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"Stucan-T-iobairt" is a Gaelic phrase (pronounced 'Stookan Cheepert') whose approximate translation is 'Place of Shelter'; the cottage stands within these grounds.

The origins of the cottage were settled amidst the great Scottish Rebellion of 1745, the year General George Wade, the English Commander-in-Chief, was ordered by the King to deal with the rebellious Scottish highlanders. Wade built a series of forts, bridges and roads to enable troops to patrol the region. The remains of one of the roads can still be seen within the cottage grounds.

The King's Tree
Situated in the cottage grounds

In 1306 King Robert the Bruce met with two defeats in a row: the first was MethvenWood by the Earl of Pembroke; the second was at Dalrigh by McDougall of Lorne trying to avenge the death of Red Comyn at Bruce's hand. Safety for his 200 followers now lay across the waters of Loch Lomond, but the problem was transportation. Sir James Douglas, one of Bruce's closest friends, saved the day: he found a leaky boat which could hold three at a stretch. Bruce, Douglas and an oarsman tested the boat's viability by trying to reach the west shore whilst bailing out the water. Ferrying back and forth, it took a whole night and a day for the 200 to cross, some finding it quicker to swim. Tradition ascribes this as the yew tree by which Bruce entertained his troops with tales of valour and a singalong whilst waiting until the last of his men were safely across. It is situated at Stuc an t-Iobairt (pronounced stookan cheepurt), about 100 yards south of Firkin Toll House (NN 334012). It was quite old even in Bruce's day. The rivers Douglas and Inveruglas ('mouth of the Douglas') marked the boundary of land notionally gifted to Sir James Douglas by Bruce for procuring that boat. 

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