Strathyre (; from ) is a district and settlement in the

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 ...

local government district of

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 forms the south-eastern part of the parish of

Balquhidder Balquhidder ( or ) is a small village in Perthshire located north-west of Callander. It is administered by the Stirling (council area), Stirling council area of Scotland and is overlooked by the dramatic mountain terrain of the "Braes of Bal ...

and was, prior to the 1973 reorganisation of local government, part of

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

. It is within the bounds of the

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park () is a national park in Scotland centred on Loch Lomond and the hills and glens of the Trossachs, along with several other ranges of hills. It was the first of the national parks of Scotland, two nati ...

. In Gaelic, the district is Srath Eadhair and the village is An t-Iomaire Riabhach or an t-Iomaire Fada.

Location

The district of Strathyre extends from east of Balquhidder, following the

River Balvaig The River Balvaig () is a short river, approximately long, draining from the head of Loch Voil near Balquhidder in Scotland and then passing southwards through the village of Strathyre before flowing into the northern end of Loch Lubnaig. The ri ...

which flows out of

Loch Voil Loch Voil () is a small freshwater loch that lies to the west of Balquhidder in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It is a short, narrow loch. It is separated from Loch Doine by fluvial deposits from the Monachyle Burn and is drained at its e ...

, almost due south to

Loch Lubnaig Loch Lubnaig () is a small freshwater loch near Callander in the Stirling council area, Scottish Highlands. It lies in the former county of Perthshire. It is part of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. The loch nestles in the spa ...

. The

is 8 kilometres in length, almost all of which lies in Strathyre. It falls by around 5 metres between Loch Voil and Loch Lubnaig. The

A84 road The A84 is a major road in Scotland, United Kingdom. It links the city of Stirling with Lochearnhead, running an approximate . Road safety The A84 between M9 Junction 10 and Lochearnhead has a poor road safety record, according to EuroRAP. In ...

and the route of the former

Callander and Oban Railway The Callander and Oban Railway company was established with the intention of linking the sea port of Oban to the railway network. This involved a long line from Callander through wild and thinly populated terrain, and shortage of money meant that ...

run through the

strath A strath is a large valley, typically a river valley that is wide and shallow (as opposed to a glen, which is typically narrower and deep). Word and etymology An anglicisation of the Gaelic word , it is one of many that have been absorbed i ...

, as does the old 18th century military road. The village is also on

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout the United Kingdom, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the charity Sustrans who were aided by a £42.5 million N ...

Route 7 which connects Balloch on the southern banks of Loch Lomond with Aberfoyle, Strathyre, Callander, Lochearnhead and Killin. The Strathyre Forest, which extends well beyond the limits of Strathyre proper, is managed by the

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respons ...

, forming the easternmost part of the

Queen Elizabeth Forest Park Queen Elizabeth Forest Park is a forest park in the Scottish Highlands which extends from the eastern shores of Loch Lomond to the mountains of Strathyre. The forest park is one of six such parks in Scotland, and was established in 1953, the y ...

Literary associations

In September 1803

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poetry, Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romanticism, Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Balla ...

and his sister

Dorothy Dorothy may refer to: *Dorothy (given name), a list of people with that name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Dorothy'' (TV series), 1979 American TV series * Dorothy Mills, a 2008 French movie, sometimes titled simply ''Dorot ...

stayed in the village and took walks in the local hills. Wordsworth was inspired to write his poem '' The Solitary Reaper'' following his stay in the village.

Musical Associations

Bonnie Strathyre is a Scottish folk song inspired by the village. It has been recorded by numerous artists including Kenneth McKellar. Every year in early summer a music festival called the Strathyre Festival is held in the village.

Growth

The village of Strathyre is largely a Victorian creation, having grown up with the arrival of the

in the 1870s and the establishment of

Strathyre railway station Strathyre was a railway station located at the head of Loch Lubnaig, Stirling, in Strathyre. History This station opened on 1 June 1870 along with the first section of the Callander and Oban Railway, between Callander and Glenoglehead (origina ...

. The trainline and railway station closed in 1965. The resident population recorded by the

United Kingdom Census 2001 A nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th Census in the United Kingdom, UK census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194. The 2001 UK census was organise ...

was around 100. The village is a popular tourist centre, with nearby caravan parks, camp sites and chalets, and canoeing, cycling and walking facilities.

School

Strathyre has a small primary school with 40 pupils on the roll, drawn from a catchment area which includes Balquhidder. Gaelic is taught in the infant school, French in the upper primary. Local children normally travel to

McLaren High School McLaren High School is a state comprehensive, non-denominational secondary school in Callander, central Scotland. It was founded in 1892 by Donald McLaren, and is part of Stirling Council. The current school building has been in place since 1 ...

Callander Callander (; ) is a small town in the council area of Stirling (district), Stirling in Scotland, situated on the River Teith. The town is located in the historic county of Perthshire and is a popular tourist stop to and from the Highlands. De ...

for their secondary education.Strathyre Primary School on the website of Stirling Council
/ref>

References

External links

Strathyre Forest at forestry.gov.uk
Villages in Stirling (council area) {{Stirling-geo-stub