Deer Stalking

Sketches from 1896: the building is Tulchan Lodge where they stayed

Another constant in Collingwood’s life for several years was an autumn or winter visit to Tulchan Lodge near Alyth, north of Perth, for deer stalking. 1896 saw his first journey, in a sleeper, to Scotland.

22 October, 1896
When I first looked out from our sleeping compartment (by “our” I mean Pids and myself) the day looked dreary enough in the dull, grey light of the early morning. I could see the rocky hillsides simply pouring with water, for it was raining, and had been for some time judging from the appearance of the surrounding valleys. Not even a sheep could be seen to cheer up the landscape.

          The second or third time I looked out – I forget which, the country took quite a different aspect, the whole ground being white with snow: presently the good old sun showed himself on the top of some of the neighbouring slopes, tingeing the snow a delicate pink, or rather a pale rose, colour.

          It was broad daylight when we reached Stirling and a pretty little town it looked too. When I say little I mean compact, for I should say it covered but a small acreage. At Perth we had breakfast and changed trains for Alyth Junction, where we arrived at something past eleven. Alyth itself was yet some stations distant and we had once more to change at the junction. It was about mid-day when we jumped from the train ultimately, therefore taking nearly twelve hours to reach Alyth from London.

          After having some lunch at the Airlee Arms Hotel (between eleven and one we took a walk for a short distance) we started once more on our tedious journey, this time in a cart. At five p.m. we arrived here, Tulchan Lodge, Glenisla, after a cold twenty mile drive.

24 October 1896, Tulchan
I again went to the west side and Pids to the east (Mr Battye left last night)[1]. I killed four hinds and two calves, one of which was by mistake and the other the gillie thought that she was a hind. The scenery here is very beautiful. On each side of Glen Isla, rocky mountains rise upwards towards the sky, some just tipped with a thin covering of snow and at the top of the Glen perfectly white, where the mountains are higher and the river rises from behind the great Glass Meal.