About Stories of the Land

Stories of the Land is a community heritage project exploring how people and the landscape in Killin, Tyndrum, Crianlarich and the surrounding area have shaped each other over time.

This is a place where land and people have always been in conversation. The hills, glens and waterways of this part of Scotland have been farmed, grazed, mined, planted, walked and loved for centuries. And as the land has changed, so have the communities living alongside it. Stories of the Land exists to capture that relationship, to understand how it has shifted across generations, and to explore what it means today.

Bringing together oral histories, photographs and archival material, the project builds a living picture of life in the area, shaped by the work people did, the ways they moved through the landscape, and the communities they built within it.

A project that grows over time

This is not a fixed archive or a finished record. It is something the community builds together over the years, a growing body of stories that deepens with every conversation, every photograph shared, and every memory offered. The more people contribute, the richer and more complete the picture becomes.

What we have discovered so far

The stories gathered so far reveal how dramatically the relationship between people and land has changed. We have heard about generations of farmers and shepherds who knew every corner of the hills, and about how shifting economics and land ownership have transformed the way the same ground is used today. Forestry changed the shape of the landscape. Tourism brought new eyes to places that locals had long taken for granted. And debates around gold mining in the hills speak to an older, ongoing tension between the land as a place to live and the land as a resource to be extracted.

We have learned how buildings carry that history. The church that became the Artisan Café is one of many examples of how spaces evolve in use while staying rooted in community life. The railways that once connected these settlements to the wider world shaped patterns of movement and trade that still echo in how the area functions today.

And we have gathered stories that simply could not be found in any written record: memories of working the land across decades, of communities pulling together through hard seasons, and of ways of life that shaped this glen long before any of it was documented.

Why it matters

With an ageing population and significant demographic change, many of these stories are held by people whose experiences reach back across decades of change. This project exists to make sure those voices are heard, recorded and passed on.

But Stories of the Land is about more than preserving the past. It is about helping communities understand where they come from as they think about where they are going, connecting heritage with the conversations that matter most today around land use, sustainability and the future of rural life in Scotland.

Wild Strathfillan

Stories of the Land is part of the Wild Strathfillan project, coordinated by Loch Lomond & The Trossachs Countryside Trust. Find out more about the impact on people and nature in the film below.

Where to Start?

There are many ways to explore Stories of the Land. You can learn more about the people and organisations behind the project, meet the contributors whose voices bring these stories to life, or browse the collection by theme: Railways, Heritage, Farming, Forestry, Tourism, Community and Mining.

We would also love to hear from you, particularly if you have a story to share or would like to volunteer. If you would like to support this work, you can do so via either of the two community trusts behind the project.