Posts for August, 2022

Exhibition of members photographs

Make your family’s day (or potentially year!) that little bit more amazing with a 1-hour BattleZone outdoor laser tag experience. Where you’ll team up with other comrades (or families as they are more commonly known) for some tactical, adrenaline-fueled fun.

BattleZone is perfect for getting the kids away from their computer games and enjoying an outdoor gaming activity the whole family can participate in. With multiple lives and re-spawns, no one has to sit this one out!

In 2 teams, you’ll enter the woodland to sneak, crawl, hide and outwit the enemy. With a 250-meter shooting range, you’ll need to think tactically while the ultra-bright OLED screen on your weapon displays ammo and life as you play a diverse range of games and scenarios. Have you got the skills to survive?

Join us for a Family Paddling sessions on our purpose built paddling pond – a great environment for beginners.
We’ll introduce you to a range of crafts including open-top Canadian canoes, stand-up paddleboards and our mega SUP!
These sessions are great for beginners looking to dip their toes into the world of paddlesports. Suitable for all aged 3+ years.

Or take a trip down the River Spey! Surrounded by beautiful Cairngorm peaks, whether you’re a family, or perhaps a group of friends, our canoeing sessions are a real crowd pleaser!
Suitable for ages 7+ years, you’ll be provided with all the kit you need for a safe and enjoyable paddling experience.

Or enjoy 1-hour hire of our stand-up paddle boards out on our large, purpose-built pond.
The waters are calm and inviting, perfect for those looking for their first stand up paddle.

This is the last exhibitionof the season. The etchings were found in the possessions of the late Dave Fallows and they have been framed for sale. Mrmbers art will also be on display. Sandra Robertson and Katie Jackson will each be Artists in Residence for half of the exhibition

Artist and historian , Dr Charles Fletcher talks on his exploration of the history of abandoned crofts that lie on the high grounds between Grantown and Forres that inspired him.
discover a rather dark past intertwined with stories from lives spent on a beautiful but unforgiving moor…

Part of the celebrations of the 100th anniversary retelling of ‘ The Key above the Door’ which was set on the Dava,
for Scotland’s Year of Stories.

Family Fun Day where we have:
* Bouncy Castle
* Teacups ride
* Food Vendors
* Wildlife Activities
* Craft Workshops
* Licensed Bar
* Live Demos
* Plus more to be announced soon!
Not only that but we have a LIVE performance from ‘Jazz in the Village’ to end the afternoon!

Thrive Bike Friday 23rd September to Sunday 25th September 2022

Kate Allum and Susan Stewart



Thrive Bike is an action packed long weekend of energy, excitement and entertainment.

Our goal is to motivate people to cycle, improve their wellbeing, and help the local community prosper while protecting our environment. With a range of organised rides, events and attractions, all people are welcome and respected at Thrive Bike. Along with our business partners Cyclehighlands, Astar Digital and BioCom, we love Ballater and want to see its community benefit from adventure tourism.

At Thrive Bike we have top bike brands offering demo rides including Headline Sponsor Kona and Project Sponsor Merida.

We have guided electric and non-electric mountain bike rides for adults, including women only, and children. Our partner, Eguide Scotland, provides a mix of guided rides so there is an opportunity to get on a bike no matter your ability. Scottish Adventure are facilitating two road rides in The Ballater Dash and The Ballater Reliability Rides.

The Ballater Dash is a personal challenge designed to test your route planning, navigation and riding skills at your own pace and ability. The Ballater Reliability Rides are self supported on a choice of organised routes. Riders navigate their chosen route and complete the course without external help, other than from fellow riders. We recommend stopping to take photos, or for cakes and coffee!

We have a children’s play area; Stunt Show, Climbing Wall, Sender Ramps and a host of other things to do for non-bikers. You will also learn more about how you can take care of your personal wellbeing and contribute to the community, economy and environment in the Thrive Zone. The Food Zone provides a chance to replenish your energy at one of the local food vendors.

Profits from Thrive Bike will be invested in the local trail network by working with landowners, the Aberdeenshire Trail Association and existing, sanctioned projects.

As we go to press we are securing Guest Speakers and more activities so please visit the website and find us on social media.

Join us in the beautiful Cairngorms for Aviemore Triathlon: enjoy an open water swim in the cool, calm waters of Loch Morlich and enjoy mountain biking and running on the trails of Glenmore Forest.

The loch has been chosen for its superb water quality and spectacular surroundings. Coupled with fantastic MTB trails (forest road, easy track as well as sections of singletrack) in the forest, this is one of the very best locations in the UK for off-road racing.
“The Long Hard Durty”, this Standard distance race will be a stiff challenge on a tough course in a spectacular location. .

Long Hard Durty:

1,000m Open Water Swim, 18km Technical Mountain Bike, 9km Trail Run

“The Short Fast Durty”, this Sprint distance race will be a stiff but achievable challenge on a great course in a spectacular location.

Short Fast Durty:

500m Open Water Swim, 12km Mountain Bike, 5km Trail Run

The Piatti String Quartet will perform Vaughan Williams, Smetana and Beethoven

Company of Wolves presents a solo work by Anna Porubcansky.
Unbecoming is a performance about loss and rage, told by a woman and a mother.
Rage, at all we become when we don’t feel like we have a choice. Loss, of all we haven’t become.
And how we unbecome.
Using traditional song, soundscape, myth, and movement, Unbecoming is a dreamworld: a rich and sublime space where image, memory, desire and fear all reside. Watch a woman unravel, layer upon layer stripped away, to reveal a human, unmasked.
How much of what we are is what we’ve chosen to be?
“genuinely powerful … a captivating portrait of a woman caught in the dissonance of contradictory desires”
-The List
“Anna Porubcansky’s… looping and overlaying of recorded layers and real-time vocalisings echoed the complex
layers of a woman caught in a swithering vortex of choices and desires” – The Herald