Scotland Travel Vlog January 2020

"Better than the Devil's Pulpit"

In the Scottish Tourism industry, there is something that is known as the "Outlander Effect". It's nothing new of course, someone makes a popular movie and then suddenly everyone who loves the film wants to experience the places that they saw in the movie for themselves.

"Outlander" has vastly increased the number of people wanting to visit Finnich Glen to see the Devil's Pulpit. I've not watched "Outlander", but I gather that Clair undergoes some sort of test of her honesty at the imaginary "St Ninian's Spring".  Unfortunately, the magic and mysterious atmosphere of the Devil's Pulpit and Finnich Glen is now spoilt by the throngs of people you have to share the experience with. There are also the more fundamental issues of finding a parking space and the saddening increase in litter being left by visitors.

Fortunately, we know of other places in Scotland where you can discover somewhere equally magical, but without all the crowds that now detract from the pleasure of visiting the Finnich Glen. In this video, we take you to the Crichope Linn which is in Dumfriesshire just outside of the small town of Thornhill. It's a magical place in a sheltered woodland setting where everything is covered in emerald green moss.

The main attraction here is a spectacular narrow gorge that has been cut by the erosive action of a river passing over soft red sandstone. The river has carved an otherworldly landscape of arches, pillars, circular rock pools and deep crevasses. It is no wonder that the locals believed it was the home of Elves and magic. Fear of the supernatural forces in this forest might also have deterred the Royalist troops hunting the Covenanters who used the many hidden folds of this narrow gorge to hide and evade capture during the tragic events of the "Killing Times" in the 17th Century.