River Garry

A historical perspective, drawn from the Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland: A Survey of Scottish Topography, Statistical, Biographical and Historical, edited by Francis H. Groome and originally published in parts by Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works, Edinburgh between 1882 and 1885.

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Garry, a lake and a river of Blair Athole parish, N Perthshire. Lying 1330 feet above sea-level, and having a maximum width of 2¹/₃ furlongs, Loch Garry extends. 2⁵/₈ miles north-north-eastward to within ¾ mile of Dalnaspidal station on the Highland railway. It is screened, all round, by bare, lofty, rugged mountains; receives a dozen mountain torrents, flowing to it through gorges among the mountains; and exhibits a wild, sequestered aspect, being in some parts so closely beset by its mountain screens, as to have scarcely a foot-breadth of shore. Its trout are numerous, but small and shy. The river Garry, issuing from the foot of the lake, runs 22 miles east-south-eastward, mainly through Blair Athole parish, but over the last 5 miles of its course, below Blair Athole village, along the borders of Dull and Moulin parishes, till, at Faskally House, below the Pass of Killiecrankie, it falls into the Tummel, after a total descent of nearly 1000 feet. It receives, on its left bank, the Edendon, Ender, Bruar, Tilt, and Allt Girnaig, and on its right the Erichdie; is closely followed, from head to foot, by the Highland railway and by the great road from Inverness to Perth; and changes, in scenic character, from alpine wildness and dismal bleakness to a rich variety of picturesqueness. One of the most impetuous rivers of Scotland, it is, as the Queen writes, 'very fine, rolling over large stones. and forming perpetual falls, with birch and mountain-ash growing down to the water s edge.' In times of freshet it comes down with sudden burst and tumultuous fury, tearing up its slaty or gravelly bed, carrying off heavy fragments, and menacing the very cliffs upon its banks.—Ord. Sur., shs. 54, 55, 1873-69.

An accompanying 19th C. Ordnance Survey map is available, or use the map tab to the right of this page.

Note: This text has been made available using a process of scanning and optical character recognition. Despite manual checking, some typographical errors may remain. Please remember this description dates from the 1880s; names may have changed, administrative divisions will certainly be different and there are known to be occasional errors of fact in the original text, which we have not corrected because we wish to maintain its integrity. This information is provided subject to our standard disclaimer