New year! New Town!
This quarter The Scot Box is taking you to Comrie & St.Fillans. These two villages, located in the countryside of Perthshire, Scotland, are connected by Loch Earn and the River Earn that run alongside the A85. While the villages can be mistaken for sleepy towns, don't underestimate what they have to offer both the relaxed traveller and the family with small kids.
St. Fillans takes its name after the Celtic missionary Faolan who came to Scotland in the 6th
century AD from Munster, Ireland. Faolan, meaning 'Little Wolf' in Irish, set up his headquarters in Strath Fillan (named after himself) upon the hill of Dundurn in hopes to convert the local Picts of Perthshire to Christianity. While Faolan was considered a hermit, the fact that the town still bears his name and influence proves this did not stop him from what he set out to do in Scotland.
St. Fillans sits along the eastern end of Loch Earn, one of the deepest lochs in Scotland. The beautiful freshwater Loch of Earn is said to be named after Ireland, most likely due to it's connections to St. Fillan. The Loch itself stretches 7 miles with depths up to 87 meters, making it one of the deepest in Scotland.
If you travel from Loch Earn along the River Earn you will reach the Village of Comrie, meaning 'together flowing', which gained it's name from the Scots in the 7-8th century after they invaded the Picts. The Scots gave Comrie it's name due to the location as it is where the Earn meets up with the River Lednock and the River Artney. The Trio of rivers divide the village into sections that are only accessible by bridges.
Comrie is home to an array of Artists and even features it's own Rennie Mackintosh building. Charles Rennie Mackintosh is a well known Scottish Artist and Architect who highly influenced the designs of his time. Famed for his romantic Art Nouveau style (especially the Mackintosh rose), Mackintosh was commissioned to design a shop with flats (apartments) on the Comrie High Street in 1903. The building is now a landmark in Comrie and is a nod towards Scottish Baronial style. Today Comrie is home to many artists who know-of or are influenced by Rennie Mackintosh's designs, as well as the surrounding landscapes of Comrie. These artists can be seen within shops along the Comrie High Street and local events such as; The Scottish Craft Fair in the White Church, Comrie Fortnight (festival), and Comrie Open Studios where local artists open up their studios to the public to see them at work.
Want to visit Comrie & St.Fillans through The Scot Box? Order your box here before April 2023.
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