Plate XLVII.
DUNKELD.
The situation of this
town is singularly sheltered and romantic; and the scenery which
surrounds it has
long been the admiration of all who see it. No traveller of taste,
who visits Scotland, omits going there,
nor will he be disappointed by his excursion. Nature has been
liberal in combining the finest objects in
landscape; and the improvements carried on by the Duke of Athol
upon a most extensive scale, have added
much to the natural beauties of the scenery. In this place the
mountains form the separation between
the highlands and lowlands. After bursting from between two bold
rocks, the river Tay takes its course
due east with a slow and majestic current across the narrow valley;
while the Bran, with its black and
foamy waters, comes roaring from the hills, and after meandering
through some open meadows, runs into
the Tay. On the point, opposite to this junction, stands Dunkeld,
extending in a single street along the
north bank of the river, and the houses on one side have gardens,
which run down to the water's edge.
On the opposite side are the ruins of the Cathedral, of
considerable extent. The northern side is taken
into the grounds of the Duke of Athol, of which it forms a
boundary, while the antiquated masses towards
the street, give this part of the town a gloomy and rather desolate
appearance. The choir of the Cathe-
dral is now converted into a parish church; but from its great
height and want of ceiling it is cold and
uncomfortable in winter. The choir was founded in 1350 by Bishop
Sinclair, and on the top of the east-
ern gable end there is a cross èngraillèe, being a part of his
arms, as a memorial probably of that event.
All the other parts of the Cathedral are in ruins.
The town itself is not
large, and the whole population does not exceed twelve hundred; it
is very
healthy, and is frequented in summer for the purity and mildness of
its air, and for the purpose of drink-
ing goats whey. The whole country about it is delightful, and the
scenery both for grandeur and variety
within the grounds of the Duke of Athol cannot be excelled. " Upon
the whole," says the author of
Local Scenery, "Dunkeld seems a choice spot for the painter. The
sublimity of the mountains, the extent
of the woods, the noble size of one river, the wild and romantic
appearance of the other, the large gothic
ruins, and the genial and sheltered beauty of the low grounds, when
taken separately, may perhaps be
equalled, but I have never elsewhere seen them so admirably
combined."—This view was taken in 1799.