a day ago
Scottish village that vanished without a trace in 18th century but lives on in old folklore
"That's the magic of the old Highlands, not everything needs to be on Google Maps to exist.'
Shrouded in mist and myth, Plummpton is a settlement that refuses to die quietly, despite being erased from modern maps. Located roughly 27 miles northwest of Stirling near an ancient stone marker, this elusive village has intrigued historians and travellers alike with its absence from contemporary records and presence in folklore.
According to Journee Mondiale, Scotland officially recognises 891 settlements. Yet Plummpton remains unacknowledged, existing only in fragments of historical documents, 18th-century cartography, and whispered accounts from local villagers.
It appears in three pre-1823 maps but vanished from all official records thereafter. Scottish Historical Society archivist Margaret Campbell refers to it as 'a genuine cartographic anomaly.'
Unlike the 7,000-plus ancient monuments meticulously documented across Scotland, Plummpton occupies a curious liminal space, missing from databases like the Scottish Place-Name Survey, which catalogues over 8,000 toponyms.
Campbell mysteriously said: 'Some places don't want to be found. They hide themselves in plain sight, waiting for the right person to come looking. That's the magic of the old Highlands, not everything needs to be on Google Maps to exist.'
Local folklore insists the area once held 12 to 15 stone cottages, and subtle indentations in the landscape suggest human habitation. The area is still referred to by nearby farmers as 'An Seann Baile' (The Old Town in Gaelic), even though no signage marks the spot.
Plummpton is not alone in its erasure. Scotland has several 'ghost communities' that were once thriving and are now consigned to memory.
One of the most notable examples is Binnend in Fife, once a booming shale oil town with 750 residents, now completely deserted.
While many lost towns linger on maps long after they're abandoned, Plummpton has done the opposite, vanished from cartography but enduring in memory.
The story of Plummpton may mirror that of other locations lost during the Highland Clearances between the late 1700s and mid-1800s.
Some local legends even suggest the village was deliberately unmapped during that turbulent time, possibly to erase its presence from political and economic reshaping of the region.
Journee Mondiale also reports that Plummpton was once known for its prized wool, sold in Edinburgh markets. Today, only topographical hints remain: shallow dips that may have been foundations and faint footpaths that speak of past movement.
Plummpton also seems to belong to a uniquely Highland cultural phenomenon, the idea of 'uamhas', or wonder-places. These are sites that oscillate between reality and legend, existing simultaneously in the physical world and the mythic.
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'Plummpton fits that definition perfectly,' said folklore expert Elspeth Grant. 'It's a place that lives more vividly in oral history and imagination than in archives.'
For those intrigued by Scotland's more mysterious corners, the Scottish Historical Society in Edinburgh holds the three original maps referencing Plummpton.
The site itself can be approached via the A84, with Loch Lubnaig nearby offering accessible parking and walking trails. The village of Strathyre provides accommodation and plenty of local lore from residents who still speak of the lost village as if it never truly left.
