Findo Gask is a small village in

Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. It is bordered by Highland (council area), Highland and Aberdeenshire to the north, Angus, Scotland, Angus, Dundee, and F ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, just off the main

A9 road This is a list of roads designated A9. * A009 road (Argentina), a road in the northeast of Santa Fe Province * ''A9 highway (Australia)'' may refer to : ** A9 (Sydney), a road linking Windsor and Campbelltown ** Port River Expressway, a limi ...

. It is in

Strathearn Strathearn or Strath Earn (), also the Earn Valley, is the strath of the River Earn, which flows from Loch Earn to meet the River Tay in the east of Scotland. The area covers the stretch of the river, containing a number of settlements in ...

. There are nearby remains associated with the Roman Road to the south and the Roman Frontier on the Gask Ridge. The area was associated with the family of Laurence Oliphant, and his granddaughter, the songwriter Lady Nairne, was born there. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, units of the

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

were stationed at Findo Gask Airfield (now disused). The woodlands around Findo Gask are known to be excellent sites for the collection of

truffles A truffle is the fruiting body of a subterranean ascomycete fungus, one of the species of the genus ''Tuber''. More than one hundred other genera of fungi are classified as truffles including '' Geopora'', '' Peziza'', '' Choiromyces'', and ' ...

, particularly black truffles, and truffle hunters can often be observed there during certain seasons. Gask House was built here in 1801 designed by

Richard Crichton Richard Crichton (died 1817) was a Scottish architect operating in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was described as "competent and versatile". Life He was born around 1771, the son of James Crichton (d.1797) an Edinburgh mason. ...

a pupil of

Robert Adam Robert Adam (3 July 17283 March 1792) was a British neoclassical architect, interior designer and furniture designer. He was the son of William Adam (architect), William Adam (1689–1748), Scotland's foremost architect of the time, and train ...

Derivation

''Gask'' refers to the nearby Gask Ridge. In

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

, a ''gasg'' is a projecting tail or strip of land. The name is shared with other local places including Nether Gask Cottage and Trinity Gask. ''Findo'' is a reference to Fynnoga or Findoca, a saint commemorated in the area. The village was once known as ''Fyndogask''. ("FINDO" is also an aviation

waypoint A waypoint is a point or place on a route or line of travel, a stopping point, an intermediate point, or point at which course is changed, the first use of the term tracing to 1880. In modern terms, it most often refers to coordinates which spe ...

in the vicinity.)FINDO
– OpenNav.com

In popular culture

Findo Gask is the name of a

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in Media (communication), media including f ...

in ''

Angel Fire East ''Angel Fire East'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks, the third and final novel in the '' Word & Void series'', a prequel to his ''Shannara'' series. It was first published in 1999 by Ballantine's Del Rey division. The novel ...

'' and ''

Armageddon's Children ''Armageddon's Children'' is a fantasy novel by American writer Terry Brooks, the first in his trilogy '' The Genesis of Shannara'', which bridges the events of Brooks' '' Word and Void'' trilogy with his '' Shannara'' series. It takes place in ...

'', part of a series of

epic fantasy High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot. Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Pres ...

novels by

Terry Brooks Terence Dean Brooks (born January 8, 1944) is an American writer of fantasy fiction. He writes mainly high fantasy, epic fantasy, and has also written two film novelizations. He has written 23 New York Times Best Seller List, ''New York Times'' ...

. The short story ''Findo Gask'' by Elizabeth E. Wein appears in the anthology ''Concussion'' published for the 57th British National Science Fiction Convention (April 2006), edited by Bridget Bradshaw, Farah Mendlesohn and Peter Young.

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

-based

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

band

Findo Gask Findo Gask is a small village in Perth and Kinross in Scotland, just off the main A9 road. It is in Strathearn. There are nearby remains associated with the Roman Road to the south and the Roman Frontier on the Gask Ridge. The area was assoc ...

are named after the village. ''On the Origin of Findo Gask'' is a book by David McCreight, about the coming of age of a teenager in the Black Isle of Scotland.

Notable people

* Robert Gardiner, cricketer and curler

References

* {{authority control Villages in Perth and Kinross