Glen Quaich

As our journey to Scotland continued we rented a car (Renault Megane)and headed north out of Edinburgh into the highlands. Much to our surprise we came upon the village of Amulree on our way to Aberfeldy. Amulree, Ontario is where my Hay ancestors settled in Canada and it was named after the village in Scotland. I hadn't planned on seeing it so soon but our route through the highlands took us right through Amulree and past the entrance to Glen Quaich (pronounced quickly as 'Quay' from the back of your throat) which stretches for miles to the northwest behind the village. Although the weather was alternating sun and rain we turned on to the glen road and after a mile or so the loch came into view. For those of you who don't know a quaich is an ancient Scottish drinking vessel shaped like a round bowl. The glen is about five miles long and perhaps a few miles wide with the loch being only about a mile in length. In Glen Quaich the loch is named differently than the glen. It is known as Loch Fruechie or Fraoch (the heathery loch). I suspect this is because the loch makes up so little of the glen. Similary the glen is mostly pasture as opposed to many lochs which are surrounded by forested glens. However it is surrounded by dramatic heather covered highlands which only become higher and more fierce as you progress toward the Quaich River at the head of the glen. As the glen ends you climb higher and higher until the river is just a streak below and the glen stretches off into the distance in the haze. The narrow road accents the steepness and accentuates the beauty in the distance. In the photo Amulree is about six miles in the distance and yes that is heather in the foreground. I stopped the car many times to take in the view. As we climbed higher we lost sight of the glen and drove through a very forested area and then down the other side of the mountain range to Loch Tay. We would return to Glen Quaich twice more in the following week to investigate Ester Turrerich and the village of Amulree.