Overview of Tyndrum

A small village in NW Stirling Council Area at the head of Strathfillan, Tyndrum lies 37 miles (60 km) northwest of Stirling. Pilgrims once came to St. Fillans Priory, 1½ miles (2.5 km) to the southeast, to bathe in the curative waters of the nearby Holy Pool. Tyndrum is a key service centre for tourism and the surrounding farming community and is situated just south of the junction of roads leading to Oban and Fort William that were initially built as military roads in the mid-18th century. Lead was first mined nearby in the 1740s by Sir Robert Clifton and gold was discovered in the 19th century, with a short-lived gold-rush bringing an influx of people. In the 1870s Tyndrum became a rail head and then a railway hub with two stations (Tyndrum Upper on the West Highland Line and Tyndrum Lower on the Oban branch) serving a growing number of anglers and hill walkers. Britain's only gold mine is still to be found nearby at Cononish, but it operates only when gold prices make it economically viable.