How To Visit The Abandoned Village Of Old Lawers

Visiting the abandoned village of Old Lawers at the end of 2024 was easily a highlight of my year. That’s high praise considering it was a packed 12 months including a trip to St Kilda! This had a similar feeling but on a smaller, maybe more intense scale.

The ruins of Old Lawers are surprisingly intact compared to most abandoned villages in Scotland. Once a thriving settlement in an important area, it’s now tucked away and practically forgotten. If there’s one reason that brings this place to attention more than most then it’s the amazing story of the Lady of Lawers.

I’ve known the story for a long time, but it took until recently for Molly the Labrador and I to actually go in search of where it took place. If you follow this guide to Old Lawers then you can easily follow in our footsteps. Just remember to be respectful of this ancient monument and to leave no trace!

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How To Visit Old Lawers

You can find Old Lawers right in the middle of the northern shore of Loch Tay in Perthshire. It takes around an hour to get there from Perth through Aberfeldy, but you could easily approach through Callander and work in a trip to Killin as well!

There is the local 893 bus that travels between Aberfeldy and Killin, stopping outside the Ben Lawers Hotel. It’s very infrequent though, so I would definitely advise driving if possible. Here’s the best place to find car hire in Scotland and if you’re nervous about driving here, this article might help you! There’s a car park at the Ben Lawers Hotel which costs £5 for the whole day or free if you’re eating/staying there!

From there, head north along the road in the direction of Kenmore and walk for just 100m until you see a farm track sloping to the right. At a driveway it sharply bends down to the loch and all you have to do is follow that to the bottom. At one point, you’ll need to pass through a farm gate and the track skirts the edge of a field so make sure you close it behind you!

The History Of Old Lawers

When I first saw Old Lawers, the history was almost overwhelming. The remains of the buildings down here are prominent and fairly untouched by time. You don’t need to go digging around or squinting to try and make out outlines of homes or imagine how they looked before. It’s a remarkably well preserved place which is fitting since it was lived in for over 750 years!

The earliest mention of Old Lawers was in 1160 in a charter from King Malcolm IV (otherwise known as Malcolm the Maiden) granting the barony to Clan MacMillan. It would then be taken over by the Chalmers before eventually being granted to the Campbells in 1473. Starting with Colin Campbell of Glenorchy, the builder of Kilchurn Castle, they would be Lairds of Lawers for centuries.

Life in Lawers was similar to most of Scotland. Residents farmed, fished and in later years they worked a mill that was powered by the Lawers Burn. This was an important ferry stop on Loch Tay and the first cluster of buildings you reach are the Pier Master’s House, Laird’s House and the church.

Unfortunately, during the Highland Clearances, rents went up and populations declined as their way of life was no longer sustainable. Sheep came in to replace people and by the 1900s, there were 20 people left in Old Lawers. The last family left around 1926 and the village faded into obscurity.

Who Is The Lady Of Lawers?

The one big reason people visit Old Lawers is because they’ve heard the story of the Lady of Lawers.

Her real name was Mary Campbell and she’s said to have been wife of the brother of the Laird. She lived in the 17th century and would become known as an important seer – somebody who had the second sight. Fortunately for that time, she was never tried for being a witch!

When the church was being built in 1669, Mary uttered her first prophecy. Ridging stones arrived on the ferry from Kenmore but Mary declared, “Those shall never be placed on the roof of the church.” People dismissed her, but that night a great storm flooded the loch and washed the stones into the depths.

People took Mary a wee bit seriously after that and they began to call her Baintighearn Labhuir – The Lady of Lawers. Throughout her time in Old Lawers, the reputation of the seer grew, so much that we still talk about her today!

We don’t know exactly when Mary Campbell died, but we know she didn’t want to be buried in the old graveyard just a short distance away from the rest of the Old Lawers. It was her wish to be buried either beside or beneath the old church that so many of her prophecies related to. It’s said that her spirit haunts the village so maybe that’s why Molly refused to follow me into the ruined church…

The Prophecy Of The Ash Tree

The best known of the Lady of Lawers prophecies surrounds an Ash tree she planted beside the church. When you visit Old Lawers, it’s the T-shaped building with the large pointed gable ends, flanked by two large trees. The Lady of Lawers declared that when the tree reached the gable, the church would split in two. When it reached the roof, the House of Balloch will have no heir.

People must have been getting nervous as the tree grew and legend says that the same year the tree reached the gable, the church roof collapsed. Then in 1843, the entire Church of Scotland suffered a schism known as the Great Disruption, essentially splitting in two!

Unfortunately for the house of Balloch, 20 years later, with the tree a little taller, the Marquis of Breadalbane died without an heir.

Why did nobody just get rid of the tree before any of this happened?

Well, Mary also claimed that evil would come to whoever cut it down. One local farmer eventually took his axe to the tree. Before long, his horse had dropped dead, his farm helper went mad and the farmer was gored to death by his own bull.

Other Prophecies From The Lady Of Lawers

There are plenty of other prophecies attributed to Mary Campbell, sadly not many are very cheery!

“The jaw of the sheep will drive the plough from the ground” as well as “The homes on Loch Tay will be so far apart that a cock will not hear its neighbour crow” – that seems to be talking about the Highland Clearances where thousands of Scots were displaced to make room for sheep.

“The last laird will pass over Glenogle with a grey pony, leaving nothing behind” It took until 1948, but this eventually came to pass with the Countess of Breadalbane selling up Kinnell House at Killin in a carriage pulled by a grey pony.

The Lady of Lawers isn’t done with us just yet, there are still some prophecies left to play out:

• “A strange heir will come to Balloch when the Boar’s Stone at Fearnan topples over”
• “A ship driven by smoke will sink in the loch with great loss of life” – Amazingly that didn’t happen when steamships regularly traversed Loch Tay
• “The time will come when Ben Lawers will become so cold that it will chill and waste the land for seven miles.”

Make of those what you will!

The Hidden Side Of Old Lawers

There’s more to Old Lawers than just the small cluster of ruins at the end of the farm track! To find the hidden side of the village, just walk north past the church and feint track leads across what was once communal grazing ground. Imagine the Hairy Coos that locals would have once reared there!

This part of Old Lawers would have been where the majority of people lived on either side of the Lawers Burn. It’s this small stream that gives the village its name, coming from the Gaelic for noisy one! It does make sense that most people would live by the fast flowing water source.

The irregular layout of the buildings, barely missing more than just a roof, are typical of old villages. It’s easy to imagine this place when it was full of life, laughter and stories. If you’re like me, then you might want to just sit here for a while and breathe.

Cross the bridge and walk past more ruins into the field beyond and you’ll see the walls of Cladh Machuim. That’s the old graveyard where people from around Loch Tay were once brought to be buried. While there aren’t any graves from the time of the Lady of Lawers, there are some surprisingly modern ones!

Where To Visit After?

It’s hard to follow up a visit to Old Lawers, it’s a truly incredible place! There are lots of interesting places nearby though, like a journey down Glen Lyon or a visit to the oldest tree in Europe at Fortingall. You aren’t far away from the beautiful wee town of Dunkeld either which is always worth the trip!

Heading in the opposite direction, through Killin, you can easily reach another huge body of water at Loch Awe. Eventually, that road will take you to the fantastic town of Oban. That’s known as the Gateway to the Isles, so you’ve plenty of choice from there!

Where To Stay Near Old Lawers

If you want to really take your time exploring Old Lawers then you might want to spend the night nearby! Here are some of the best options for you:

Ciaran Cottage – One of the closest places to stay near Old Lawers, this lovely holiday home has space for four and a great view of Loch Tay.

Kenmore Club – Originally the walled garden of Taymouth Castle, this popular spot with a pool and gym offers self-catering cottages of different sizes.

Fortingall Hotel – Set back in the picturesque Fortingall, this wee hotel will transport you back in time!

Glencroft – Also in Fortingall, this fairytale cottage has space for four beneath its thatched roof!

Chef’s Cottage – Kenmore makes a great base with a shop and pub, with Chef’s Cottage giving comfortable accommodation for six!

Taymore Lodge – Just past Kenmore, this is a luxurious holiday home with space for six.

Killin Hotel – It’s a little further away, but the Killin Hotel has lots of rooms at reasonable prices.

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