Going up Doon Hill

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River Forth at Aberfoyle

Yesterday, 1st December, was a lovely crisp, winter day so we decided to go for a walk in the Trossachs. We drove to Aberfoyle, less than 30 miles from Glasgow, and followed the trail to Doon Hill, home of the fairies. Allegedly.

River Forth at Aberfoyle
Doon Hill
Frosty

The minister in Aberfoyle between 1685 and 1692 was Reverend Robert Kirk who had a strong interest in local folklore and wrote a famous book telling the secrets of the fairies. Doon Hill is the site of their revenge. The fairies were so cross with Kirk’s revelations that they kidnapped him and encased his soul in the pine tree at the top of the hill.

People sometimes leave offerings to the fairies in the form of clouties (cloths) in the hope that, as the cloutie rots, the illness or misfortune affecting the person on whose behalf it was placed will also vanish. It’s a few years since we did this walk, and it seems from the new trail notice, that some people aren’t quite getting the concept and are leaving non-biodegradable items which are never going to rot.

Something else that was new to us were the fairy houses, carved from tree stumps, on the way up the slope. Lots of offerings here.

Fairy houses on Doon Hill
Fairy houses on Doon Hill
Fairy houses on Doon Hill
Fairy houses on Doon Hill

On the other hand, the top of the hill seems to have been cleared quite considerably. We remembered the surrounding oaks all being decorated and bells tinkling in the breeze. Even if you don’t believe in the fairies, that made it quite a haunting place. Now, the offerings are largely confined to the central Scots pine, home to Rev Kirk’s soul. Or not.

Summit pine tree, Doon Hill
Summit pine tree, Doon Hill

After descending Doon Hill, the path took us through woodland, following the River Forth for a while, before returning to Aberfoyle. The frosty trees and the late afternoon light were wonderfully atmospheric.

John near Aberfoyle
Frosty Forest near Aberfoyle
Frosty Forest near Aberfoyle
Doon Hill
Frosty Forest near Aberfoyle
River Forth at Aberfoyle

It’s a while since I’ve linked up with Jo’s Monday Walk. If I’ve made you feel cold, I suggest you hop over there immediately for a warm in some Portuguese sun.

Scotland, UK , ,

67 Comments »

  1. We have a local park with fairy houses in the big trees along the trail. However, no offerings to the fairies — Canadians don’t have this tradition, I think.

    Jude

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  3. The frosty tree photos look like you could have been in one of the Scandinavian countries. I love the fairy doors and all the colourful offerings 🙂

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  4. Pingback: Jo’s Monday walk : Aveiro & surrounds | restlessjo

  13. What a beautiful walk! I haven’t heard too much about fairies before, so it was fun to read about their legend and to see the offerings that are being left (hopefully, people will get the message about sticking to biodegradable offerings!) Thanks for sharing this Anabel!

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  16. I am going crazy at work and issues with the changeover in computers have left me without getting to my blog. It has been chaos at work and so tired. Regardless, love your beautiful pictures which does look fairy like. I love the fairy home and how people made it look so good. Sad that some leave plastics or other crap around.

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  17. Hi Anabel – gorgeous story from your Doon part of the world … we have them here too – but of course spelt Down … and we go up them all the time – cannot leave Eastbourne without rising up and out.

    Your photos are delightful – atmospheric and beautiful to see … cheers Hilary

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  21. I can’t believe that’s a hill I’ve never been up before yet so close to where I live. I have heard of the story and it reminds me strongly of the film The Spiderwick Chronicles and the folk song Tam Lin, also set in Scotland.

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  22. I love fairies and their hideout looks perfect to me, though I imagine with all that frosty weather they may well be spending the winter in the Algarve with Jo!

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  24. That’s a great-looking warm coat John has on! 🙂 🙂 Much needed, I’m sure, but aren’t these photos beautiful, Anabel? Love the fairies idea. They’ll have little frosty wands 🙂 Many thanks, hon!

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  27. I love your photos but it looks cold. It is interesting that lots of other cultures leave cloths to rot to heal illnesses. I have seen it in Greece.

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  28. That looks beautiful. It brings to mind a library joke that I still believe in 398.2. Also, there must be two Doon Hills in Scotland as there is also one in East Lothian.

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    • When I was a very young librarian I used to do story exercises for school kids with Dewey numbers replacing some of the words so they had to find them in the library. I included as many 398.2s, 130s and the like as possible!

      There could well be even more Doon Hills since Scotland seems very good at duplicate names, I think probably because they are largely based on Gaelic descriptions. And Loch Doon which I featured a few weeks ago is not near any Doon Hill!

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  29. Coming from a land that also believes in fairies I quite believe in yours. My grandfather was cursed by having two fairy trees right in the middle of good land which meant he lost some good ground as he had to give them a wide berth when ploughing the field otherwise, the fairies could have worked havoc with the harvest. I went twice on a “hunt the Leprachaun” trek at Carlingford which was great fun. I never caught one but I had my fortune told umpteen times, was blessed by a fake holy man, and almost learned to love Guinness!

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