Friends of the Ochils Newsletter 17: Winter 2000Applause for thought - an access issue from earlier timesIn FotO's earliest days, the committee was greatly exercised by a perceived threat to widespread access to the Scottish hills in general and to the Ochils in particular. With the subsequent formation of a national Access Forum (and the Concordat it produced), this threat receded to the extent that it is no longer a major concern. That it was not always so came to light when I was doing a bit of research into Blairlogie things a few years back - and so here's a wee tale about a landowner and his efforts to stop the local populace using an access road on to the hill, a road that had been constructed for that very purpose! In 1891, Lord Balfour of Burleigh sold the Blairlogie estate to Lieutenant-Colonel James Hare of Calderhall. Two moderately large houses gave the new owner a choice of living accommodation: Blairlogie Castle - old and awkward but, perched high above the village, boasting a truly magnificent outlook across the carse; or Montague Cottage - comparatively new, user-friendly and, one thing apart, secluded. Colonel Hare chose the latter but it wasn't long before the one-thing-apart began to get on his nerves. At this point, I'd better set the scene. Montague Cottage is, nowadays, probably better known to most as Blairlogie House Hotel - although, just to add confusion, it has recently reverted to being a private house. So, we're talking about an area between Menstrie and Blairlogie - at the point where Gogar Loan joins the A91. With me? Access to the hill road to Lipney, Jerah and, ultimately, Blackford was by means of a steep and zigzag track leading from the newish Hillfoots road and passing through the tiny settlement of Playgreen. The latter appears to have been more or less opposite Cotkerse: it boasted a smiddy and a well, but little else. Now this was no M74 (frequented, probably, by no more than a very few carts every month and by some locals out for the occasional constitutional), but it was definitely used, so it seems extraordinary that the chosen site for Montague Cottage (built during the 1840s/ 50s, I think) was right beside this access on to the hill. Predictably, it wasn't long before interests clashed. An early incumbent, one Sheriff Tait, approached Lord Burleigh with a view to building a new road through the property, thus denying the few passers-by a keek through his windows. Permission was given and the end result is extant: right opposite Cotkerse and the north end of Gogar Loan. There is a wee lodge at the start of the road. And then the problems started: right-of-way or servitude road? The former, said the old-timers who had been using the other one for years; the latter, said the landowner and his Montague Cottage tenant. Things came to a head when Colonel Hare bought Blairlogie estate. Claiming the privacy of his family and guests was compromised by travellers who could still see directly into his dining-room, he announced his intention to close the new road. The flak flew immediately in the form of several letters to the Alloa Advertiser - and, realising that he'd probably acted somewhat hastily, Colonel Hare arranged a public meeting in Menstrie's Co-operative Hall to which he invited all those with an interest in the dispute. The Alloa Advertiser of Saturday, 6th April 1895 carried a very full report of proceedings on the previous Monday: almost four broadsheet columns of meticulous detail. There's also a nice pointer to reporting methods of the day. Not only was the spoken word recorded, the reaction of the audience was described as well: the piece is dotted with parentheses intimating (laughter) or (applause) or even (laughter and applause). And the content of the meeting? The reporter sets the scene thus: "...Colonel Hare, who entered the hall about seven o'clock accompanied by two ladies, was cordially received". (The ladies never said a dickey-boo, so maybe they were just a bit of decoration for the lads on the floor.) We're told that the meeting lasted two hours and, though the Colonel started chirpily enough, as time wore on it became clear he was painting himself into a corner. By the end, when a Mr M'Gruther suggested that the matter should now be discussed in the absence of Colonel Hare (applause) "...Colonel Hare at once agreed and withdrew, remarking as he left the room, that he hoped whatever happened that they would remain very good friends (applause)." The Colonel was probably quite relieved to get out, but at least he'd had the courage to face his critics: another landlord might well have hidden behind his lawyer. And the outcome? Colonel Hare acknowledged defeat in the following, which appeared at the end of the report: We have received a letter from Col. Hare, dated 4th April, in the course of which he says... "I am anxious to spend the remainder of my days in the same friendly and considerate relationship with my neighbours, which it has hitherto been one of my greatest pleasures to believe mutually reciprocated, and seeing that they desire to have the privilege of passing through my property in their walks, they may do so, as long as it is not abused." Locals 1 - Landowner 0. Robin Kelsall |