Click here to search commentonline

Short Break in Comrie with Gillian Hull

Our summers in Perthshire are punctuated by visits from family and old friends coming to share with us the beautiful county in which we have made our home.

Among places we sometimes show them is Comrie, and a ‘short break’ there is always a success, especially if it includes a good pub lunch in the Royal Hotel. The village has an attractive situation on the River Earn;  it is surrounded by glorious, wooded country beneath rocky summits and, as its trump card, it has been called the earthquake capital of Britain!  The late 18th and the 19th century provided plenty of tremors, with seventy shocks in 1789 alone.

Driving north on the A9 one cannot fail to notice the dramatic change in the country between Bankfoot and Dunkeld. On one of our early visits to the area, as we approached the distant hills from the south, I commented how they seemed to enfold us in a welcome to the Highlands. This marked change in the nature of the landscape is geological and geographical, as the Highland Boundary Fault passes through the county in a northeast to southwest direction.  Comrie is situated close to the Fault and, because of its tremors, was known as the ’shakey toun’. The first recorded shock was in 1597, followed by many minor ones, with more systematic recording beginning at the end of the 18th century. Two local parsons wrote of ‘strange movements, noises and tremors’. In the 1830’s The ’Comrie Pioneers’, local postmaster Peter Macfarlane and shoemaker James Drummond began to keep detailed records and set up the world’s first seismometer. Tremors were frequent at the time, and 60 earthquakes were documented in 1839, ‘sometimes accompanied by a loud report and sulphurous smells’. 

On 23 October of that year the ’Great Earthquake’ occurred, the most severe recorded and felt over most of Scotland. Surprisingly it caused no injuries and little damage apart from some cracks in buildings. With a need for more sophisticated instruments, Earthquake House was built on solid rock in 1874 to contain a new seismometer. Still in the building, it looks unbelievably primitive today. In 1988 the structure, which had become derelict, was restored and the British Geological Survey put in modern seismological equipment.  Earthquake House (pictured) is the country’s smallest listed building but it records tremors from around the world. Much information is displayed in its windows, and it is well worth visiting if you go to Comrie.

The village lies at the junction of the Rivers Earn and Lednock together with the Water of Ruchill. Comrie’s Gaelic name ‘Conriath’ means ’the meeting of the waters’. It has long been a settlement, and in the 18th century was known for handloom weaving and its mills driven by water power. The village was lucky in having wealthy, but caring landowners, who did much to help the needy. Among these were Campbells from Lawers on the north side of Loch Tay, who settled in Strathearn. Their new home, called Lawers, lies to the east of Comrie, and was designed by William Adam, father of Robert. Comrie is a delightfully laid out village, and it is no surprise to learn that it followed a grid pattern from the end of the 18th century. At one time the village boasted five annual fairs. In 1878 on New Years Eve the first of the Flambeaux ceremonies took place. Burning torches, still carried through the streets to dispel evil spirits, are hurled into the River Earn, to be followed by much merry-making.

Take a drive up into Glen Lednock which follows the river through impressive gorges including the pounding waterfall, the  Deil’s Cauldron. The steep hills on each side of the river are lined with wildflower-studded woodland, which eventually leads to open pasture and moorland. Before this point is reached, one can walk up the hill of Dunmore, crowned by the monument to Henry Dundas, first Viscount Melville. Dundas was an immensely powerful politician whose influence was huge;  it included bringing the government of India under the control of Westminster. No wonder his nickname was ‘King Harry the Ninth‘! Suspected of misusing public funds, he was impeached in 1805, but acquitted to spend a peaceful retirement in Comrie.

Comrie is village of great charm, and we enjoy showing the village and surrounding country to visitors. For the energetic there is a challenging walk from upper Glen Lednock over to the south side of Loch Tay. This follows the route taken by drovers on their trek to Crieff for the Trysts. One final word - there haven’t been any earthquakes lately!