Callander Meadows ....

... and bridge over the River Teith.

St Kessog, a disciple of Columba of Iona, preached and taught in this area in the sixth century AD. The mound just left out-of-shot and adjacent to the old Parish Graveyard, is known in Gaelic as 'Tom na Chessaig', meaning 'the Hill of Kessog'.

The bridge in the middle of picture connects the main street with Bridgend, the site of the original village. The 1739 plan by the Duke of Perth was used as a basis for the layout of the 'new town' of Callander in the 1770s. With its spacious square and broad Main Street it was the first planned rural town in Scotland.

With the development of the new town the Parish church was moved from its site near Tom na Chessaig to its present position in the north square, now named 'Ancaster Square' after the successor the the Duke of Perth, the Earl of Ancaster.

Taken this evening in the rain, given an oil painting effect via photoshop.