Undiscovered Scotland

 

The small, slightly scattered, settlement of Brig o' Turk lies in the heart of the Trossachs, some six miles west of Callander and about four miles north of Aberfoyle. The west end of Loch Venachar is only half a mile away, Loch Achray is less than a mile away, and the east end of Loch Katrine is under three miles to the west.

The settlement probably first grew around a ford over the Finglas Water. A wooden bridge was built in the 1700s, which was replaced by the stone bridge you see today in the early 1800s. The unusual name of the village comes partly, and obviously, from the location of a bridge here. The "Turk" element comes from the Gaelic tuirc, which means wild boar, and suggests they were once hunted here.

When Sir Walter Scott published The Lady of the Lake in 1810 visitor numbers to the Trossachs increased fivefold overnight and Brig o' Turk found itself on one of the main routes into the area, connecting Callander with Loch Katrine. In 1886 the "The Duke's Road" was built to connect Aberfoyle with Loch Achray, placing Brig o' Turk on a loop that was considered an essential part of any Victorian's trip to Scotland.

Today's Brig o' Turk provides a number of services for passing visitors, though without having become overly commercialised. Over the years the visitors who have broken their journey here have included Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Among those who have spent longer periods in the village have been the poets Millais, Ruskin and William Wordsworth, whose sister Dorothy recorded their visit.

At the west end of the village is the Byre Inn, an attractive village inn that also serves as a restaurant. The centre of the village is formed by the junction with the minor road north to the Glen Finglas Reservoir, and immediately beside it is the Brig o' Turk Tea Room. Close by is the "bicycle tree" which is so named because it grew to envelop a bicycle left leaning against it by the village blacksmith. Not far away are the post office, the village hall, and the Trossachs Primary School. The parish church lies a mile and a half to the west, in a attractive location on the north shore of Loch Achray.