St Fillans
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|---|---|
 St Fillans, from the southern bank ofLoch Earn | |
  St Fillans Location withinPerth and Kinross | |
| Civil parish | |
| Council area | |
| Lieutenancy area | |
| Country | Scotland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CRIEFF |
| Postcode district | PH6 |
| Police | Scotland |
| Fire | Scottish |
| Ambulance | Scottish |
| UK Parliament | |
| Scottish Parliament | |
| 56°23′27″N4°06′44″W / 56.3907°N 4.1122°W /56.3907; -4.1122 | |
St Fillans is a village inPerthshire in the centralhighlands ofScotland, in thecouncil area ofPerth and Kinross. The village lies at the eastern end ofLoch Earn, 5 miles (8 km) west ofComrie on theA85 road, at the point where theRiver Earn leaves the loch.[1] St Fillans was a smallclachan in the 18th century, known as Port of Lochearn, or Meikleport. In 1817 it was renamed St Fillans by Lord Gwydyr, the husband of Clementina Drummond, heiress to the Drummond Estate.[2]
The pre-Reformationchurch, St Fillan's Chapel, whosekirkyard is the traditional burial place of the Stewarts of Ardvorlich, lies to the south of theRiver Earn, between St Fillans and theIron AgePictish hill fort ofDundurn.[2] It is believed that theIrishmissionarySaint Fillan lived on this hill.[2] Not far from the foot of the hill is the Allt Ghoineanburn which is claimed to be the Gonan or Monan ofSir Walter Scott's poemThe Lady of the Lake:[2]
There is a largehydro-electricpower station in St Fillans, fed from a dam atLoch Lednock high above the village.[3] The power station, which forms part of theBreadalbane Hydro-Electric Scheme, is not visible within St Fillans as it is underground and was hewn from solid rock. Thegolf course at St Fillans was created in 1903 byWillie Auchterlonie.
The section of the River Earn from St Fillans down toComrie, along with much of the surrounding countryside, is designated as anational scenic area (NSA).[4] It is one of 40 such areas in Scotland, which are defined to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection by restricting certain forms of development.[5] The River Earn (Comrie to St Fillans) NSA covers 12 square miles (3,108 ha) in total.[6]
The village became the scene of controversy in November 2005[7] when a housing development was halted to avoid killing thefairies who allegedly lived under a rock on the proposed site. After some negotiation, the new housing estate was redesigned so that the rock in question was preserved, in a small park in the centre of the estate.[8]
On the A85 just to the east of St Fillans lies the St Fillans Dragon and the St Fillans Toad.[9]
