Rob Roy’s Grave and Balquhidder Old Kirk

Rob Roy’s Grave and Balquhidder Old Kirk is a historic churchyard in Balquhidder Glen, where a low-railed family grave sits beside the roofless remains of the Old Church. The later parish church stands nearby, so one small walk takes in a famous grave, a ruined kirk, a working church and older gravestones. This is a quiet heritage detour rather than a full-day attraction, but it earns its place if Highland history is your kind of stop or you are already driving the glen.

Rob Roy MacGregor died at Inverlochlarig Beg in 1734 and was buried here with his wife, Mary, and two sons. The middle of the three flat slabs is reputed to be Rob Roy’s; the inscription “MacGregor Despite Them” refers to the suppression of the MacGregor name. The roofless Old Church beside it dates from 1631 and was replaced by the present parish church in 1855. Look for the information diagram on a metal plate beside the Old Church’s east-gable doorway, then give yourself time to read the surrounding stones rather than treating the grave as a quick photo stop.

The graveyard is the easy, compact part of the stop. A separate uphill walk to Creag an Tuirc starts here and climbs steeply through forest to a cairn and bench overlooking Balquhidder village, the River Balvag and Loch Voil. It is a useful add-on when you want a landscape walk, not a reason to expect a viewpoint from the grave itself. For the defining photo, frame the black-railed grave with the roofless kirk behind it; from farther back, include the old stones and green glen to show why this small churchyard feels so rooted in the landscape.