rob roy

Rob Roy MacGregor (1671 - 1734)
Notorious cattle thief and Jacobite Guerilla. Walter Scott much exaggerated MacGregor's fame, painting him as a defender of the Highland way of life.

Rob Roy MacGregor was the second son of Donald MacGregor at Inverlochaig at the head of Loch Doine. His life as an outlaw started when he was unable to repay money that he had borrowed from the Duke of Montrose to fund his growing cattle trade. The Duke seized his lands and property and Rob Roy fled with his debt unpaid. From this time onwards Rob Roy and the followers he had gathered, at one time as many as 500 men, profited from raiding lands of the Duke and those of his neighbours. Though he relieved many of their property it is said that he was never brutal or cruel with his victims and never stole from the common man, there was after all no profit from robbing a poor man.

Montrose captured Rob Roy but he made a famous escape, with the aid of a friend in the employ of the Duke at the ford in the river near Balquidder. Rob Roy died in his home in 1734 and was buried in the small churchyard in Balquidder.

Situated in Callander, in an elegant building once a church, the Rob Roy Tourist Information Centre not only provides tourist information services, but also an excellent Rob Roy exhibition and audio visual show. Visit Rob Roy's Grave in Balquhidder. Both Rob Roy and The Trossachs rose to wider fame in the 19th century as a result of his depiction as a national hero in the popular novel Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott.