Local A to Z Guide of the Loch Lomond AreaThis area will be updated on a frequent basis with information and interesting articles on the local area. Please check back soon for updates. © Copyright Notice: All the information appearing on this page is copyright of John (Sion) Barrington and may not be reproduced without his explicit consent. Our thanks to Sion who is a local Historian and Author of note with a vast knowledge of all things historical about Scotland in general and our local area in particular. Buy his books from your retailer and gain a real insight into Scotland's History. A - “ Alexandria”The town was named in 1760 after Alexander Smollett, local landowner, cotton manufacturer and Member of Parliament. It is one of the bleaching and manufacturing towns settled along the seven-mile length of the River Leven, as it meanders across just four miles between Loch Lomond and the Clyde. The present population stands at about 4,000. Bleaching began in 1728 with the Dalquhurn Bleaching Company. Printing and dyeing of calico started in 1768. Industry diversified to include car making, torpedo manufacture, a radium factory producing luminous paint, a tannery…and whisky. Opened in 1966, the Loch Lomond distillery is unique in producing both malt and grain whisky on the same site. The single malt has a blue label, the malts blended with grain is sold with a red label. Today Alexandria is known far and wide for the many craft and discount factory outlets. Eager shoppers flock by road and rail to snap up the latest bargains. The magnificent red sandstone Edwardian façade, built as the Argyll Car plant, later to be used as a torpedo factory, now houses the Loch Lomond Shopping Centre. As a link to the past there is also a display of Scottish Classic cars. Sport has long been a feature of The Vale of Leven. The local football club, now a junior team, were founder members of the Scottish Football Association in 1873 and donated £1 towards a Scottish Cup. In 1877, the name of Vale of Leven was engraved onto that trophy after defeating Glasgow Rangers 3-2. There is a swimming pool in the town, an 18 hole golf course only a chip and a putt away – and Scotland’s first National Park on the doorstep. B - “ Balloch”Balloch, from the Gaelic, Bealach, meaning a gap or a pass. This is the pass through which the Great West Road (A82) leads into the Highlands and to the islands of the west. In days when travel and transport was largely by water, Balloch was strategically placed at the southern end of Loch Lomond, the greatest sheet of water in Britain. Here the River Leven gave egress to the Clyde and the whole world beyond. First road and then rail links followed, the Balloch ford became a bridge – and Balloch prospered. Cattle droves prepared to pay the tolls passed through the town, on their way to the trysts of Dumbarton Muir and Falkirk. The rest would swim the loch, higher up! Produce from the Highlands and fish from the loch was required to feed the textile workers of The Vale – in ever increasing amounts. Glaswegians poured out of town to escape the industrial grime and breathe in fresh air. Visitors from further afield soon began to discover the delights of the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. Finally, after many years discussion, Scotland’s first National Park became a reality. In 2000 the new authority set up camp – in a collection of portacabins! However, an imposing visitor centre, with a cluster of shops and an excellent information and education complex, has become the fulcrum of the Park. In the shadow of Drumkinnon Tower, a fifty-year old paddle steamer sits at her mooring. The Maid of the Loch was the last of her kind to be built in Britain. Undergoing a complete refit, she is already operating as a restaurant and function venue. On finishing the work, it is hoped to have the Maid of the Loch plying the waters once more. B - “ Bonhill”Bonhill would have been the first fording point across the River Leven, below Balloch. The name comes from the Gaelic, Bun Uill – a village at the foot of the burn. The burn itself has long been piped underground, still running quietly beneath Burn Street before emptying into the river. A fine metal bridge now spans the Leven, linking the community with Alexandria. The square towered church, more securely locked than Fort Knox, stands on a much older site. There has been a place of worship here since the late 12th century. Amongst the graves is one to Robert Nairn, cobbler and Covenanter – and very active in this cause. Nairn was eventually buried, under great duress, by the Episcopal minister of the day. It would seem that the cobbler had very persuasive friends! Bonhill Primary School dates from 1873 but was not the only place of learning. During the Industrial Revolution that brought the cotton mills to The Vale, some employers had enlightened views. They would ensure that their child workers were provided with a proper education, paid for by the company. It may not have been much, but it was a start. There is plenty of scope for recreation. Bonhill has Loch Lomond and the National Park right on the doorstep. Walks to the east take in Pappert Hill and Auchenreoch Muir, a strange world of cairns and standing stones. And there is sport, a nine-hole golf course, football and rugby. The newly promoted Loch Lomond Rugby Club play at Bonhill and hope to continue up through the league in the coming seasons. H - “Highland Games”Origin of the “Highland Games” The earliest record of a Celtic Games comes from Tailteann, in Ireland, held in 1829BC. This pre-dates anything Greece can come up with by a thousand years. Two of the events at that those ancient Games were putting the stone and throwing the hammer, still found in any Highland Games programme today. Our ancestors believed stones yielded from the ground to be sacred, especially those mysteriously smoothed and rounded by flowing water. By observation man soon realised that the more often he lifted a heavy stone the easier it became, and the more often he threw a particular stone the further it went. It must have seemed that the natural power and energy of a stone could by effort and endeavour be transfered to and strengthen the man. Of all the stone contests, the putting, propelling the stone from the shoulder, became the most popular. With the invention of cannon, iron cannonballs became a popular alternative to stone for the shot putt. The standard weights for shot putt are 16lbs and 22lbs (all measurements are Imperial) The Scots Hammer just happens to be the same length as the massive, two-handed sword, known as the claymore. Mighty warriors, who favoured the use of this weapon in battle, would practise their skills and build upper body strength by training with just such a hammer. The standard weights of the hammer are also 16lbs and 22lbs. In the hammer event an athlete is fixed to the ground by a metal spike extended from the toe of each boot - to prevent the competitor taking off. The long shaft of the hammer is glued to the hands of the thrower, to ensure complete control over the precise moment of release. Back in the mists of time, Claymore wielding Highlanders would also have stuck their weapon firmly to their hands - it was not healthy to lose your sword in battle. Highland Games really began to flourish at the time of the Romantic Scottish Revival of the early nineteenth century, fuelled by the writings of Sir Walter Scott. A clutch of new events came into the games at this time - vanity events, a bit of showing off. The workforce on any farm was not evenly balanced, the men always greatly outnumbering the girls. Any lad wanting to be sure of a hot date for the local dance or ceilidh, trying to catch the eye of the kitchen maid or the farmer's wife, had to prove himself worthy. The metal weights used to measure the farm produce into 1cwt (112lbs) units were graded as half(56lbs) and quarter (28lbs) hundredweights. These proved to be useful pieces of equipment to throw for distance and for height. The highlight of any Highland Games is the tossing of the caber. This is a very practical event - putting the roof onto your house. At one time, houses were routinely roofed with two or three inches of heavy turf, sometimes overlaid with a thatch. The walls of the house were never expected to be load-bearing, so the roof structure was entirely freestanding. Once the framework of the roof was in place it would be covered with cabers (Gaelic for roof trees or timbers). In the days before scaffolding companies, the only way to put the cabers in situ was to toss them into place. If a caber was not tossed in a straight line, it would not engage with the frame of the roof and fall inside the building. The men putting on a roof would vie with each other to see who could toss up the heaviest caber of the day. Caber tossing is judged at the Games by seeing who can turn a massive tree-trunk right over, through 90 degrees, and land it in a straight line. If the caber finishes, pointing directly away from the feet of the Athlete, it will be judged as a perfect 12 o'clock toss.
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