The Gaelic words Bràghad Albainn mean 'the high ground of Scotland', a fitting name as the dominant mountain, Ben Lawers, is the highest in Scotland outwith the Nevis and Cairngorm ranges.
Although the area is centred on the upper reaches of the Tay river and loch system, it has no exact geographic definition. Here we use the centuries-old name of Breadalbane to tell you about the many attractions that can you enjoy, year-round, in the basin of the upper Tay from Tyndrum in the west to Kenmore in the east, from Glen Lyon in the north to Balquhidder and Strathyre in the south, and in Strathearn from Lochearnhead to Comrie. The western half of Breadalbane lies within the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.
Breadalbane is not just a summer destination. Winter hill walking is popular, as is ski mountaineering when conditions permit. Deer stalking and shooting continue through the winter months and it is possible to fish all year round. And what better time to visit a distillery than on a chilly winter day!
Scotland’s 10th highest mountain, Ben Lawers, towers above Scotland’s 6th largest loch and lies at the heart of the Ben Lawers National Nature Reserve. The glaciers which scoured out the bed of Loch Tay dug so deeply that at one point the bed of the loch lies 160 feet (50m) below sea level. Glaciers also carved Scotland’s longest glen, the beautiful but lonely 30-mile long Glen Lyon.
Evidence of human activity in the region goes back 9,000 years to a Middle Stone Age hunters’ encampment on the slopes below Ben Lawers. Loch Tay itself contains the remains of 18 Iron Age lake dwellings (crannogs), recreated on the loch today at the Scottish Crannog Centre. The present day population lives largely in Killin, at the west end of the loch and also in Kenmore at the east end, where Taymouth Castle, former seat of the Earls of Breadalbane, is located.
Strathearn is frontier country in more ways than one. The Highland Boundary Fault, which passes to the south of the town of Comrie, marks the boundary between the hard crystalline rocks of the Scottish Highlands and the softer sediments of the lowland Central Belt. Around 79 AD the Romans built a major camp, said to be called Victoria, at Dalginross, Comrie, possibly to control the entrance to (or exit from) the highlands along Strathearn. Today Comrie is known as a picturesque tourist and retirement village, having recorded the largest proportion of over-65s in Scotland in the 1991 census.
Further up Strathearn, at Dundurn east of St Fillans, stand the remains of a Pictish royal fort. The Dundurn hill fort, while on Pictish territory, was close to the frontier with the land of the Britons to the south and would have controlled access along Strathearn by the Scots of Dalriada to the west. St Fillans, at the east end of Loch Earn, is named after the 7th century Scottish / Irish Saint Fillan of Rath Erenn, a different Saint Fillan to that of Strathfillan and Glen Dochart. Originally a hamlet of thatched cottages and smallholdings named Port Lochearn, St Fillans acquired its present name in 1817 and was developed with grand holiday houses in Victorian times.
Strathfillan takes its name from the 8th century Scottish / Irish Saint Fillan who lived in the valley. Golden eagles and red deer make their home in the regions’ mountains while salmon make the long journey up Scotland’s longest river to spawn in its streams. The River Tay starts its 100–mile journey to the North Sea from the Allt Coire Laoigh on the slopes of Ben Lui.
Buried within the hills lie veins containing lead, zinc and silver, which were worked near the village of Tyndrum at various times between 1741 and 1862. Scotland’s only commercial gold deposit is being prepared for development in the Cononish Glen, near the source of the Tay. The fame of the road and rail junction of Crianlarich village is much greater than its size (population of around 200), as you will see it signposted from tens of miles away.
The Strathfillan area lies entirely within the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.
The Scottish folk hero, Rob Roy MacGregor (1671-1734), lived and died in the area around Loch Voil and is buried in Balquhidder churchyard. Loch Voil and the River Balvag, which flows from there through the village of Strathyre to Loch Lubnaig, are part of the Forth river system. The upper part of the Balvag, near Kingshouse, flows through such a low flat floodplain that after prolonged heavy rain it forms what is known locally as the Kingshouse Loch Occasional.
The water sports and angling centre of Lochearnhead at the west end of Loch Earn lies on the River Earn system which ultimately flows into the Tay. The area has a long history of settlement, recorded by a Neolithic burial chamber and Bronze Age lake dwelling (crannog). Edinample Castle was built in the late 1500s by the Campbells of Glenorchy and is still inhabited.
Rob Roy Country lies entirely within the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.
Tour Breadalbane in a sustainable way: Breadalbane is ideally situated for touring, as it lies almost at the geographic centre of the Scottish mainland. This article will tell you about the Ring of Breadalbane Explorer bus, getting here by train, and suggest some short tours of the area by car.
Did you know that it sometimes rains in Scotland? Well, surprise surprise!
But without the rain we wouldn't have our stunning landscape, so all in all we see rain as one of nature's great gifts! And when it rains, why not make the most of it by visiting some of Breadalbane's spectacular waterfalls. Nothing like a good walk to a one of these very special places to get the heart pumping on a wet day - go on, get out there!
The Breadalbane area has a long history of human occupation. We can only hint at the richness of the area's history on this page, in which we outline Breadalbane's long prehistory, the early historic period, the castles of Breadalbane and the post-Medieval rural settlement of the area. We finish with a few words about Breadalbane today.
Breadalbane is home to the Ben Lawers National Nature Reserve while about 25% of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park also lies within the Breadalbane area.
Nature lovers will find a landscape shaped by geology and ice, populated by giant trees and rare arctic and alpine plants, and inhabited by majestic birds and animals such as golden eagles, ospreys and red deer.
Breadalbane lies at the centre of the Scottish mainland and, despite its highland location, is very accessible. Killin, at the heart of Breadalbane, is only 90 minutes from Edinburgh and Glasgow airports.
The main road and rail routes to the West Highlands of Scotland, accessing islands such as Skye, Mull and the Outer Hebrides, pass through the villages of Crianlarich and Tyndrum in the west of Breadalbane.
Dave's photographic work covers a range of images including landscapes, still life and in recent years has been working with dancers and models all to produce his own style of fine art prints for sale. He also works as a portrait photographer for customer commissions.
He works with his wife Gill at their own Wildgrass Studio just outside Killin, offering print sales and training workshops alongside their artwork reproduction and framing services. The studio is open most days in the high season and by arrangement at other times.
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