Scotland: Murder in Appin

It may have happened 250 years ago, says Simon Heptinstall, but an unsolved death still casts shadows over a Scottish loch

Why would anyone care about a murder that happened 250 years ago?

The Appin Murder is not simply Scotland's most famous unsolved murder; it is a poignant symbol of Scottish repression, a story of injustice set against the lost Jacobite cause. The killing of Colin Campbell was the inspiration for Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson, which has been filmed at least 18 times. Dr Jim Hunter, chairman of the Highlands and Islands Enterprise Board, published another book about the case last year and an 89-year-old woman made local headlines by claiming she was breaking clan Stewart's 250-year-old silence by revealing the name of the murderer. This year is the 250th anniversary of the Appin Murder, so expect yet another explosion of interest.

So what was the Appin Murder?

The Appin branch of the Stewart clan fought on the side of Bonnie Prince Charlie. After the bloody defeat at Culloden, their land was confiscated. Much of it was given to the rival Campbell clan, who supported the Hanoverian throne. So when Colin Campbell, an unpopular government land agent dubbed "The Red Fox", was shot in the back as he rode through the wooded slopes around Loch Linnhe, the main suspect was Alan Breck Stewart, a colourful local firebrand. A huge military manhunt around the area, the heart of Appin Stewart territory, and across the Highlands failed to find Breck and he resurfaced in France years later denying the crime. (Incidentally, in the 1971 film Kidnapped, Alan Breck was played by a Sassenach, Michael Caine, to the horror of many Stewarts.)

So what happened next?

The government demanded a visible culprit for "the most daring and barefaced insult to be offered to His Majesty's authority". Alan Breck's stepfather, a popular farmer known as James of the Glen, was arrested instead. James was a community-minded Stewart chief who had fostered many orphaned children, as was traditional in those times. But if he represented what was good about the clan system, his trial in the Campbell town of Inverary was a notorious example of all that was bad. Eleven of the 15 jurors were Campbells, including four called Colin. The judge was a Campbell chief. James made a moving plea to them saying: "I am as innocent as a child unborn." Not surprisingly James was convicted, then hanged near his house. His skeleton was eventually wired together and left dangling for nine years as a warning to any other unruly clansmen.

Poor guy. Is there anything to see now?

Exploring scenes associated with the Appin Murder is a great excuse to wander around the western end of Glencoe. and some of Scotland's greatest scenery. The exact site of Campbell's murder is marked by a large stone cairn. Follow signs from the A828 along a beautiful forest path up the wooded slopes above the loch. There is an eerie atmosphere under the dark trees and it is only too easy to imagine an assassin is out there somewhere, waiting ...

The place of James's execution is a hillock at the south end of Ballachulish Bridge. There's an information board and an obelisk supporting a quartz boulder where poor James used to sit and look out over his land. And if you can take your eyes away from the magnificent view across the loch, there's an inscription saying James was "executed for a crime of which he was not guilty".

The gun used in the murder is believed to be the long Spanish hunting musket displayed in the quaintly interesting West Highland Museum at Fort William (entry £2), 10 miles north. It is known, rather wonderfully, as "The Black Gun of Misfortune". After the murder it was found, somewhat implausibly, in the branches of the yew tree which still stands next to Ballachulish House, where the Stewarts held the wake for James.

A few miles south in Glen Duror, signs point to a couple of simple whitewashed farmhouses where James lived. Wooden signs will lead you up the glen on forestry tracks to the lonely spot where James was born. (The walk takes about two hours.) The ruins of his family's cottage are next to a tumbling stream through the woods. The mountains looming over the grimly remote site are magnificent.

James's bones were finally retrieved by his daughter and buried at a 17th-century chapel at Keil. The gate was locked when I visited and a sign said "No unauthorised entry". There are plans to provide car parking and access to the church ruins but these are unlikely to be sorted in time for the 250th anniversary. Colin Campbell is buried at Ardchattan Priory, 10 miles south on Loch Etive, which has splendid gardens open to the public (entry free).

Is anything special happening for the 250th anniversary?

A programme of events and exhibitions is planned for this summer helped by funding from US clan societies. There will be also displays at the National Museum in Edinburgh and Glencoe Visitor Centre. A leaflet explaining the story and sites to visit is due to be available from tourist information centres in Oban, Ballachulish and Fort William. More car parking, signs and information boards are also planned.

You can even stay at Ballachulish House (01855 811266; www.ballachulishhouse.com) – the 17th-century Stewart laird's house at centre of murder drama – which stands in an astonishing lochside location framed between two towering peaks. The house is about 12 miles south of Fort William. From Edinburgh take the motorway towards Stirling M90, then take the A84 to the A85 and on to Crienlarich. Follow the A82 to Ballachulish and take the Oban road A828 under the Ballachulish bridge. The house is on the left at the Dragon's Tooth Golf Course. From Glasgow take the Loch Lomond Road A82 to Crienlarich and follow directions as above.

The restaurant is excellent (two AA rosettes, five-star Taste of Scotland). Bed and breakfast costs from £40 per person per night, dinner £30.

Run those books past me again?

The Killing of the Red Fox, Seamus Carney (available through libraries). Kidnapped, Robert Louis Stevenson (Penguin, £3.99) Culloden and the Last Clansman, Dr Jim Hunter (Mainstream Publishing 2001, £11.99).