Laggan is a working Highland Village with a reputation for adventurous rural initiatives such as the Laggan Forestry Project. It provides an ideal base for day trips, for instance Loch Ness, (we are midway between Cairngorm and Ben Nevis, Inverness and Fort William) or for local exploration of the Monadhliath mountains, Strathmashie Forest, Loch Laggan, Creag Meagaidh Nature Reserve, the Corrieairack Pass, the River Spey and many tracks and paths. Fishing and pony trekking are available.
The present Parish Church in Laggan was built by Thomas Telford in 1785 and the Duke of Gordon acted as patron. The Minister at the time was Rev. James Grant and the manse was the house at Gaskbeg Farm and he was allowed £20 in lieu of a manse and his stipend was £70. It was however his wife Mrs Anne Grant who is celebrated and remembered for her writings especially Letters from the Mountains. Her comments reveal the nature of life in the Highlands at the end of the eighteenth century.
In the 1800's there was a fire in the church and the interior was rebuilt as it is today. The pine was taken from local forests and the eight pine pillars that hold up the roof are reputed to be unique. The high pulpit and Precentors pulpit below are very distinctive. Cluny Macphersons facing the pulpit and Glentruim on the left hand side. It is interesting to note the width of the seats, how they diminish towards the back, where it was standing room only for the coachmen. The stained glass window was also put in at this time.
A minister of note was the Rev. Neil Ross who was the minister from 1923 until his death in 1943. Dr Ross was a famous Gaelic and Celtic scholar and was created a C.B.E. in 1938. The organ was donated by Andrew Carnegie in 1911. The church is very active today with its members taking part in all facets of community life.
