|
 St Fillans
lies at the eastern end of Loch Earn.
The village was laid out in the 19thC
by the Drummond family.
To the east of St Fillans lies the
remains of the ancient 7thC Pictish fort of Dundurn.
Loch
Earn Castle was situated on an island just off St Fillans. Now totally
ruined but once a stronghold of the MacNeishes from 1250 until mid 15thC.
In 1901 the railway arrived from Crieff and was extended along Loch Earn
in 1903.
There is a large hydro-electric power
station in St Fillans, fed from a dam at Loch Lednock high above the village.
You would be forgiven for missing the station though, it is underground and
was hewn out of solid rock.
Loch Earn basin was dug out by the
enormous erosional power of ice during the glacial periods of the last 2million
years. The deepest part (87m)
is located near the western end. It is 10.5 km from east to west and at it's
widest is 0.8 km. From here the River Earn flows east out of the Loch, down
through Strathearn and joins the River Tay Estuary 75 km away.
Further west along the southern edge
of Loch Earn is Ardvorlich House home of the Stewarts of Ardvorlich since
1589. Above is Ben Vorlich (985m) a steep sided pyramid shaped peak. This
is a popular climb and the views from the top are spectacular. |
