In The House Of The Laird

A Memory of Doune.

My parents were 'in service' to the local 'laird' who was Lord Doune, traditionally the eldest son of the Earl of Moray and owner of lands around Doune. Lord Doune owned the beautiful old mansion on the hill 1.5 miles north of Doune on the Callander road. My mother was the cook and my father the chauffeur and I sort of 'helped' here and there while I spent most of my time having adventures on the estate attached to the house.

When we arrived at Doune Lodge in 1948, the house was rented by Mr and Mrs Muir and their three sons and two daughters. The Muir family owned the Deanston cotton mill and all the houses that made up that town. Mr John Muir was the eldest son and heir to Sir John Muir (baronet) of Blairdrummond Castle (now an amusement and wildlife park) a few miles south of Doune on the road to Stirling. Sir John died and his son moved out of Doune Lodge and took up residence in the stately pile. The eldest son of the Earl of Moray soon arrived and set up an entirely different kind of house in Doune Lodge. Firstly Lord Doune was a young man (probably around 23) and he had a Morgan +4 sports car. He was also not an arrogant person because he took this servant's son for a spin along the main road at (seemingly) 100 miles per hour, wow! He was always pleasant and kind and never seemed to have a bad word for anyone. I don't know why but our family left Doune Lodge and moved to Ochtertyre House about 8 miles away and there my parents took up their usual roles in the house occupied by Colonel Dundas (a member of the Stirling family). The military man who lived here initiated the Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) in North Africa during World War 2. The Special Air Service (SAS) derived from LRDG.

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