Frontispiece, "Bracklin Bridge, Near Callander" (1887?)

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Bracklin Bridge, Near Callander (Frontispiece)

Picturesque Scotland: Its Romantic Scenes & Historical Associations Described in Lay and Legend, Song and Story

1887?

20 cm x 12.8 cm (8 by 5 inches) framed.

Princes Street Gardens

Loch Lomond, Scotland

[Click on image to enlarge it.]

Scanned image and text by Philip V. Allingham

[You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the person who scanned the image and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

Commentary: The Trossachs Region of Scotland

Sir Walter Scott often stayed at nearby Cambusmore, where he began to compose The Lady of the Lake (1810). In the poem, his memorable epithet, he describes the how the brave youth Rodrick Dhu rode his horse at full gallop across this rustic bridge,

“wild as Bracklinn’s thundering wave” helping to popularise the falls following its publication in 1810. In the years that followed, tourism boomed and the falls was a popular destination for many romantic couples. [Susan McKay]

The alpine scenery of Loch Lomond has attracted such notable visitors as Sir Walter Scott and Queen Victoria, who would both have enjoyed the view from the heights of the Bracklin Bridge over the roaring falls. The modern visitor can longer traverse the bridge in this frontispiece since it was washed away in the flash flooding of August 2004. The original bridge appeared in the 1975 British comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a celebrated send-up of the rather grim Middle Ages in England. The scene filmed in The Trossachs National Park, Scotland, is called "The Message for you, Sir" scene, featuring Lancelot and the Concorde on the walking trail near Bracklinn Falls. The Victorian iron bridge was replaced by a wooden bridge, which in turn was replaced by an 1874 iron bridge, and then by a modern, 20-tonne steel footbridge in 2010.

Bibliography

Mackay, Susan, and The Callander Heritage Society. "The Wild Brig of Bracklin." Stewarts of Balquhidder Research Group. Bracklin Falls. Posted 16 December 2022. https://stewartsofbalquidder.com.

Watt, Francis M., and Andrew Carter. "Frontispiece: Bracklin Bridge, Near Callander." Picturesque Scotland: Its Romantic Scenes & Historical Associations Described in Lay and Legend, Song and Story.. London: John M. Murdoch [1887?].

Created 3 June 2025