Ben Venue and the Trossachs

It’s a lovely morning for sailing on Loch Katrine in the Scottish Highlands of Perthshire. We are on the northern shore looking southward to Ben Venue, a name meaning “miniature mountain.” Despite its name, the mountain has an imposing presence and offers challenging climbs to spectacular views in all directions. This scene of seemingly uncorrupted natural beauty resulted from a Glasgow Corporation Water Works project that two decades earlier had raised the lake’s level by six feet to transform it into the industrial city’s main reservoir. John Blair rose from humbles beginnings to become one of Scotland’s most prominent watercolorists. Even those who could not afford his watercolors know them from their reproduction on postcards and book covers.