Tibbie Shiels' Inn, and the bridge leading to it, with reflections in the waters of
of the Loch of the Lowes Upstream from the larger St Mary's Loch is the Loch of the Lowes [sic], smaller than its similarly named 'Loch of Lowes' [sic] by Dunkeld. The word Lowes may simply mean 'loch', and so the name is only a reduplication or repetition. A short isthmus separates the two stretches of water, an arrangement left when the last ice age retreated. The bridge over the connecting burn was added more recently to take visitors to the famous Inn named after its original proprietress - Tibbie Shiels.
Tibbie Shiels' Inn, as shown here, is considerably extended since 1824 when she first took in lodgers to the then St Mary's Cottage. At the time she was 41 and her husband had just died leaving her to sustain their four children. She lived on to be 95, and in her long reign made it one of the most famous Inns in Scotland. Her photo stood proudly over the mantle in the bar until the Inn was sadly closed by its new owners from the south of England
James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, in the form of a monument sits looking across to the Inn. Beyond one of the hills that separate the Ettrick and Yarrow valleys between which he lived, worked and wrote for much of his life (1770-1825). His fame was enhanced by the recognition of his self education, supported by his mother and his first employer, he became a peer of many famous writers of his time
Autumn colours surround the reflection of the Hogg monument in St Mary's Loch.
Lines from a poem by Hogg carved into the monument which maybe show us that his style was very much of his day, and is not so popular now
The view down St Mary's Loch from near the Ettrick Shepheard's monument in 1967...
...and the same view in 1997, yachts and fences are appearing
Autumn by the isthmus
Larch and their reflections form a chevron
The golds and greens of autumn surround the Ettrick Shepherd on his plinth
The trees and barn by Crosscleuch, a favourite summer spot for visitors...
...and here the water here forming a perfect mirror of those trees and barn
The same tees at Crosscleuch covered in raindrops
The bridge at Tibbie Shiels frames Riskinhope
Wisps of mist hang around Riskinhope. 'Hope' indicates protection in a refuge or valley, and is a common tag in southern Scotland; so the name Riskinhope suggests a safe place amongst the moors
Sun on the south end of the Loch of the Lowes
Riskinhope Farm on a summer's evening
The next page
takes you from autumn to winter, with some snow shots of the upper Yarrow Valley - the home of the Loch of the Lowes and St Mary's Loch.
The last page was about St Mary's Loch
A page about more Scottish water - the sea by Kirkcudbright
Another monument to a poet is that to Saadi in Shiraz
