St Fillans – A Walk on the Old Railway by Loch Earn
About 8 miles on foot.
St Fillans is a small village at the east end of Loch Earn.
Just above its houses runs the old railway line to Comrie, now a path for walkers and cyclists heading east down the strath. A walk out along it and back, then a look inside the little Victorian church in the village.
- The path
- A track climbs to the old line from the village, with a few short, steeper slopes along it.
- When to go
- All year.
The walk
The railway from Comrie reached St Fillans in 1901 and closed in 1951, and the community has been turning the line into the Loch Earn Railway Path. From the west end of the village, a track climbs past the hydro power station to join it.
Head east, by the old station, now a caravan park, with Dundurn Hill, once an Iron Age and later Pictish fort, across the River Earn. The path crosses the main road and the river at Tynreoch, and the old Dalchonzie Halt is about three and a half miles along; turn back wherever you like.
Some stretches cross fields with sheep or cattle. Bring a picnic.
If it rains
The walk goes ahead in waterproofs, with the church for a dry look round at the end.
Along the way
About 9 min on foot
Dundurn Parish Church
Back in the village, follow the main road east to Dundurn Parish Church on Manse Lane. Built in 1878 to a design by G T Ewing, it's a small stone church with a pointed porch and a bell tower, its grounds looking across Loch Earn. Inside are oak panelling, Celtic knotwork on the pulpit and communion table, and a stone font from the Middle Ages. It opens daily, with a service on Sunday at 11.30am.
Before you go
Book accommodation nearby
If you are staying over: here are ours nearest where the day starts and ends.
For further reading, before you go.