DANIELL, William (1769-1837)
Loch-na-gael, Isle of Mull

© National Library of Scotland.
William Daniell image supplied by the National Library of Scotland for use in the LEMA Project.

[Plate 42]

Loch-na-Gael

"The next subject is a VIEW ON LOCH-NA-GAEL, NEAR KNOCK, including Ben-Talla, and other mountains, which rise from its shores. Near the rocks in the foreground are introduced some seals basking in the position in which these amphibious animals are frequently observed on the lonely coasts of these islands. The mansion seen in the distance is Knock, the hospitable residence of Colonel Donald Campbell. It stands near the extremity of the loch, on the western boundary of that isthmus which separates it from the bay of Aros on the sound of Mull. The mountain scenery represented in this view may be considered as generally characteristic of the bleak and rugged surface of the island. The only parts susceptible of cultivation are the valleys and glens around the bases of the bills, and some small strips of land near the coast; in many of these spots, as the sun shines on them for only a few hours, vegetation is retarded, and the harvest is always late, and very precarious. The climate is considered as having become still more unpropitious to agriculture since the disappearance of the ancient woods of the country; and it has been asserted, that as this disappearance originated in an unfavourabIe change of the seasons in Britain, no remedy can ever be effected to any extent by plantation. It is said that trees, which flourished here in former ages, cannot now, by any care or attention, be brought to a thriving state..."

Source: Extract from DANIELL, William. A Voyage Round Great Britain [1813-1823].

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