In this last Blog of 2025 we have a summary of the events coming up in the new year, a little bit of Fearnan history (the story of the much lamented shop and post office), some pics from the recent Mulled Wine and Mince Pies evening, a fond farewell to those we have lost this year and the Fearnan Book Club’s Book of the Year.

What’s On in January and February

Here are some dates for your brand new 2026 diary!

15th & 29th January Games Mornings: Join Frances and Lesley for some fun and gentle exercise playing table tennis, indoor curling, quoits, and quick board games.

This entertaining morning in relaxed company runs throughout the winter and there’s tea, coffee and Home Baking. We look forward to seeing you at Fearnan Hall 10am-12.00. Free admission.

27th January at 11.00: Baking for Burns Pop-Up. The FVA’s offering is not a Burns Supper, more of a Teacup Toast to Scotland’s most famous poet and lyricist and a celebration of the best traditional Scottish baking. £3.00pp in the village hall.

17^th February at 11.00: Pancake Pop-Up. Our annual pancake-fest returns with pancakes every which way – crêpe-style, drop scone-style and savoury blini-style! Whatever your preference, join us for freshly baked pancakes, straight from the griddle to the plate, and lots of toppings to go with them. £3.00pp in the village hall.

Fearnan Shop & Post Office 1881 – 2003

When Ian McGregor was writing his book Fearnan, The Story of a Highland Village of Northern Perthshire and setting up the Fearnan archive, he was given an old hand stamp that had been used in the Fearnan post office to frank local mail. It was gifted by Mary Robb, a former village postmistress and was gratefully accepted as a memento of the fact that Fearnan once had a post office. It was put on display in Fearnan Hall for a few years. After that, it was carefully wrapped and put safely in the archive.

However, the hand stamp has proved interesting in more ways than one. Firstly, it is a lot older than we had originally thought (and certainly Mary would never have used this in her time as postmistress). The second and the biggest surprise was that the cancellation mark reads ‘FERNIN P.O.’. Whilst it is not uncommon to find the village name spelt FERNAN in old documents, ‘Fernin’ is a first.

This prompted further research which now suggests that the hand stamp dates from 1881 when the first Post Office (described then as Fernin Post Office) opened in the village, operating from the Tigh-an-Loan Hotel. It seems that early GPO handstamps sometimes appeared with misspellings, especially in rural Scotland, where clerks often worked from handwritten, or Gaelic-derived, names. “Fernin” would fit that pattern — a simple early mistake later corrected in 1892 when a new hand stamp was issued, and it became Fearnan Post Office. The clerk responsible for the first PO probably spelt the name based on local pronunciation – which to this day remains at odds with the actual spelling, Fearnan, (or maybe it’s the spelling that is at odds with the pronunciation).

From a collector’s point of view, error cancellations on envelopes and postcards are highly interesting to postal historians. Misspelt cancellations do add value to old postcards or envelopes. Whilst they are not highly valuable, they are certainly more desirable than regular cancellations — particularly for anyone investigating Perthshire or early GPO errors.  The franking stamp itself could be one of the very few surviving examples of such early mistakes. A “Fernin” postmark on an old card would be a lovely find – if you have any Fearnan mail dating from the 1880s, do check it out and let us know!

As for the post office itself, in 1902, John Stewart, took over the tenancy of the Tigh-an-Loan Hotel along with the shop and post office, before purchasing the hotel and land outright in 1922.

His daughter Dolly took on the role of postmistress which she held from her youth until she retired in 1974. She also ran the shop which was busy enough at that time to require an assistant and, on a Friday, the hotel bus would be loaded with groceries and set off for Glen Lyon with Dolly at the wheel to deliver orders and to sell goods off the back of the bus.

Dolly Stewart (front row, right) is seen here with friends at the 1938 empire exhibition.

In 1961, the shop and post office moved from the hotel to a building on a separate site, also owned by the hotel, close to the War Memorial. Dolly continued as post mistress and shop manager and had her own unique take on security. Every evening, she would take all the cash, stamps and any other valuables and pop them into her shopping trolley (i.e. old-fashioned shopping bag on wheels) and take it all back to her room in the hotel. This arrangement proved to have merit, as not long after the move to the new site two men broke into the post office and somehow managed to manhandle the safe into their van. They drove round to the back of Drummond Hill where they proceeded to blow up the safe. But there were 2 surprises in store for them- not only was the safe completely empty (all valuables being safely tucked up with the peacefully sleeping Dolly), but the noise of the explosion drew attention and led to the ultimate apprehension of the two men and consequent charges.

After Dolly’s retirement, the post office and shop were run by George and Mary Robertson and in 1981, Mary and Ron Robb, returning from Guinea in West Africa, settled in Fearnan and bought the shop and PO. Mary, who had first worked for the GPO after she left school, was Post Mistress and Ron ran the shop.

Later, the PO and shop were taken over by Willie and Velme Ross, who rebuilt the shop and post office with living accommodation turning it into the building we know today as the Old Post Office. After they retired, the shop continued for a short while before both shop and PO closed forever in 2003, after just over 120 years.

Mulled Wine and Mince Pies

This year’s Mulled Wine and Mince Pies event was well attended and provided a welcome bit of pre-Christmas cheer. The atmosphere was lovely with lots of catching up going on.

Many thanks to all those who helped stage the event and prepare the mulled wine, food and the decorations.  It was run as a fund-raiser for Fearnan Hall, and we are delighted to report that, after expenses, Fearnan Village Association was able to remit a magnificent £230 to the Hall Committee. Thanks to everyone for their generosity, especially those who paid over and above the entry fee.

Fearnan’s Christmas Decorations

The Christmas lights went up on the tree at the Hall just before the Mulled Wine event (thank you to John and Neil) and this year, for the first time, Cath and Linda installed some Christmas greenery and a seasonal arrangement at the War Memorial.

Some Fond Farewells

Before we leave 2025, we need to pay tribute to those members of our community that we have lost this year. So many, that it feels as if a whole generation has gone. Here they are in alphabetic order, by first name:

Ian Marshall: Ian, a former Royal Marine Commando, moved to the area in 1989 and with his wife Winnie ran the Aberfeldy Spar for 3 years before moving to Fearnan in 1991.

Over the years of his retirement, Ian fuelled his seemingly unquenchable appetite for challenge by becoming something of an intrepid hill walker and mountaineer. Even after a long day on the hills, still possessed of an abundance of energy, he would appear at the weekly Friday night sessions of the Fearnan Scottish Country Dancing Club. 

From Commando to devoted carer of his wife Winnie, to supporter and mentor of others, Ian was very much a man of action and compassion, and we miss his infectious energy as well as his cheeky sense of humour.

Jo Millar: Joe was very active and always supportive of life in Fearnan. She was a talented artist and a leading light in the Fearnan Art Club for many years, as well as in the renowned Fortingall Art Fair. A founding member of, and an active participant in, the Fearnan Book Club, she was able to enjoy the celebration of its 10^th Anniversary earlier this year. Jo’s energy belied her years, whether on the golf course or undertaking long international trips and even in the last year she could be seen striding out on a Sunday, to walk from Fearnan to the church service in Fortingall – and back – despite offers of lifts from other members of the congregation.

Joyce Halden: Joyce and Alistair retired to Fearnan after 18 years teaching at Croftinloan School in Pitlochry. Joyce had 2 passions – music and gardening. Moving to Fearnan in 1994, she set about redesigning the acre of garden surrounding their new house. The extent to which the redesign was a success can be measured by the fact her garden was featured on the BBC’s Beechgrove Garden programme in 2001.

From 1997 to 2011, Joyce led the Fearnan Ladies Choir with the choir gathering every Monday morning in her house to rehearse. Regular concerts were held not just in the village hall, but in venues across Perthshire. Another Fearnan resident, Bob Woolley, would join them at their various engagements and entertain the audience by playing saxophone, clarinet and flute.

Joyce was always busy and on the go. She was friendly and helpful and always had a wee story to tell.

Mary Robb: Mary and her husband, Ron, came to Fearnan in 1981, having spent 7 years in Guinea, West Africa. They bought the Anchorage on the shores of the loch, as well as the local post office and shop. Mary, who had originally joined the Post Office when she left school, became Fearnan’s Post Mistress and Ron ran the shop – more often than not whilst still chuffing on one of his favourite Hamlets!

After Ron passed away, Mary moved from the Anchorage to Dalchiaran and developed a close friendship with Mhairi Taylor. Both were talented seamstresses and they set up a sewing club, although it is reported that the G&Ts flowed almost as fast as the stitches!

Latterly, Mary and Mhairi moved together into Abbeyfield House in Aberfeldy where they maintained their friendship right to the end.

Patricia Tinto: Patricia’s passing was very unexpected, coming after a short illness. Very friendly and approachable, Patricia had been enjoying coming to the Games Mornings where she was a ready participant in most activities, including indoor curling where she demonstrated some skill. 

For over 25 years, she was a hard-working member within the Church Guild and wider community, approaching various shops in and around Perth to provide, at a very minimal cost, the contents required for the backpacks which were filled by Guild members annually. Patricia could always be relied on to find a good bargain and get the best for her very appreciative recipients!

Losing so many from our community in one year has been hard, but these photos show the happy memories we have and that we will keep in our hearts forever.

Clockwise from top left: Ian Marshall, Jo Millar sketching and also celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Book Club, Joyce Halden with her husband Alistair, Patricia Tinto and special friend, Mary Robb with daughter Patsy.

Fearnan Book Club

Linda writes:

2025 was a significant year for the Fearnan Book Club. In January we celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the first meeting. 

Members have come and gone but the enthusiasm for sharing and discussing books has never waned. Over the years we’ve read a wide range of genres and have enjoyed books we possibly would not have picked off the book shelf to read ourselves. 

The end-of-year meal was at the Fortingall Hotel where the favourite book of the year was chosen.

This year, opinions were divided and there was no unanimous winner but The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn had the most votes and was declared the Fearnan Book of the Year.

Our next read which will be reviewed in January, is The Place of Tides by James Rebanks. 

From the No.1 bestselling author of The Shepherd’s Life, a ‘strange and enchanting’ story of friendship and redemption on a remote Norwegian island

And finally – Fearnan Village Association wishes all our members and readers a very Happy Christmas and the best of times in 2026!

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