I love the idea of a hermit living alone in a secret grotto.
He would, in my mind, be a wise old man with a flowing grey beard festooned with twigs and moss.
In true hermit style he’d be wearing a crooked hat, voluminous cloak, and perhaps a loin-cloth made out of rabbit skin.
Perhaps I’ve been reading too many fantasy novels, but I have to admit to daydreaming about all things hermit when I slog up the steep hill towards Acharn Hermitage.
Legend has it that the strange octagonal cave and viewing platform overlooking the spectacular Falls of Acharn were built by a hermit – and hence its popular name of the Hermitage.
But it turns out that this 18th Century folly may have been built not by a hermit but by the Earl of Breadlabane, who was rather a fan of “crafted” landscapes.
There’s certainly a theory, albeit an unconfirmed one, that the Earl had it constructed in the 1760s.
Steep track through wooded gorge
I left my car in the tiny village of Acharn, which is around two miles from Kenmore and on the south side of Loch Tay.
A signpost indicates the walk to the falls which involves heading up a pretty lane, past Kenmore Bakery, and up onto a steep track through a wooded gorge.
As the track gained height, I paused to catch my breath and take in the views back down to Loch Tay and across to the cloud-covered peaks of Ben Lawers.
The path soon reaches the entrance to the hermit’s cave.
It’s pretty gloomy inside, but your eyes adjust as you follow the dark and twisting stone tunnel.
It’s about 20m long, but there’s a passage off to to the left which you can’t miss.
Spellbinding view
This leads through an archway to a platform offering a spellbinding view of the lower falls which cascade down the 20m drop.
Early 18th Century accounts give little mention of the interior, but by 1786 the Hermitage was decorated in a whimsical style as home to an imaginary hermit.
The seats and bed were reported to have been dressed with the pelts of wild animals, and the walls were covered in moss and shellwork.
There was also a shelf of books which the hermit supposedly perused.
Famous visitors
Many people recorded their trips to the Falls of Acharn in poetry and prose, including William Wordsworth and his sister Dorothy who visited in 1803.
Robert Burns visited 1787, and was inspired to compose a poem originally called “Written in the Hermitage at Taymouth”.
Later in the 19th Century, a guide “hermit”, dressed in a shaggy goatskin, his beard adorned with lichen, would greet visitors, sometimes to their amusement and alarm.
And in 1842 it was reported that the Hermitage had “undergone a scrubbing” in preparation for a visit by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
Alas, this work appears to have been in vain – the young queen enjoyed being rowed up Loch Tay but made no mention of a trip to the folly.
Following a storm in the 1950s, the hermit’s cave lost its roof and shellwork interior but it remains an enchanting spot.
The hermit’s cave at Acharn is similar in style to Ossian’s Hall at the Hermitage near Dunkeld, and built for the same purpose – to create a sense of drama and mystery, leading visitors through darkness before emerging into the light for an arresting view of the crashing waterfall across the gorge.
Nature as a canvas
Viewpoints like this were part of a “picturesque” movement in the 18th Century – essentially an attempt to design landscape gardens on a huge scale, using nature as a canvas to create worlds with a sense of mystery, linked to myths and legends.
Once I’d popped out of the cave’s upper exit, I continued uphill, ignoring a sign to a viewing platform which is more easily reached on the walk back down from the other side of the gorge.
Crossing the ravine on a stone bridge, I had two choices – head back down to Acharn, or take a detour uphill to reach a stone circle. I chose the latter, and it was well worth it the extra mile or so effort.
Stone circle
The circle, which was surrounded by sheep, occupies a spectacular location, overlooking the loch and distant Ben Lawers.
It’s known as Greenland Stone Circle, although it’s also referred to as the Acharn Falls Circle.
There were originally nine stones in the circle, but today, only four stand upright, two have fallen, and the others have broken apart.
It’s a case of retracing your steps back to the bridge and then turning downhill to walk down the near side of the gorge.
Tumbling upper falls of Acharn
Be sure not to miss the detour onto the wooden bridge and viewing platform suspended over the burn.
This gives fabulous views of the tumbling upper falls and the strangely sculpted rocks and potholes of the river bed.
After I’d gazed in wonder and listened to the gurgling waters, I continued to descend through woodland on a path leading back to Acharn.
- Acharn Hermitage is part of the Rob Roy Way which runs 79 miles from Drymen to Pitlochry.
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