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MHG54314 - Old track, Allt a’ Chamabhreac

Summary

An old track, occasionally used as a drove road, which ran down the East side of Loch Treig from early times.

Type and Period (3)

Protected Status

Full Description

An old track, occasionally used as a drove road ran down the East side of Loch Treig from early times, passed the south end of Loch Treig and following the east side of the loch. This crossed the loch near its northern end via stepping stones and a sand spit, An Debhadh, adjacent to the crannog. The track mostly hugged the shore, and was probably inundated after the construction of the dam. (OS 1st Ed. 6” map, 1873; Murray and Pullar, 1902). Some antiquity for this route is suggested by one of the names of the crannog, Eilean Tigh na Slighe (“Island of the House of the Track”) and it is even possible that the crannog was constructed near the An Debhadh crossing place “to serve, guard or control crossings”. (Morrison,1985, 68)
After Lochtreighead, this route headed up the Allt a’ Chamabhreac, within Area 3 (West Cluster), and southeastwards to Loch Laidon and ultimately Glen Lyon and Killin. (Haldane, 1952, 80, map). It was this latter route, which was proposed by Telford for a new road from Skye to the Crieff tryst to aid the droving traffic. The proposed route to Killin would save 15 miles, “equal to two or perhaps three days
journey for a drove of Cattle or Sheep”. (Telford, 1811 quoted in Haldane, 1952, 232-3) The convergence of both tracks at Lochtreighead indicates its importance as an overnight stance from early times: twelve “cattle drivers” were in residence on the night of the 1841 census.
Within the survey area, much of this route has been reused by the present road. A fragment of the original route may survive to the East of the survey area, on the SW side of the railway line at its bridge
over the Allt Luib Ruairidh. The gate through the fence, Site 3.3, may mark the route of the track along Loch Treigside, though no track is clearly visible here. <1>

Sources/Archives (1)

Map

No mapped location recorded.

Location

Grid reference	Not recorded
Map sheet	Not recorded
Civil Parish	KILMONIVAIG
Geographical Area	LOCHABER

Finds (0)

Related Monuments/Buildings (0)

Related Investigations/Events (1)

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