, and four beyond Corriemulzie. It is not the height of fall, but the contraction of the stream, that is the object of interest; indeed when the water is swollen, the ledges over which its falls almost disappear, the corners being rounded off, as it were, by the thickness of the watery drapery. The water has worn for itself a narrow passage through the rock. When it is not swollen, there are almost alternately a rush of the clearest water through a narrow aperture, then a dark pool of great depth. In some of these pools, when the water rushes into them with great violence, the ascending air bells give it the appearance of effervescing. One may descend to the river's edge, and the furious mass of waters crushed and huddled together by the impregnable stone walls raves with a wild and deafening fury, that dizzies the brain, and excites a sort of apprehension that the exasperated element may leap from its prison, and overwhelm the spectator as he is coolly gazing on its agony. It is easy to step from the north bank to the south; but the adventurer should adopt the old counsel of looking before leaping. A splendid new bridge of Aberdeen granite was completed in 1857, and opened by the Queen in person. From the huge desert, lying between the straths of the Dee and Spey, and presenting a district totally uninhabited, rises the loftiest cluster of mountains in the United Kingdom.t Among them are Ben-muich-dhui, 4292; Bræ-riach, 4280; Cairn-toul, 4230; Cairngorm, 4050; Ben-a-bourd, 3940; and Ben-A'an, 3920. Although no part of this district is within the line of perpetual congelation, the snow lingers in the hollows during the summer in such quantities as to give a perfectly * The tradition among the people is that, in feudal times, one of the Farquharsons of Inverey (the ruins of whose castle are still visible at the clachan) having been pursued by a strong party of the Gordons of Abergeldie, concealed himself in this dismal cavern for several weeks, making it his abode both day and night. It used to be as difficult for visitors to descend to this cave as it was for the faithful retainer who nightly conveyed provisions to his master, but by the formation of a neat footpath and granite steps the access is now rendered easy. + As these have never yet been surveyed, it is difficult to lay them down with accuracy on a map. The rough chart that accompanies this volume was compiled by a pedestrian who had studied the ground well, and may be reckoned on as correct in its general features. wintry aspect to the higher shaded glens. Several cataracts of great height rush down the sides of the mountains, which are strongly marked by high and rugged precipices, and numerous deep and gloomy ravines. But the scenery is not without its softer features, and many of the most rugged hills are relieved by the gentle weeping birch; and Glen Lui, one of the avenues from Deeside to this lonely district, presents a wide plain of verdant turf. The old weather-beaten pines are a curious feature of some of these glens, and in Glen Quoich and Glen Derry, they are scarred by centuries of contest with the mountain storms. Some are bowed to the earth, others twisted round and round like the horn of a sea-unicorn, and others stripped bare still stand erect, like mammoth skeletons. On the lower declivities of the hills, and on the skirts of the forest land, troops of red deer may occasionally be seen in their ancient glory. CASTLETON TO BEN-MUICH-DHUI, LOCH A'AN, AND CAIRNGORM. Distances:-Corriemulzie, 3 miles; Linn of Dee, 6 miles.* From the Linn of Dee a road strikes away on the left to Dee-head valley and Glen Tilt. The road to Ben-muich-dhui is straight on. There is a carriage or gig road for 12 miles. The rest of the way through Glen Lui and Glen Derry is 8 miles, making 20 miles altogether. This latter portion must be performed either on foot or by a pony. To see all the characteristic portions of this wild district, the tourist must be prepared to undergo considerable fatigue. Passing the objects of interest on this road, already described as far as the Linn of Dee, we strike up Glen Derry, remarkable for its perfectly desolate appearance. Owing to the mass of the trees having been cut down, those left, not having sufficient shelter, have withered and fallen before the blast. Whole clumps may be seen barkless and blanched, extending their blighted branches to the wind in all manner of contorted shapes. At one part of the valley (on the right), the side of * Ponies are charged 7s. 6d., and the guide 7s. 6d. With a pony and guide, at a walking pace, the journey takes 14 hours, so that it is advisable to leave not later than six in the morning, and to carry a good supply of provisions, as there is no place of entertainment on the way. Ponies do not usually go beyond the head of Glen Derry, where they are left to feed at a place where good grass is got, until the party returns. Ladies, however, may take them to the top, but it is troublesome. When ponies are taken more than a day there is a small reduction of price. |