London to John (J Groat's. 373 



winding glen and valley to Blair Atholl. For the 

 whole distance of twenty miles the country is quite 

 Alpine, wild and grand, with mountains larched or firred 

 to the utmost reach and tenure of soil for roots ; deep, 

 dark gorges pouring down into the narrowing river 

 their foamy, dashing streams ; mansions planted here 

 and there on sloping lawns showing sunnily through 

 groves and parks ; now a hamlet of cottages set in the 

 side of a lofty hill, now a larger village opening sud- 

 denly upon you at the turning of the turnpike road. 

 I reached Blair Atholl at about dark, and lodged at 

 the largest hotel I slept in between London and John 

 O'Groat's. It is virtually the tourist's inn ; for this is 

 the centre of some of the most interesting and striking 

 sceneries and localities in Scotland. Grlens, waterfalls, 

 stream, torrent, mountain and valley, with their roman- 

 tic histories, make this a very attractive region to thou- 

 sands of summer travellers from England and other 

 countries. The railway from Perth to Inverness via 

 Dunkeld and Blair Atholl has just opened up this 

 secluded Scotch Switzerland to multitudes who never 

 would have seen it without the help of the iron horse. 

 A month previous, this point had been the most distant 

 in Scotland from steam-routes of transportation and 

 travel. Now southern sportsmen were hiring up " the 

 shootings " for many miles on both sides of the line, 



