Kilmahog

Ben Ledi viewed from Kilmahog

Kilmahog (Scottish Gaelic: Cille MoChùig: Cell of St. Chug) is a hamlet situated half a mile to the west of Callander, Scotland.

Geography

Kilmahog lies on the Garbh Uisge, also known as the "River Leny", at the junction of the Trossachs and Lochearnhead roads. The village today consists of a few houses and two woollen mill retail facilities (the Trossachs Woollen Mill and the Kilmahog Woollen Mill,) with farm land to the north and forestry to the south. There is a local pub, near the site of the old chapel, called The Lade Inn, and the Scottish Real Ale shop, aiming to stock all bottled Scottish ales. The "lade" is a man-made diversion from the river that was used to power the watermills.

Samson's Putting Stone sits precariously on Bochastle hill. Local tradition has it that this stone came to be here as a result of a putting competition between a family of giants. The winner of the competition was Samson who lived on Ben Ledi. A modern interpretation is that the stone was carried by glaciers from the Glen Dochart region and left here when the ice retreated.

History

Roman ramparts can clearly be seen in the fields to the east of the former railway. The former Callander and Oban Railway line passed through Kilmahog; this is now part of the National Cycle Network (route 7) and the Rob Roy Way. The village sits at the Northern point of a loop known as the Trossachs Bird of Prey Trail.

Kilmahog used to be the site of St. Chug's chapel, after which it is named. All that remains of the chapel now is a small burial ground with stones dating back to the late 17th century. It was the site of an early 19th century toll house and later a tweed mill.

Use in fiction

• Kilmahog was used as the inspiration for the main setting in the fictional novel "Under the Mountain" by Sophie Cooke.