Boswell's ballad tells of a drunken tailor from Lanark, a brownie, a kelpie and a fiery guardian spirit called Stilla, and it is a literary work and not a folk account. The rhyme itself is much older and is a nursery counting-style chain. Tinto is also often called a volcano, which the Biggar Archaeology Group says it never was.
Folklore & legend
The Kist and the Cup on Tintock Tap
Tinto Hill (Tintock Tap), near Thankerton
Rhyme and legend, undated; ballad 1803
- Evidence
- Long-standing local tradition
- Access
- Public footpath only
- Location
- 55.592, -3.663 (Parish-level only, treat as an area)
Sources: Wikishire, "Tinto" [other]; The History Press, "The Spirit of Tinto Hill" [other]; Biggar Archaeology Group, "History and Archaeology, Myth or Fact" [other]
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