Balinluig Summer Camps 

Summary of Summer Camps at Ballinluig (1936 and 1937) 

Attendance (1936)

Scouters:-                     GSM A. Ian Dunlop, SM John B. Hardie.

Rover Scout:-​               Archie Brown

Troop Leader:-             Alan Hardie

Patrol Leader:-               Eoin Steel

Second:-                         Lawrence Harvey

Scouts:-                             Richard Leggat; Hamish Steel; D. Ramsay and A. Allan.
Also camping:-                 Reverend A.R.R. Reid (for 3 days)

 

The location of the Ballinluig  campsite in both 1936 and 1937 was slightly south of Logierait close to the merging of the River Tummel with the River Tay. The campsite was positioned on the east bank of the River Tay and on the north side of a creek that linked the River Tummel with the River Tay. The number of Scouts attending in 1936 was lower than the number attending the previous year's Summer Camp to St. Catherine's on Loch Fyne. It is possible that the rain and midges experienced in 1935 might have deterred some of the Scouts attending in 1936. If so, they missed out on a fine camp that was blessed with fine weather and an absence of midges.  

    Travelling to Ballinluig was significantly more challenging than to any previous camp. The previous camps had all been accessible by using the available Clyde ferries. Getting to Ballinluig involved the use of different trains and ensuring that all the heavy camping equipment remained with the party when transferring from one train to another. The Scouts left Greenock from Princes Pier Station to get to Glasgow. Another train was taken from Buchanan Street which took the party to Perth where another transfer was needed to catch the northbound train to Ballinluig. A lorry was then used to transfer the equipment to the campsite. This was probably prearranged and may have involved hiring a local lorry. Coal lorries were particularly common for this purpose.

    Next morning, the Scouts hiked up the east side of the River Tay to Logierait and crossed the river using the Logierait railway bridge - part of the line between Ballinluig and Aberfeldy which was operating until 1964. The Scoutsn then floated logs down the west side of the River Tay until they were on the opposite side from the campsite. They then swam across the river, presumably with the logs. It is likely that three of these logs were used in the construction of a 'diving platform' which protruded about 10 feet into the River Tay. Photographs show the finished structure and include photos of Scouts diving into the River Tay. Logs were also used to construct a raft. However, no photographs of the raft were taken and it failed to support any passengers.
     As far as activities were concerned, bathing, sunbathing and trout fishing were popular pastimes and occurred most days due to the fine weather.  There were some initial worries about swimming in a a flowing river but the  vast majority of the Scouts present were proficient swimmers and pickets were usually posted during bathing sessions just in case. A game of cricket was also played until the ball was lost. There may have been other activities and games  played  during the camp which were not recorded in the log book account

 

     On the first Sunday, a Scouts Own was held in camp and various parents arrived to visit the camp later on and receive a midday meal. On the second Sunday, the Troop attended Logierait Church apart from Rover Scout Archie Brown who cooked the dinner (midday meal). The preacher was the Rev. Coll A. MacDonald who was parish minster for 33 years..

 

On the 7th July, the Rev Reid, Commander Priston, Ian Dunlop and Archie Brown visited Blair Castle in Commander Priston's car then met up with Scouts L. Harvey, R. Leggat, H. Steel, D. Ramsay and A. Allan in Pitlochry where they visited the cinema. The costs had taken the bus to Pitlochry but by the time the film was over, tha last bus had gone and they had to walk the five miles  back to camp. On the 9th July, it was the turn of Eoin Steel, Alan Hardie and John Hardie to visit the Pitlochry cinema. However, they managed a wangle a lift back to the campsite after the film.  On the 10th July, the whole camp went into Pitlochry for then 'flics' with only Eoin Steel, John Hardie and Alan Hardie remaining in camp. Alan took advantage to do some fishing and managed to catch a three quarter pound trout which was cooked for supper. The rest of the camp had to walk back to the camp after the flics.

 

    Various hikes and expeditions took place to explore the local area. On the 6th July, the younger Scouts went for a walk in the direction of Dunkeld although it is not known on which side of the River Tay they walked and for how far. On the 13th July, Eoin Steel, Alan Hardie and John Hardie carried out a similar hike, almost reaching Dunkeld in the process. On the evening of the14th July, Ian Dunlop and  Archie Brown cycled to the Pass of Killiecrankie while the younger Scouts hiked 'up river'. No details were provided regarding how far they went though.

 

     As in 1935, a particular highlight of the camp was a Mock Trial which appears to have been a popular activity in general during the 1930s. This was described in some detail in the Troop Log and involved Scout D. Ramsay being charged with wpoaching a salmon from the River Tay. Ian Dunlop acted as judge  while John Hardie and Archie Brown acted as Counsels for the Crown and the accused respectively. Alan Hardie played the role of Clerk of the Court. John Hardie wrote the following in the Troop Log book "Erudite and eloquent periods thundered across the tent (court) as counsel addressed witnesses, judge, one another and the general public; The judge was prosy, rhetorical and learned; the witnesses were in despair; the clerk was inarticulate; in fact, it was a typical Mock Trial thoroughly enjoyed by all."

    A number of visitors (non parents) also appeared. One of these was Lord James Murray (County Commissioner for Perthshire). Another was Commander Priston from Greenock. Unfortunately, its is not known what connection there was between Commander Priston and the 70th. There was also an unexpected and mysterious visitor to the camp on the night of the 14th July when everyone had retired to bed. The Troop Log reported that A. Allan 'discovered a ghost' and there was the sound of blood curdling screams and the clanking of chains for about ten minutes. L.Harvey was then found to be missing, but later reappeared in his bed unable to account for his absence. John Hardie finishes off the Troop log entry by stating that it was a 'disturbed and disturbing evening'. It is difficult to tell whether this was written tongue in cheek or not. Lawrence Harvey may well have been playing a trick on the other campers that night by pretending to be a 'visitation'. If so, John Hardie would have been well aware of the fact but chose to maintain the pretence in the log book report. On the other hand ......

   To conclude, the 1936 Summer Camp proved to be a huge success and was throughly enjoyed by all those who attended, not least because of the good weather and the lack of midges. A personal interview with Alan Hardie 70 years later confirmed this as he had fond memories of the camp, especially of the trout which he caught. During the camp, the Scouts cooked in pairs which was a recent innovation by the 70th and a move away from central cooking. The return journey home involved catching the 2.00pm train from Ballinluig and the 5.45 train from St. Enoch Station in Glasgow, with the Scouts arriving home by 6.30pm   
 

 

Attendance (1937)

Scouters:-                     GSM A. Ian Dunlop, SM John B. Hardie.

Troop Leader:-             Eoin Steel

Patrol Leaders:-           Lawrence Harvey; R.Grant

Second:-                        Archie Brown

Scouts:-                            Victor Clark; D.McKenzie; Ian Munro; Alexander (Sandy) Campbell; Nicol Smith

                                        H.Steel; Richard Leggat; George Kinnel: T. Harvey; I. McFarlane.

Visitors:-                          H. Waller Butter (DC for Greenock) for a weekend.

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In 1937, the troop returned to the same site that was used in 1936 with 14 Scouts attending (double the number attending in 1936). No doubt the success of the 1936 camp played a big role in encouraging other Scouts to attend. Unfortunately, they did not get the same fine weather experienced in 1936.