Up the Howe of Laggan

The McTaggart family lived in a shepherd’s cottage, near the start of this walk, just before World War I. The father and his sons were all noted shepherds in the area. Early in the morning of 11 January 1913 there was a blizzard raging when Christopher, known as Kirstie, McTaggart woke up. He immediately got up and went out to the hills to check on his flock. Nineteen-year old Kirstie took the route of this walk as he trudged along that morning, head bowed into the storm. He worked his way steadily uphill, his dog by his side.

The landscape here was considerably different at the beginning of the 20th century. There were no conifer plantations to provide shelter or break the force of a wild and bitter wind. The land for miles around was bare hillside, broken only by a network of dry-stone walls. Kirstie reached the Howe of Laggan, a wild lonely valley in those days, where he expected to find his sheep sheltering in their pens. Those that were buried in the snow would have to be dug out. It is not known if he had to rescue any sheep because Kirstie never returned from the Howe of Laggan.

Concerned about his brother, his twin, Davie, and a couple of friends went up Gregg Water in search of Kirstie. They found him lying by the sheep pens, still alive but in the advanced stages of hypothermia. In vain they attempted to restore the heat to his frozen body but he died 15 minutes after they found him. Because the weather was so dreadful they were unable to bring Kirstie’s body home so they left him where he had fallen, near the present cairn. The dog refused to leave his master and stood guard over the body.

The next day the storm had abated and a party of 20 or so brought Kirstie back from the Howe of Laggan. At Kirstie’s funeral the minister, the Reverend John Angus, suggested that the young men of the community raise a memorial to his memory. They erected Kirstie’s Cairn a few paces from the spot where he died.

Kirstie’s sacrifice is far from unique. There are many cairns in these hills, marking the places where other shepherds died. About 0.5 miles (800m) to the southwest of Kirstie’s Cairn, a memorial can be found on the flank of Pinbreck Hill, where Kirstie’s brother Jimmy died many years later.

From the car park head downhill and turn left at the T-junction. Head uphill and pass Changue house on the right. Just after that on the left is Spring Cottage, a renovated building that used to be a shepherd’s dwelling. This was where Kirstie and his family lived.

Continue on the forest road through a gate, uphill on a forest road for about 100yds (91m), then fork left and downhill alongside the Water of Gregg, following the signs for Kirstie’s Trail. Continue alongside the Water of Gregg following yellow, blue and red waymarkers.

Go along the forest road to a bridge over the Water of Gregg and continue on the other side of the river. When the path divides near a bridge, go right and follow the sign pointing towards Kirstie’s Trail. You are now approaching the Howe of Laggan.

At the next junction turn right and then immediately right again onto a footpath. Cross a bridge and go through a small gate to enter the enclosure at Kirstie’s Cairn. There is a picnic table, which makes this the ideal spot for a pit stop. Return via the footbridge and path and forest road to the original forest road and turn right.

Follow the yellow waymarkers as the road climbs for a fair distance with great views along the Howe of Laggan. Once at the top you should be able to see the pass of the Nick of the Balloch in the distance.

When the road forks, keep left and uphill. Follow green cycle route waymarkers, which are frequent on this section. At the next junction keep right and continue uphill. Eventually reach the top of the hill and continue on the road down the other side with occasional yellow waymarkers.

Eventually reach another junction with red waymarkers to the left. Follow yellow waymarkers to the right to a forestry gate. Through the gate descend on the road back to the car park.