Posts for February, 2024

We are getting together at Glenlivet Estate Office in Tomintoul to celebrate LGBT History Month with a special Rainbow Afternoon Tea, an LGBTQ+ Heritage Talk and a Pride Ideas Session to ask everyone what they might like to see as part of a Pride in the Cairngorms National Park.

Led by cultural interpreter Stef Lauer, the Heritage Talk will cover the lives of three very different LGBTQ+ people who all had links to the Park. This will start at 2.30pm and run until 3.15pm, including a Q&A. Then it’s over to Kath from Somewhere: For Us magazine from 3.30pm to guide us through a Pride Ideas session, collecting up everyone’s ideas and thoughts as part of a Park-wide consultation into the possibility of a new Pride next year.

Free tea, cake, chat and rainbow fun. See you there!

The Integrated Land Use Conference will take place in, and around Kingussie.

Organiser: UHI

The Integrated Land Use conference will take place 26 – 28 March 2024 in, and around Kingussie.

This year will be focussing on where we have come from and where we are going in terms of land management and use. What has changed and what has worked. Many aspects will be discussed like community, attitude/behaviour evolution, inclusivity, diversity, forestry, agriculture, wildlife and game management, energy, tourism and many more exciting topics.

The event will be packed with a mix of field-based and conference-style activities and talks. The speakers will share their knowledge and specialist expertise in the sector, and it will be a fantastic networking opportunity. We are looking forward to seeing you all at the conference.

Following a very successful and popular 2023 Youth Challenge, the event will return in 2024 and again hosted at Badaguish by the Speyside Trust.

This popular fundraising event has will again be an exciting weekend with Problem Solving and Skills Development as well as Orienteering and Camping.

Teams of 4 of school pupils aged 13-16 will compete by age group.

* Please email events@badaguish.org should you wish further information or are considering entering a team.

Our Branch Line winter services set off from Platform 3 at Aviemore station. The return journey lasts around 1 hour and 40 minutes and takes you on a twenty-mile round trip stopping at Boat of Garten station (which may look familiar to passengers as it recently starred in the BBC Traitors programme) and passing through Broomhill station before returning to Aviemore. Broomhill station is also known to many as Glenbogle station, from the still popular Monarch of the Glen TV series.

The train passes moorland, through woods, and alongside the meandering River Spey, the Cairngorm Mountains scenery is ever-present. Join us for a nostalgic journey and savour the sights, sounds, and smells of a bygone era.

A trolley service will be available and there is a licensed bar in the restaurant car, for passengers to purchase drinks and snacks.

Dogs are permitted on these trips, but not in the bar or dining areas including First Class except for assistance dogs.

Trail therapy is a therapeutic mountain bike ride intervention for people being supported for their mental health, over 16 and living in Badenoch and Strathspey.

A referral is required, or a self-referral with supporting evidence, in order to book onto a block of 8 consecutive sessions. Please contact me for more information on this. The process is much easier than it sounds.

It’s no problem if you don’t have a bike (although you do need to be able to ride one). I have mountain bikes and helmets.

It’s all free with thanks to the Highland Third Sector Interface Highland Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund and the Scottish Government.

The rides are graded, starting with our easiest ride on a Thursday morning from Badaguish, mainly on fire roads and the old logging way. Friday mornings take a step up onto green/blue off road trails. Monday and Wednesday evening sunset rides progress onto blue/red trails. The pace will be steady. E-bikes are welcome. You don’t need fancy gear.

You do need a little sense of adventure and feel a need for a little new achievable challenge and hopefully enjoy a coffee stop, taking time off the bike, immersed in nature while we rest.

Would you like to learn more about the night sky? Join us at the Discovery Centre in Tomintoul for an all ages stargazing session. We’ll have a briefing in the Discovery Centre before walking down to a nearby stargazing site in a group to look at stars, planets, and constellations and share resources for improving your celestial knowledge.

The Glenlivet and Tomintoul area is one of the best places in the Cairngorms National Park to discover the wonders of the night sky. It is Scotland’s second International Dark Sky Park and the most northerly in the world.

Toilets are available in the Discovery Centre and limited amenities are available in Tomintoul. Please dress appropriately for cold and changeable weather. Lots of layers, along with gloves and hat will make your stargazing experience more enjoyable. Please also wear appropriate footwear for wet and wintry conditions. If conditions are unsuitable on the day of the event the organiser will email attendees.

Join Cairngorms Astronomy Group and Tomintoul & Glenlivet Development Trust for a night of introductory stargazing and star stories during the new moon at Inveraven Church & Pictish Stones. Where do we get our stories of the night sky? What did the Celts see in the night sky? Come along to find out more and have a go trying out our community telescope.

Access to Inveraven Church is off the A95 about half a mile north of the entrance to Ballindalloch Castle, and can be found by following the brown tourist sign directing visitors down the single track road to the Inveraven Pictish Stones.

Parking is available at the bottom of the drive before you arrive at the church or in front of the church building. We will be meeting in the foyer inside the church building before walking up to field above to access the telescope.

As we will be outside, please dress appropriately for cold and changeable weather. Please also wear shoes appropriate for outdoor, wet, and muddy conditions.

Join Cairngorms Astronomy Club and Tomintoul & Glenlivet Development Trust in The Square, Tomintoul for an all ages telescope moon viewing session. The first quarter moon on the 16th is a great time to view and learn about the moon. We’ll meet at Tomintoul & Glenlivet Discovery Centre at 43 The Square, Tomintoul.

The Glenlivet and Tomintoul area is one of the best places in the Cairngorms National Park to discover the wonders of the night sky. Not only does this remote area have stunning dark skies but it also has easy access allowing everyone to enjoy a night sky brimming with stars.

We’ll have the Celestron telescope and a smartphone bracket on the night that will allow you to take the moon home in your pocket!

Toilets are available in the Tomintoul & Glenlivet Discovery Centre.

If the weather isn’t suitable on the day, we’ll endeavour to run an alternative session in the days following.
As we will be outside in March, please dress appropriately for cold and changeable weather. Please also wear appropriate shoes for wet, and wintry conditions.

Grantown Society historical talk: The Grants and the Jacobite Rebellions by Chris Grant (…and…. who were the Grants of Shewglie?). A presentation from local family research – with stories of loyalty, betrayal and much more! (Refreshments purchased at the bar may be taken through to the Osprey Room).

” ‘Thawcrook’ is an outstanding achievement of musicality, ingenuity and passion” Duncan Chisholm

“Gorgeous melodies and rich harmony, stunningly played with huge heart, sense of space and a huge helping of understated playfulness” Lauren MacColl

Rebecca Hill and Charlie Stewart are a harpist and fiddle player who have collaborated previously in numerous settings. Their new material draws from their individual musical backgrounds as well as their love of contemporary arrangements, compositions and improvisation. It is also influenced by the thriving Traditional music scene in Glasgow, where they are both currently based.

Rebecca gained the title of ‘Up and Coming Artist of the Year’ at the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards in 2020 following the release of her solo EP ‘the Airing’ at Celtic Connections earlier that year. Her solo work has taken her on tour through Germany with Highland Blast in 2021 and to Ohio, America, in 2018 to perform and present at Granville Harp Festival. At home she is in great demand as a tutor and has also created exciting new online collaborations, including a series showcasing Gaelic melodies through working with an International selection of World Folk musicians.

Charlie worked with Rebecca on her latest single ‘Dalrannoch’ as well as her debut EP. His other session work has led to working on recordings with over 30 artists to date, Charlie also enjoys performing regularly with a variety of artists including Siobhan Miller, Matt Carmichael and Mischa MacPherson. Charlie is a founding member of the bands Naad-Hara, Dosca and Snuffbox, with highlights as a solo artist including a New Voices commission for Celtic Connections 2021 and gaining the title of BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2017.

“All the elements are evoked and emotions tapped, making for a splendid end to this splendid record.” At The Barrier

“Decade-long acquaintances and award winning musicians on harp and fiddle respectively, Thawcrook sees them splice traditional and modern tunes together to create a captivating and joyful nine tracks.” Bright Young Folk