Posts for September, 2023

Create a beautiful Christmas wreath at Blair Castle this December. Under the watchful eye of Fiona from Verbena Flowers, enjoy a two-hour workshop in the Ballroom. Choose from fresh flowers, foliage, pinecones and dried fruit as you let your creative spirit flow.

With roaring fires, a warm mince pie and a hot brew to hand, it’s the perfect way to kick-start your festive season.

Our popular Christmas market returns this November. With over 70 of Perthshire’s finest arts, crafts and food stalls gathering in the ballroom and courtyard, it’s bigger than ever – what better way to start your Christmas shopping?

The Castle will be dressed for Christmas, the restaurant & gift shop filled with festive delights, and with ample parking, it’s a great family day out for all.

Join foraging expert Tamara Colchester on a three-hour autumnal walk that will introduce participants to around 15 wild, edible and medicinal trees, flowers and plants, along with their etymology, folklore and how best to prepare them.

Learn as you go about poisonous plants, and how to safely identify and avoid them. This meditative, sensory walk will take you into the riotous abundance of autumn, ending in a foraged herbal tea with delicious cakes and biscuits prepared with wild ingredients.

Where: The walk will take roughly 3 hours and will remain within the Gardens & Grounds of Blair Castle, so an ability to manage this distance is required.

These short walks will introduce children to the practice of autumn foraging, allowing for a fun and relaxed morning of learning about the special flora and fauna of Blair Atholl.

During the walk we will learn about mushrooms, wild greens and berries, also taking the time to look at animal tracks and other signs of the abundant wildlife found in the grounds and gardens.

The walks will be multi-sensory, but very safe, with great care taken to teach children about how to safely learn about the natural world.

Age: Recommended for over 4 years old, but parents with other children attending can bring young children/babies. Children under 6 years old must be accompanied by an adult or older sibling.

Spookfest 2023 is back from the 7th to the 28th of October, so get your cameras ready to capture something truly creepy! Enter Wonderwood (if you dare!) and immerse yourself in our Halloween displays for some spooktacular photo opportunities!

We have a great line up of Spookfest competition activities at Bamboozeleum, Lost Labyrinth, The Butterfly House and Reception Halloween Corner. These include Glinda’s Golden Broom Competition, Trail of the Cursed Pumpkins, Spooky Spider Colouring Competition and Cassandra’s Cat Conundrum-all of which will run daily and are included in your ticket.

Come dressed for the occasion to enter our Spookfest ‘Photo Competition 2023’! Forgot your costumes, no problem we have a ‘Spooky Dress Up’ area so you can still take part-we can’t wait to see all your spook-tastic park photos! The winners of each ‘Spookfest Competition’ will be announced on the 1st of November.

We also have 20 attractions to explore, so if you haven’t made plans this October break-don’t miss out on some scarily good fun for the whole family!

Paintings and photographs with an autumn theme by mixed gallery artists. Wide range of crafts.

Join us for three hours of scarily-good fun in the outdoors this October. Start by decorating your very own pumpkin pal before heading up to our archery range to use him as your terrifying target! Our ghostly hosts will be on hand to help you master your aim with a bow and arrow.

Afterwards, you’ll be treated to a roaring bonfire that’s perfect for toasting some tasty marshmallow treats and sipping on a warm chocolate drink. The Cairngorms are home to a whole host of frightening folklore tales that are perfect for some spooky storytelling!

Once you’re fuelled and ready for warfare, we’ll get you kitted up to take on BattleZone Laser Tag! You and your troops will be needed for our digital zombie shoot-off using infra-red technology guns.

Join us in Abernethy Forest for a behind the scenes masterclass with Cairngorms Connect Venison.

• Cairngorms Connect deer stalkers will talk about the methods, equipment, ethics, and sustainability of deer stalking for conservation management and will give a hands on demonstration of lardering the deer.
• A local butcher will then teach us about preparing all the different cuts of meat and what they are best used for, and you can even have a go yourself.
• We will then relocate to the tepee at the Dell of Abernethy for a live cooking demo over the fire by a local professional chef. Discover creative venison dishes and different ways to incorporate venison easily into our diet.
• And finally, we’ll share a meal of delicious dishes at a long communal table.

This event is being filmed and footage from it will feature as part of a new five-minute film produced by Cairngorms Connect about Deer Management that will be available online and screen at public events later in the year. The filming will be low key and will not distract from the event itself.

Video and photo release forms will be provided at the event, but please be aware that if you do not wish to be filmed we’d recommend attending a future Venison Masterclass event instead.

It is important that all people have equal access to Cairngorms Connect events.

We are happy to provide for your requirements, wherever possible eg. BSL interpreters, off-road wheelchairs, adapted bikes etc. If have any accessibility requirements, please get in touch.

Scalan was originally the site of a secret Roman Catholic seminary where priests, known as ‘heather priests’ were trained in the 1700s when Catholicism was prohibited. Following the departure of the priests in 1799, Scalan reverted to a farm.

Two steading buildings were built housing corn threshing mills which served the Glenlivet farming community. The threshing machines and water wheels are still in place along with a wealth of historical graffiti telling the story of farming life in the 19th and 20th centuries.

A major project to conserve the mill buildings took place in 2019, restoring the waterwheel and lade in North Mill and improving visitor access to the site. This was funded through the Tomintoul & Glenlivet Landscape Partnership with funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Join members of the Scalan Association and Glenlivet & Inveravon Heritage Ranger Lydia on a guided tour of the site and the mill buildings. In addition to being a special area of historical interest, this area of the Glenlivet Estate abounds with oystercatchers, curlews, and lapwings in the spring and summer months – be sure to bring your binoculars if you have them.

We will be meeting in the Carrachs car park before proceeding by foot along a farm track, 1km from the car park at the end of the public road. Please wear appropriate footwear and clothing for changeable weather.

Donations to the Scalan Association on the day are most appreciated and help them to care for this special place.

Children are very welcome to attend.
Toilets are available on site in the summer months.

Well behaved dogs are welcome in the mill buildings, but are not permitted in the seminary. Please note that sheep and other livestock live on site. Please be aware that there may be cattle present on the walk in.

Funded by Foundation Scotland from the Dorenell Wind Farm Community Benefit Fund.

Award winning instrumental folk trio ‘Assynt’ are former BBC Radio Scotland Young Musician of the Year finalists, Graham Mackenzie (fiddle) and David Shedden (pipes/whistles) alongside BBC Radio 2 Young Folk Award winner Innes White (guitar). 2018 saw the official launch of the band, the release of their debut album ‘The Road to the North’ and were awarded ‘Up and Coming Artist of the Year’ at the MG Alba Scots Trad Music Awards. Inspired by the great piping, fiddle and Gaelic traditions of the Highlands of Scotland, Assynt’s self penned melodies are “refreshingly contemporary” (Folk Radio UK) while remaining true to the music traditions they are rooted in.

The group have come to be recognised for their tight-knit fiddle and pipe playing blended with intricate guitar lines and grooves. This powerful and intuitive musicality continues to be showcased throughout their second studio release ‘Where From Here’ described as ‘breathtakingly wonderful’ by FolkWorld. Assynt have received airplay across the BBC including BBC Radio 2’s The Folk Show, Travelling Folk and Caithream Ciuil on BBC Radio Scotland. 2023 has already seen the band extensively tour Germany following their sold out Celtic Connections performance in January. Assynt will continue this year touring Germany, China and Australia as well as performances throughout the UK.

“one of our most impressive young bands” Folk Radio UK

“Assynt’s music is breathtakingly wonderful: Powerful, energetic and big tunes” FolkWorld

“Sterling second from the virtuoso stalwarts, individually and collectively award winners in their fields.” At the Barrier