Fintry is a small riverside village in

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling ( ) is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of Scotland. Its county town is Stirling.Registers of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. It borders Perthshir ...

, central

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 ...

. It is located south-west of

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

and around north of

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 ...

Landscape

The village of Fintry sits by the

Endrick Water The Endrick Water or River Endrick () is a river which flows into the eastern end of Loch Lomond, Scotland. Its drainage basin covers a large part of the west of Stirling District. The Burnfoot Burn rising on the southern slopes of the Gargunnoc ...

in a strath between the

Campsie Fells The Campsie Fells (also known as the Campsies; ) are a range of hills in central Scotland, stretching east to west from Denny Muir to Dumgoyne in Stirlingshire and overlooking Strathkelvin to the south. The southern extent of the range falls wi ...

and the

Fintry Hills The Fintry Hills form the western end of a range of hills which stretch west from the city of Stirling, Scotland. They culminate in the peak of Stronend, which overlooks Strathendrick and the village of Fintry. The northern, western and southe ...

. The village of Fintry is overlooked by

Stronend Stronend (511 m) is the highest peak of the Fintry Hills in Stirlingshire, Scotland. Standing above the village of Fintry, it provides excellent views of Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; ) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland ...

, the culmination of the

, which forms the western end of a range of hills which stretch east to the city of

. The

Loup of Fintry Loup of Fintry is a notable waterfall on the River Endrick around 2 miles to the east of Fintry in Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the Unit ...

, is a notable 94ft waterfall on the

around 2 miles to the east of a Fintry. This is best seen after prolonged rain or snowfall. The total height of the waterfalls is 28.6 m (94 ft). ''Lowp'' or "Loup" means leap in Scots.

Preservation

Local Landscape Area (LLA)

The name Fintry is said to have derived from the Old Gaelic for "Fair Land" and is designated as a Local Landscape Area (LLA) (formally called a Special Landscape Area or Area of Great Landscape Value). This designation is with the aim of protecting the village and its surroundings outstanding natural environment.

Conservation Area

Stirling Council has classified Fintry as a Conservation Area in order to preserve the settlement's particular historical shape and character. Fintry Conservation Area is centred on its long Main Street, which is located on the river's south bank, across the Fintry Bridge from the historic Culcreuch Mill site. 150 of the 700 strong population living within the Fintry Conservation area.

Facilities

Schools

The village has a local primary school, which was opened on 22 September 1961 by the Rt. Hon. Thomas Johnston. There is also an attached council run nursery, Fintry Nursery. Both the nursery and primary school serve Fintry and the surrounding rural district.

Fintry Nursery

The Nursery has two rooms and a kitchen, it recently underwent major refurbishment and was awarded a five star inspection in February 2023.

Fintry Primary School

Fintry Primary School is at the foot of Dunmore Hill, and has five classrooms, one of which is adapted into a library, with and an assembly hall. The school has grounds, incl. a school garden, an all-weather pitch, a trim trail and a woodland area. There is a "School Taxi" provided by the council to pick up and drop off children from the surrounding rural areas.

Balfron High School

Fintry is within the catchment area of

Balfron High School Balfron High School is a Secondary education in Scotland, secondary school situated in the village of Balfron, approximately 18 miles (29 km) west of Stirling and 16 miles (26 km) north of Glasgow. The catchment area extends over most o ...

, for which a school bus is provided.

Sport & Strathendrick RFC

The village has a Sports Club, which includes a 4-rink indoor bowling hall, squash club and gym. The rugby pitches adjacent are home to Strathendrick Rugby Football Club, a rugby union side founded in 1975 and based in the village. Strathendrick RFC 1st XV play in West Division One and has a tradition of touring; and it has toured in Kansas (1992) and Toronto (2001). They have an active mini and midi set up which works closely with local schools, including Fintry Primary School.

Fintry Public Hall

Fintry resident Sir Walter Menzies MP built the Menzies Hall to celebrate the coming of age of his son, James, in 1907. On 9 October 1908, Fintry Public Hall opened to the public. The building still operates under its current name ‘Menzies Hall’ in dedication to the man who gave it to the village. Menzies Hall is a community building run by local residents for the benefits of the village and surrounding area. The hall is still used as a village hall and hosts events, and clubs, including Fintry Amateur Dramatic Society.

Fintry Kirk

The Village of Fintry is served by

Fintry Kirk Fintry Kirk is in the village of Fintry in Stirlingshire, Scotland. Fintry is a Church of Scotland Parish in the Presbytery of Stirling. The kirk is located to the East of the village. The parish minister for Fintry is shared with Balfron with ...

, a

Church of Scotland Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

in the Presbytery of Stirling. The

kirk Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning 'church'. The term ''the Kirk'' is often used informally to refer specifically to the Church of Scotland, the Scottish national church that developed from the 16th-century Reformation ...

is located to the East of the village, in "Old Fintry". The parish minister for Fintry is shared with

Balfron Balfron () is a village in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It is situated near Endrick Water on the A875 road, 18 miles (29 km) west of Stirling and 16 miles (26 km) north of Glasgow. Although a rural settlement, it lies within ...

with the Manse located there.

Public Transport

There is no regular bus or train service in Fintry. Public transport is provided by the Stirling Council Demand-responsive transport (DRT) "Taxi" Service.

Economy

The Fintry Development Trust

The Fintry Development Trust (FDT) was created in 2003 by residents who wanted to "do something with renewable energy" in their community. When plans to establish a wind farm in the area were announced, they created Fintry Renewable Energy Enterprise (FREE) in 2003 and secured the addition of one community-owned wind turbine. In efforts to move the village towards zero-carbon and zero-waste, FDT has established several energy-saving activities, including a car-sharing programme, as well as a farming initiative and a communal orchard. FDT is doing energy surveys on properties around the village and insulating every home surveyed. To improve energy efficiency, the Trust installed a biomass heating system at Fintry Sports Club and a new heating system at Menzies Village Hall. FDT prioritises sustainable development, local jobs, youth housing, and skill development; sharing wind turbine benefits throughout the town and compensating village residents who are unable to benefit directly.

Businesses

Fintry Inn

Fintry has been served by the village pub the Fintry Inn for over 250 years, barring a period of closure during the pandemic. It is owned and operated by a local family and home to their micro-brewery, Mosaik Brewing. The Inn is said to be haunted by a non-threatening female ghost.

Fintry Sports Club

As well as being home to Strathendrick RFC, Fintry's Sports Club has a restaurant/cafe and bar, a shop (for essentials) and a gym with sauna.

Knockraich Farm

Home to The Courtyard Cafe, Katy Rodgers Artisan Dairy and The Tin Shed wedding venue, Knockraich Farm has been owned and managed by the Rodgers family since 1955.

History

Neolithic and Bronze Age

There is evidence of people living in the area as early at the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...

, up to 4,000 years ago. *Todholes

Cairn A cairn is a human-made pile (or stack) of stones raised for a purpose, usually as a marker or as a burial mound. The word ''cairn'' comes from the (plural ). Cairns have been and are used for a broad variety of purposes. In prehistory, t ...

- double ring cairn of the late Neolithic/earlier Bronze Age (3500 to 4500 years old) *Machar/Waterhead Stones - pair of

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

standing stones A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the European middle Br ...

"Old Fintry"

"Old" Fintry was formed around the Church area or Clachan of Fintry in the early 13th century.

Culcreuch Castle

Culcreuch Castle Culcreuch Castle is a Scottish castle close to the village of Fintry, near Loch Lomond. It had been the home of the Barons of Culcreuch since 1699. In the 1980s the castle was converted into a hotel, which it was run as until early 2020 when it ...

was also built in Fintry around this period, in 1296, and was the historic seat of the chiefs of the Galbraith clan until 1624 when a series of scandals lost them their status under

Scots Law Scots law () is the List of country legal systems, legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing Civil law (legal system), civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different histori ...

.Galbraith History
scotclans.com. Retrieved on 21 August 2007 From 1699, the Barons of Culcreuch resided there. The castle was converted into a hotel in the 1980s and operated as such until early 2020, bringing its 700-year lifespan to an end. Until 2020, it was Central Scotland's longest-inhabited castle. Culcreuch is a three-story, attic-topped rectangular tower house with a parapet and slate roof. The Napier family built the north and east expansions to the old tower about 1721, which match the original tower in style. The Castle is accessible by path from the village and is a popular local walk.

"New Fintry"

The small industrial ‘new town’ of Fintry (or "Newton of Fintry") developed north-west of the original clachan following the establishment of the Culcreuch cotton spinning mill by Peter Spiers in 1795. The mill and two small settlements were recorded in the mid-eighteenth century. the village had retained examples of former mill workers’ housing alongside traditional buildings from the later eighteenth and turn of the nineteenth centuries.

Notable people

* Sir Daniel Macnee (artist) (1806–1882) * Sir Walter Menzies MP (politician) (1856–1913) * Tom Johnston MP (politician) (1881–1965) *

Victor Carin Victor Carin (1 October 1933 – 2 January 1981) was a Scottish actor, director, and translator, who wrote for radio, television, film, and the stage.Corbett (2005), "Introduction", pp. xvii–xix. Carin was born in Aberdeen and grew up in Stone ...

(actor) (1933–1981) * Eric McCredie (musician) (1945–2007) * Right Hon Julian Smith MP (politician) (born 1971) * Stewart Campbell (sportsman) (born 1972)

Democracy

The 2011 census results report that Fintry and the surrounding rural area had a population of 717.

Local Government

The village is within the Forth and Endrick ward of

Stirling Council Stirling (; ; ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its merchants and tradesmen, the ...

. The Stirling Council Council Ward ( Forth and Endrick) representatives are: Rosemary Fraser (SNP), Gerry McGarvey (Labour), Paul Henke (Conservative)

Scottish Parliament

The

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

elects representatives under an additional member system (AMS). Fintry is in the Stirling Scottish Parliamentary Constituency, and the Mid Scotland and Fife Scottish Parliamentary region. This means that Fintry has one

MSP, Evelyn Tweed MSP (SNP), and seven Mid Scotland and Fife Scottish regional list MSPs.

House of Commons of the United Kingdom

Fintry is also in the Stirling constituency for House of Commons of the United Kingdom, where they are represented by Alyn Smith MP

References

External links

Fintry Community Council

Fintry Development Trust
{{Authority control Villages in Stirling (council area)