Crowds have flocked to a new scenic tower at a site credited with being 'the birthplace' of Scottish tourism. The three-storey scenic tower and lookouts is located on the headland above Trossachs Pier at Loch Katrine, in the heart of The Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. Since it opened to the public two months ago, over 8,000 people have made the short climb to the tower and lookouts, which offer dramatic scenic views of Loch Katrine and the surrounding hills.
The Steamship Sir Walter Scott Trust, which is responsible for preserving Loch Katrine's historic 124-year-old Steamship Sir Walter Scott for public enjoyment, installed the tower, with viewpoints connected by elevated boardwalks on a giant rock outcrop above Trossachs Pier. The tower is reached by a hand-built 200-metre stone path, reinstating a route that had been overgrown for decades. READ MORE: 'Stunning' scenic tower opens at 'birthplace of Scottish tourism' The viewpoint (site of the tower & lookouts) was home to two wicker huts built in the late 1780s by Lady Drummond of Perth for artists and writers to stay and be inspired by the magic of the Trossachs’s changing landscape.
A new road blasted out of rock made the huts more easily accessible by horse and carriage at that time. Many leading Victorian artists and writers such as Keats, the Wordsworths and Sir Walter Scott all visited it and published popular works. Loch Katrine and Scotland were placed firmly on the tourist map following the phenomen.
