The Good Outlaw: Rob Roy MacGregor
If you’re coming from the north on the road to Stirling, you’ll have the chance to pay tribute at the grave of Rob Roy MacGregor, the “Scottish Robin Hood”.
The grave is located in the churchyard of Balquhidder Parish Church, near Callander. It can be reached by car via the A84 to Lochearnhead, then turning off towards Balquhidder. Entry is free and always open; there is a small car park. Next to the grave are the ruins of the medieval church and beautiful scenic trails leading towards Loch Voil and Creag an Tuirc.
When you turn off the main road at Balquhidder, you’ll also find a lovely souvenir and antique shop, as well as a quiet motel and restaurant.
The Life of Rob MacGregor
Rob Roy MacGregor was born in 1671 amidst the wild mountains of the Highlands, in a landscape that would make him as famous as his deeds.
His nickname, “Roy”, came from the bright red colour of his hair, a distinctive feature that accompanied him throughout his life.
As a young man, he became known as a cattle breeder and trader in the Loch Lomond area, but fate soon took a different turn.
A business deal gone wrong with the powerful Duke of Montrose brought him to the brink of ruin.
Accused of treason, pursued by creditors and rivals, Rob Roy became an outlaw: he organised cattle raids and offered protection to farmers, protection that often meant saving them from his own raids.
Photo from Wikipedia.
His life was intertwined with the Jacobite uprisings, the attempts to restore the Stuarts to the throne.
He fought in the Battle of Killiecrankie in 1689 and participated, in a more subtle way, in the 1715 uprising, always maintaining an ambiguity that allowed him to survive in times of great instability.
In 1719, at Glen Shiel, he was wounded, but even then, he managed to return alive and free.
The authorities pursued him for years.
He was captured, imprisoned, and even sentenced to deportation, but a royal pardon in 1727 returned him to freedom.
He spent his last years in Balquhidder, where he died in 1734, already surrounded by legend.
In his lifetime, his name had already become a myth: a 1723 booklet, The Highland Rogue, probably written by Daniel Defoe, presented him as a rebellious hero.
A century later, Sir Walter Scott cemented his image in his novel Rob Roy, which made him the “Scottish Robin Hood”, defender of the poor and symbol of Highland resistance.
Even poet William Wordsworth stopped at his grave and dedicated solemn verses to him.
Yet, the legend doesn’t tell everything.
Today, historians and writers remind us that Rob Roy was not just a romantic hero, but also a man capable of deception and extortion, an opportunist skilled in building his own image.
To some, he was a patriot and a righteous avenger; to others, a swindler and ruthless outlaw.
Perhaps his true greatness lies precisely here: in the thin boundary between myth and reality, between outlaw and paladin, between history and legend.
And this is what makes his grave in Balquhidder still a pilgrimage destination, where the visitor finds not just a tombstone, but the echo of a man who became the immortal symbol of the Scottish Highlands.