I only met Bob Bisset once and that was as a teenager I thought he was an eccentric old man .Bob was Head Stalker on Invermearan estate for forty years, it was only many years later
when I went to Invermearan as a stalker (unfortunately Bob had been dead for a number of years by that time) that I realized what an interesting and complex character he was.
When I say that I thought he was an eccentric old man , it was only after going to Invermearan that I found out that when I had met him as a teenager he was only in his forties but then I suppose when you are eighteen someone in their forties does seem old
I had heard a bit about him over the years mostly about his skill as a leather worker he made shoes and hill boots the story goes that he was dissatisfied with always having wet feet
with store bought boots that he decided to have a go at making his own.
Before long he was in demand by stalkers ,keepers and shepherds to make their boots he also made telescope cases that any stalker would be proud to own in fact Donsider on this forum is the proud owner of one,
He was also a scholar of Burns ( the poet) and had a huge library of books on Burns and his poetry
He not only played and taught the fiddle but made fiddles and a well known Shetland fiddler wrote a fiddle tune and named it Bob Bisset of Glen Lyon in his memory.
Bob was a larger than life Highland character not overly tall but stocky with a big bushy beard and he wore the kilt summer and winter both as dress and for work.
He also had a huge collection of clocks mostly cuckoo clocks which adorned the cottage he shared with his wife Peggy, it was apparently out of this world when they all struck the hour, despite having such an interest in clocks Bob steadfastly refused to shift the clock in spring and autumn so for six months of the year he was an hour behind it was known to the locals as Glen Lyon time.
Any travels in the Glen were always welcome at Peggy's door with a cup of tea and her home baked scones or maybe a bowl of home made soup and if you were very lucky and
Bob took to you maybe a dram of Glenmorangie which was the only whisky he would drink.
If you were invited into the house then you had to sign the visitors book I kid you not the visitors book and it was apparently full of well known signatures I think many people
went to find out if there was any truth in the myth, boy were they in for a surprise.
As well as his job as Head Stalker on the estate Bob took on the self appointed role as Servant or Keeper of the stones in Glen Caillach a glen that runs can be found a unique
structure the house of the Caillach the creator Godess in Celtic mythology and Bob was her servant the Godess and her family the Bodach (old man) and their daughter
Nighean while two smaller children stay in the house.
The family are represented by small heavy water washed stones shaped like dumb bells the family only lived in the house from the first of May until the end of October when the Celtic festivals took place that celebrated the beginning and end of summer.At the end of summer the Servant or Keeper of the stones would shut the family in the house making sure it was weather tight and come first of May the house would be opened up and the family placed outside the door and the house would get a new thatch and any necessary repairs.
This pagan practice has been carried out for centuries firstly by those that striving to make a living from grazing a few cattle on the hill in the summer these early farmers and some not so early lived on hill with there animals during the summer months the legend being that if those living in the glen took care of the Caillach's family she in turn would make sure that they would prosper.
This carried on for hundreds of years until the cattle were replaced in the Highlands by sheep but always some one stepped into the role maybe a shepherd at one time even the Laird of the estate, when I went to Invermearan it was Hamish the then Head Stalker who had stepped into the role.
Bob carried out his role as servant until he died ,Bob knew exactly where he wanted to be buried in his beloved hills but not just anywhere he had picked the spot his favorite place to spy his ground and also overlooking the Caillachs house where he could also look out for it.(not as daft as it sounds there have been several attempts to steel the stones over the years)
Bob knew where he wanted to be buried but that's not as easy as it sounds on a hill face but Bob would not be put off by something like that he spent several years working the ground and removing stones till he had an area that could be dug deep enough to take a coffin, oh and he built his own coffin.
Unfortunately when he died the Laird was against Bob being buried on the hill but agreed that if he was cremated his ashes could be buried on the spot he had chosen and they were
and some years later Peggy joined him.
There is now a cairn built on top of where their ashes are and into the bottom of the cairn are cemented a bottle of his favorite tipple and his telescope.
A fitting tribute to a remarkable man.
I do so wish I had not dismissed him as an eccentric old man, Ah the folly of youth.
when I went to Invermearan as a stalker (unfortunately Bob had been dead for a number of years by that time) that I realized what an interesting and complex character he was.
When I say that I thought he was an eccentric old man , it was only after going to Invermearan that I found out that when I had met him as a teenager he was only in his forties but then I suppose when you are eighteen someone in their forties does seem old
I had heard a bit about him over the years mostly about his skill as a leather worker he made shoes and hill boots the story goes that he was dissatisfied with always having wet feet
with store bought boots that he decided to have a go at making his own.
Before long he was in demand by stalkers ,keepers and shepherds to make their boots he also made telescope cases that any stalker would be proud to own in fact Donsider on this forum is the proud owner of one,
He was also a scholar of Burns ( the poet) and had a huge library of books on Burns and his poetry
He not only played and taught the fiddle but made fiddles and a well known Shetland fiddler wrote a fiddle tune and named it Bob Bisset of Glen Lyon in his memory.
Bob was a larger than life Highland character not overly tall but stocky with a big bushy beard and he wore the kilt summer and winter both as dress and for work.
He also had a huge collection of clocks mostly cuckoo clocks which adorned the cottage he shared with his wife Peggy, it was apparently out of this world when they all struck the hour, despite having such an interest in clocks Bob steadfastly refused to shift the clock in spring and autumn so for six months of the year he was an hour behind it was known to the locals as Glen Lyon time.
Any travels in the Glen were always welcome at Peggy's door with a cup of tea and her home baked scones or maybe a bowl of home made soup and if you were very lucky and
Bob took to you maybe a dram of Glenmorangie which was the only whisky he would drink.
If you were invited into the house then you had to sign the visitors book I kid you not the visitors book and it was apparently full of well known signatures I think many people
went to find out if there was any truth in the myth, boy were they in for a surprise.
As well as his job as Head Stalker on the estate Bob took on the self appointed role as Servant or Keeper of the stones in Glen Caillach a glen that runs can be found a unique
structure the house of the Caillach the creator Godess in Celtic mythology and Bob was her servant the Godess and her family the Bodach (old man) and their daughter
Nighean while two smaller children stay in the house.
The family are represented by small heavy water washed stones shaped like dumb bells the family only lived in the house from the first of May until the end of October when the Celtic festivals took place that celebrated the beginning and end of summer.At the end of summer the Servant or Keeper of the stones would shut the family in the house making sure it was weather tight and come first of May the house would be opened up and the family placed outside the door and the house would get a new thatch and any necessary repairs.
This pagan practice has been carried out for centuries firstly by those that striving to make a living from grazing a few cattle on the hill in the summer these early farmers and some not so early lived on hill with there animals during the summer months the legend being that if those living in the glen took care of the Caillach's family she in turn would make sure that they would prosper.
This carried on for hundreds of years until the cattle were replaced in the Highlands by sheep but always some one stepped into the role maybe a shepherd at one time even the Laird of the estate, when I went to Invermearan it was Hamish the then Head Stalker who had stepped into the role.
Bob carried out his role as servant until he died ,Bob knew exactly where he wanted to be buried in his beloved hills but not just anywhere he had picked the spot his favorite place to spy his ground and also overlooking the Caillachs house where he could also look out for it.(not as daft as it sounds there have been several attempts to steel the stones over the years)
Bob knew where he wanted to be buried but that's not as easy as it sounds on a hill face but Bob would not be put off by something like that he spent several years working the ground and removing stones till he had an area that could be dug deep enough to take a coffin, oh and he built his own coffin.
Unfortunately when he died the Laird was against Bob being buried on the hill but agreed that if he was cremated his ashes could be buried on the spot he had chosen and they were
and some years later Peggy joined him.
There is now a cairn built on top of where their ashes are and into the bottom of the cairn are cemented a bottle of his favorite tipple and his telescope.
A fitting tribute to a remarkable man.
I do so wish I had not dismissed him as an eccentric old man, Ah the folly of youth.
