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Locations of the Lowlands (Ch. I-V)

Essendean - David comes from Essendean, a fictional English-speaking, Scottish Lowland village. According to Ian Duncan, Essendean would have been in the Scottish Borders in Ettrick Forest, Selkirkshire. South of Edinburgh, the minister of Essendean, Mr. Campbell, refers to it as a two-days walk from the village to the House of Shaws in Cramond (Stevenson 8).

Cramond – The House of Shaws, the estate occupied at the time by is Uncle Ebenezer which David is to inherit from his deceased father, resides in Cramond, a village northwest of David’s childhood home in Essendean. Another English-speaking community of the Lowlands, David first encounters the house in Chapter II, “I Come to My Journey’s End” where he meets his scheming uncle. The house that is said to have inspired the House of Shaws is shown in the image above.

Queensferry – A coastal town west of Edinburgh, Uncle Ebenezer takes David to Queensferry when summoned upon by Captain Hoseason of the Covenant in Chapter V, “I Go to the Queen’s Ferry.” It is from here that the brig sets off with the intention to take David to the Carolinas.

Locations of or Encountered at Sea (Ch. VII-XIII)

The Firth of Forth – An estuary of Scotland’s River Forth, the Firth of Forth meets Queensferry and Edinburgh. It is the body of water that the Covenant sets out upon on its journey in Chapter VII, “I Go to Sea in the Brig Covenant of Dysart.”

Herbrides – An archipelago off the northwest coast of Scotland, it is in the vicinity of Hebrides that the Covenant runs over a small boat, killing all its crew members save Alan Breck Stewart in Chapter IX, “The Man with the Belt of Gold.” It is here than Alan comes aboard the brig and begins a series of clashes with Captain Hoseason, Mr. Riach, Mr. Shuan, and the rest of the crew. He also meets David at the time.

Torran Rocks – When Alan Breck Stewart sends the crew of the Covenant through the Torran Rocks, a group of small islands southwest of the Isle of Mull and Earraid, it is only a matter of time before the ship strikes a reef and begins its descent into the sea in Chapter XIII, “The Loss of the Brig.” Although David is separated from his new friend and the rest of the crew, he catches a spar from the brig and allows the flow of the water to lead him to the tidal island of Earraid.

Locations of the Highlands (Ch. XIV-XXVI)

Earraid – After the Covenant sinks, David stumbles upon the isle of Earraid, a sub-island of the Isle of Mull, in Chapter XIV, “The Islet.” It is here that David “[begins] the most unhappy part of [his] adventures” (Stevenson 82). He spends over three days and nights gathering food and looking for means of escape and becomes weary in the process. His stumble across the isle accounts for his first impressions of the Scottish Highlands and the natives there: he encounters a pair of Gaelic-speaking fishermen who cannot understand his plea for help. It is not until David realizes the presence of the low tide that he is able to cross the water and continue into the Isle of Mull.

Torosay (Glenforsa) – After his escape from Earraid, David treks through the Isle of Mull in Chapter XV, “The Lad with the Silver Button: Through the Isle of Mull” and questions Highlanders regarding the whereabouts of Alan. He discovers that his friend has made his way to his own country of Appin, and receives guidance to Torosay, the fictional coastal town from which David is to cross the Sound of Mull by ferry. It is here that David comes to an inn where he receives further help from an innkeeper who is of the Highlander clan of Maclean, the clan in control of Torosay at the time. Since the town is not a real place, Torosay would have been in or near Glenforsa, a region on the eastern coast of the Isle of Mull and northeast of Earraid.

The Sound of Mull – The Sound of Mull is the body of water that runs between the Isle of Mull and the mainland Scotland, and so David must cross it to regain Alan’s company in Appin. The ferry that David takes across the Sound leads him from Torosay in the Isle of Mull to Kinlochaline in Morven. Since both shores are under the influence of the Maclean clan, many of their members are on the boat with David at the crossing. It is also on this ferry that David befriends one of Alan’s clansmen, Neil Roy Macrob.

Kinlochaline – Like Torosay, Kinlochaline is also a fictional town under control of the Maclean clan, although in Morven on mainland Scotland, perhaps near the real-life Kinlochaline Castle. It is here that the ferry David takes across the Sound of Mull lands in Chapter XVI, “The Lad with the Silver Button: Across Morven.” It is also at Kinlochaline that David receives further guidance from Neil as to how to proceed across Morven in search of Alan. He stays the night at an inn in the town where he meets a catechist named Mr. Henderland who accompanies him for a short time on his journey east.

Loch Linnhe – Running between Morven and Appin, it is Loch Linnhe that David crosses via boat with Mr. Henderland in Chapter XVII, “The Death of the ‘Red Fox’” in his attempt to find Alan in his home country. David notes that the boatman would have passed through the connecting eastern Loch Leven to drop him off at Balachulish, but David insists he lands instead earlier to keep hidden from redcoats, King George’s soldiers that are enemies to Alan and his clan. Therefore, he finds shore instead in the Woods of Lettermore (Stevenson 103).

Woods of Lettermore – After being dropped off at Lettermore in Appin, David’s luck runs short when he encounters the nemesis of Alan’s clan, Colin Roy Campbell, or the “Red Fox,” in Chapter XVII, “The Death of the Red Fox.” The Red Fox is accompanied by a servant, a lawyer, and an officer of the King. When the Red Fox is shot and killed by a sniper from the trees, David becomes a conspirator in the murder. After finding Alan in the trees, who denies that he was the killer, the two decide to accompany one another in their escape, for they are now both criminals of the state. From here they flee southeast to Aucharn.

The House of James of the Glens (Duror) – In Chapter XIX, “The House of Fear,” David and Alan arrive at the house of one of Alan’s clansmen, James of the Glens, said to be in Aucharn. However, the house is depicted by the original map as being near of the town of Duror to the northwest. It is here that they receive rest and provisions and inform James and the other Stewarts of the death of the Red Fox. After discussing the danger that is now upon them all, the pair continues east through Appin.

Cluny’s Cage (Ben Alder) – After several days of a desperate flight east through the heather in chapters XX-XXII, primarily resting by day and traveling by night with the redcoats at their tail, David and Alan encounter a group of wild Highlanders acting as sentries for Cluny Macpherson in Chapter XXIII, “Cluny’s Cage.” Cluny is the chief of the Macpherson clan and leader of a rebellion that supports the Stewarts in their opposition against the Campbells. Alan convinces Cluny to provide them shelter in his hideout known as Cluny’s Cage, located on the mountain of Ben Alder. It is here that David becomes upset with Alan for gambling and losing money to Cluny, causing David to successfully beg for it back. The first image is an illustration of the encounter in the “Cage” itself, whereas the second shows Ben Alder.

Loch Errocht – Located east of Ben Alder, Cluny’s sentries provide passage to Alan and David through Loch Errocht in Chapter XXIV, “The Flight in the Heather: The Quarrel.” It is on the other side of this loch and before the crossing of Loch Rannoch that David and Alan first begin their disagreement over the affairs at Cluny’s Cage.

Loch Rannoch – Southwest of Loch Errocht is Loch Rannoch, the second loch that Cluny’s gillies help David and Alan across. Neither of the travelers are fond of the land, for Alan regards it as “one of the dowiest countries in Scotland,” and that “there’s [nothing there] but heath, and crows, and Campbells” (Stevenson 151). In addition, David recounts that his anger with Alan was “rendered the more dreadful by the gloom of the weather and the country” (Stevenson 152). This region also accounts for the height of the quarrel and near duel between David and Alan, resolved only when David’s weariness takes over and Alan agrees to help David walk on to Balquhidder.

Balquhidder – Alan assists an ill David to a house in Balquhidder, a region in Appin south of Loch Rannoch where “no great clan held rule; it was filled and disputed by small septs and broken remnants, and what they call ‘chiefless folk,’ driven … by the advance of the Campbells … Here were Stewarts and Maclarens, … [and the] clan of the Macgregors” (Stevenson 158). It is here at the house of a Maclaren, with a host named Duncan Dhu, in Chapter XXV, “In Balquhidder,” that David regains his strength within a few weeks. During this time, Alan and a Macgregor named Robin Oig quarrel. It is eventually settled by a duel with pipes, a Scottish instrument.

Limekilns – When David regains his health in the Maclaren house in Balquhidder, David and Alan trek southeast on the last leg of the flight toward Limekilns, a village along the northern coast of the Firth of Forth. It is here in Chapter XXVI, “The End of the Flight: We Pass the Forth,” that the pair finds themselves in a small change-house in the presence of a servant girl. Alan tricks by telling her that David is dying to gain passage across the Forth and into Queensferry. Despite David’s objection to Alan, the lie proves successful.

Locations of the Lowlands upon David's Return (Ch. XXVI-XXX)

The Firth of Forth – David finds himself upon the waters of the Forth again in Chapter XXVI, “The End of the Flight: We Pass the Forth.” This time, Alan accompanies in the last stretch of their escape from the redcoats in Appin.

Queensferry – David returns to Queensferry with Alan in Chapter XXVII, “I Come to Mr. Rankeillor” to speak to the local lawyer Mr. Rankeillor about his entitlement to the House of Shaws. However, David comes to the coastal town in low confidence as an outlaw of the King, with little money, and a story that he believes will be hard for the lawyer to buy.

Cramond – David returns to the House of Shaws in Chapter XXVIII, “I Go in Quest of My Inheritance” to confront his uncle and obtain the house as his property with the assistance of Alan and Mr. Rankeillor.

Corstorphine Hill – In Chapter I, “I Set Off upon My Journey to the House of Shaws,” David says that after he leaves his father’s house for the last time, “the sun began to shine on the summit of the hills as I went down the road” (Stevenson 7). The reference to the light upon the hill foreshadows the novel’s concluding scene in Chapter XXX, “Good-bye!” on Corstorphine Hill. Although not the same geographic landmark, it still provides the notion that the story has come full circle: “We came the by-way over the hill of Corstorphine; and when we got near to the place called Rest-and-be-Thankful, and looked down on the Corstophine bogs and over the city and the castle on the hill, we both stopped” (Stevenson 194). The first image provided is a view of modern Edinburgh, much like David’s account. It is also here in the final chapter that he and Alan go their separate ways after the House of Shaws is officially given to David. Since the novel itself is a major component of local literary history, a statue of David and Alan, as seen in the second image, has been erected by Alexander “Sandy” Stoddart in 2004 at a street junction just nearby the hill.

Locations Associated with Stevenson (not in Novel)

Skerryvore – A remote island west of the Scottish mainland where Stevenson’s uncle Alan Stevenson built a lighthouse. Inspired by the lighthouse, Stevenson’s home in Bournemouth, where he started writing Kidnapped, boasts the same name.

Bournemouth – The coastal English town where Stevenson wrote many of his most popular novels, including Kidnapped. He and his wife lived here between 1884 and 1887 before moving back to the United States. They took residence in a house called Skerryvore, named after the island on which his uncle built a lighthouse. Stevenson’s time here was characterized by respiratory illness, keeping him from leaving the house often. The first image depicts Bournemouth today and the second is of a modern photograph of the house Skerryvore.