Balquhidder Church Ruins
Balquhidder Church Ruins
4.5
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.5
74 reviews
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Helen G
Wishaw, UK661 contributions
Feb 2020 • Couples
Visited Rob Roy MacGregor’s grave. Had a wanted round the graveyard and Balquidder church. Interesting to see some of the graves dating back to 18th century.
Written February 6, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
marko18745
Houston, TX641 contributions
Jun 2019 • Couples
OK so a lot of my dead relatives on the McLaren side are buried here. The gravestones tell very interesting stories about who lays beneath. This son and that son or daughter and so forth. For McLaren descendants this is a must see. Oh yeah, that rascal Rob Roy is also supposed to be buried here. He was killed by John McLaren in a duel, but then his son shot John Mclaren in the back. And was hung for it in Edinburgh. Not far off the main road so easy to get to from Glasgow (1.5 hr away) or Callander. The site is beautiful : the abbey ruins from the 1600s and the newer Kirk from the 1800s. All a stones throw from picturesque Loch Voil. The trail up to “Rock of the Boar” is not far or strenuous but also a must do for all McLarens. Go rally with all the spirits around the tribal rock.
Written June 4, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Anne B
Isle of Skye, UK743 contributions
Jul 2021
We visited to see Rob Roy’s grave (we did know that he’s probably not buried here but it’s still a marker to him and his family)
Beautiful churchyard with many ancient and modern gravestones, so peaceful. We had a lovely walk along to the waterfall and there were signs for other walks.
Lovely place, lovely churches.
Beautiful churchyard with many ancient and modern gravestones, so peaceful. We had a lovely walk along to the waterfall and there were signs for other walks.
Lovely place, lovely churches.
Written August 6, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
CM1978
Balquhidder, UK144 contributions
Mar 2019 • Couples
A beautiful church is situated here. Rob Roy's grave is possibly here. A great place for a day out in a spectacular valley. Great walks nearby and some history of the McClaren clan. Well preserved old graves and headstones.
Written March 31, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Di C
Melbourne, Australia118 contributions
Aug 2017 • Couples
We have visited this site several times and it never fails to impress. The history of it all,,, the old Church built in 1631 and the new church replaced it in 1855! Of course it was raining but the falls behind the church were visited and Rob Roys Grave was looked at too. Balquhidder was the gathering place of the MacLaren clan and if you walk to the top of the hill you will be at the meeting place - Creag An Tuirc (Cairn) and overlooking Loch Voil
Written September 4, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Chalima
Bristol, UK74 contributions
Dec 2016 • Couples
We came here for a walk, it interesting for a few minutes while we looked at Rob Roy's Grave, and looked at the ruins.
Written January 5, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
chuckfarmer
FERNANDINA BEACH148 contributions
Aug 2014 • Couples
We have visited Balquhidder twice, most recently during the summer of 2013, staying at the Lochearnhead Hotel. The old kirk dates from the 1630 time frame, with several plaques embedded in the walls honoring chief of Clan MacLaren. The new kirk (circa 1855) is adjacent, a current house of worship, with several interesting artifacts. Among them is the grave stone of St. Angus, who brought Christianity to the are in the 7th century. A copy of the Bible translated into Gaelic reposes in a glassed case. I am intrigued by the baptismal font design.
Up the hill, behind the kirk, with a nice hike (take some water) stands a cairn at Creag an Tiurc, the "Rock of the Boar" , the ancient rallying point for Clan MacLaren in times of emergency. It has a beautiful view of Loch Voil and the village of Balquhidder.
Alongside the parking area for the kirk are three graves, purportedly of Rob Roy MacGregor, his wife and a son.
The area is well worth a visit for the history in the churches, the cemetery and atop the hill.
Up the hill, behind the kirk, with a nice hike (take some water) stands a cairn at Creag an Tiurc, the "Rock of the Boar" , the ancient rallying point for Clan MacLaren in times of emergency. It has a beautiful view of Loch Voil and the village of Balquhidder.
Alongside the parking area for the kirk are three graves, purportedly of Rob Roy MacGregor, his wife and a son.
The area is well worth a visit for the history in the churches, the cemetery and atop the hill.
Written July 9, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
BeepeeFalkirk
Falkirk402 contributions
Jan 2017 • Couples
The church is situated just behind Rob Roy's grave so there is lots of history. It is also the start of a lovely walk up the Kirkton Glen.
Written January 30, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Richard James V
St Monans, UK39 contributions
Oct 2016 • Solo
the site is historic, the original church was built in the 1200sthe current one dates back to 19th century but the whole site is a burial place for Clans, particularly McLaren. and Family Carnegie.
Of course the main "attraction" is Rob Roy's Grave. He , his wife and two sons are supposed to be here.
Amthough it is awee bit funny for a MacGregor; this is what the local tradition says. Some others say he is buried in the Proper MacGrefor burial place further. He was wounded in a duel. (it is said that he, actually shot his opponent in the back.)
The slope in front of the churche, coming down the hill is the very place of the battle where McLaren "massacred" the Buchanans.
if you are visiting the Trossachs, this place is a "Must see"
Of course the main "attraction" is Rob Roy's Grave. He , his wife and two sons are supposed to be here.
Amthough it is awee bit funny for a MacGregor; this is what the local tradition says. Some others say he is buried in the Proper MacGrefor burial place further. He was wounded in a duel. (it is said that he, actually shot his opponent in the back.)
The slope in front of the churche, coming down the hill is the very place of the battle where McLaren "massacred" the Buchanans.
if you are visiting the Trossachs, this place is a "Must see"
Written October 25, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Fiona S
Perth and Kinross, UK6 contributions
Aug 2016 • Couples
Being a Scot, Balquhidder Glen evokes emotions that are heightened in the knowledge that druids, Jacobite rebels, ancient clans, ancient Royals, famous authors and Rob Roy McGregor have tread before us. Punctuated by Munro's, trout filled lochs and wildlife this hauntingly beautiful glen is drenched in history and folklore centred around a Kirk yard that tells a thousand tales.
With those sentiments in my mind about my Scottish heritage, I was a little disappointed when I got there to discover that Roy Roys grave was a not very well maintained part of the cemetery. Being a proud Scot, it saddened me, and made me feel sorry for visitors who had perhaps travelled many many miles to view the resting place of one of Scotland's heroes.
But an interesting place nonetheless. When you visit the Kirk, be sure to visit the “friends” room where you will find interesting mementoes and read about characters like the Reverend Robert Kirk , who has become most famous for his documentation and belief in fairies. Decide for yourself whether he was gifted with second sight or mad as a brush. Find out about traditional clan names and septs of McGregor, Stewart, Fergusson, McNab, Macintyre, Buchanan and Campbell.
I am so proud to be Scottish :) Enjoyed the visit, the location, the glen, Loch Voil and a lovely breakfast at a local hotel. And as a bonus, the rain stayed off :)
With those sentiments in my mind about my Scottish heritage, I was a little disappointed when I got there to discover that Roy Roys grave was a not very well maintained part of the cemetery. Being a proud Scot, it saddened me, and made me feel sorry for visitors who had perhaps travelled many many miles to view the resting place of one of Scotland's heroes.
But an interesting place nonetheless. When you visit the Kirk, be sure to visit the “friends” room where you will find interesting mementoes and read about characters like the Reverend Robert Kirk , who has become most famous for his documentation and belief in fairies. Decide for yourself whether he was gifted with second sight or mad as a brush. Find out about traditional clan names and septs of McGregor, Stewart, Fergusson, McNab, Macintyre, Buchanan and Campbell.
I am so proud to be Scottish :) Enjoyed the visit, the location, the glen, Loch Voil and a lovely breakfast at a local hotel. And as a bonus, the rain stayed off :)
Written August 20, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi could you please tell me why I have been coming to this loch for years and why I have contacted the national parks about the destructive. Nature some residents. Have done to our beautiful loch eg a beautiful bay recently destroyed by a person of the village you by your houses not the loch please respect Scotland and it's beautiful. Scenery if you live there I am posting the pics of the wasted land on this and social media and in the independent news paper please tell me why this bay was a victim of vandalism
Written February 27, 2019
Sorry if I don't understand your message well.
Do you accuse me of the loch bay destruction? Are you tryin' to say, I was vandalizing Scottish landscape?
I don't have any house in the village, nor on loch coast. I was the only hiking around. Yes, I spent night by the loch. Didn't make fire, didn't left any waste. When I left place, noone could notice I was there.
I don't know who is guilty, don't know if or why the bay was vandalized.
Written July 2, 2019
I'm of Clan Maclaren origin....Can't work out why a Macgregor is buried in our area ??
Written May 23, 2016
As I read the info table near the Kirk, MacGregor's grave is rahter symbolic. He is burried in another place probably.
I can't tell why his grave is located in your clan's area. It's because MacGregor died in Balquhidder probably.
Written July 2, 2019
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