Posts for April, 2025

“Glenlivet it has castles three, Drumin, Blairfindy and Deskie”. This easy guided walk will take us to the 16th century tower house of Blairfindy and begins outside the iconic Glenlivet Distillery. On the walk in we’ll enjoy stunning views over one of Scotland’s most famous glens. You’ll learn a bit about Glenlivet’s rich history and some whisky history too.

Blairfindy Castle was completed in 1564 by John Gordon. In its heyday Blairfindy was a fine example of a three storey L-plan tower house and even today shows a remarkable degree of preservation. A project to stabilise Blairfindy Castle took place in 2019, funded through the Tomintoul & Glenlivet Landscape Partnership, a programme supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The castle is now open to visitors for the first time in decades and has been specially adapted to encourage nesting birds and pollinators.

Join Glenlivet & Inveravon Heritage Ranger Lydia for a talk on Pictish art and symbol stones. We will be looking at four Pictish Stones discovered in the churchyard of Inveraven, which has been a site of spiritual practice and pilgrimage for centuries. This tour will provide an overview to Pictish art and culture and will show how the Picts contributed to the shaping of modern Scotland.

Access to Inveraven Church is off the A95 about half a mile north 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.

As we will be outside, please dress appropriately for changeable weather.

Children are very welcome to attend.

Well behaved dogs may attend but must be leashed as there is often livestock on site.

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

Please note that toilet facilities are not available on site.

I am super excited to bring you this unique, one-off workshop with guest teacher, the utterly fabulous… Yasmin Kabir!!! 🩷✨

She believes wholeheartedly, that dance is a tool to empower people, and empower people she does! Yasmin has an incredibly warm, encouraging and uplifting spirit, and taking part in one of her classes is just joy for the soul. We are so fortunate that she has agreed to fly up and teach for us here in Grantown-on-Spey. As a teacher with experience in multiple styles, Yasmin incorporates influences from different genres and is very excited to share her “Vogue inspired” routine.

Yasmin and I share a similar ethos – that dance is for everybody – all levels, all abilities, EVERYONE! That is really clear in her classes, which I have been lucky enough to attend, where total beginners, people of all ages and different backgrounds all come together and enjoy the music. This is why I am so excited to have her with us, her positive vibe is infectious and I can’t wait for you to experience it for yourselves.

This is going to be a striking, expressive experience, filled with sharp poses, fluid arm movements, and fierce attitude. This workshop is all about confidence, self-expression, and channeling your diva energy!

Come along on the last Thursday of the month for 5 months and have fun creating and printing.
Join me in our Aviemore studio where each month we will experiment and play with a new printing style while meeting other creative folk.

April 24th – printing with Lego to make occasion cards

May 29th – mark making/printing with your recycling to make small drawstring bags

June 26th – screenprinting with hand cut stencils to make a wooden wall tile or coaster

July 31st- mark making/printing with found objects in nature to make wrapping paper

August 28th – Screenprinting with hand cut stencils to upcycle one of your own pieces of clothing

Thursday Print club runs from 7pm-9pm
You can book just one week = £20
Book for all five weeks = £90
Adults only
Class hosted by Timber + Stitch

Find various puzzles and clues around Braemar Castle. Each puzzle will reveal a letter which will lead you to the secret word.

Once you have the secret word you will receive a special prize.

Cairngorm Community Cinema – On Falling.

On Falling tells the story of Aurora, a Portuguese warehouse picker working in a vast fulfilment centre in Scotland. Trapped between the confines of a vast distribution centre and the solitude of her own bedroom. An intimate and unwavering portrait of an isolated migrant and her relationship to the precarious labour that constrains and defines her.

The film had its World premiere at Toronto International Film Festival 2024 and its European premiere at the 72nd San Sebastián Film Festival where director Laura Carreira won the Silver Shell for Best Director. The film also won the Sutherland Award at the 68th BFI London Film Festival.

Doors at 6.30pm, film start 6.40pm.
Run length 1hr45min.

Community-owned but operated in partnership with Spey Valley Cinema and supported by the BFI and Film Hub Scotland, Cairngorm Community Cinema aims to create a space where the community can gather, discover new perspectives, and enjoy film.

At just £5 a ticket, we’re making it accessible to all.
Tickets only available on the door, so just show up!

Please come once again support our community cinema to keep it running for the rest of the year.

Every Thursday evening from April through to August Cairngorm Cycling Club has a road or gravel ride. Start location can be anywhere in the Strath between Kingussie and Grantown but will be publicised on the website. Guest riders are always welcome but must register for the ride by midnight the previous day and provide a contact phone number. The ride will be at a no-drop pace with riders looking after each other.

From the “ordinary” (penny farthing) to the extraordinary; a display of bicycles, stories and articles illustrating how cycling developed in Strathspey including the foundation of Grantown’s first cycle club in 1891.

A classroom-based course that shows you the whats, whys and wherefores of bike maintenance.
We’ll take you through the anatomy of your bike, common tools, look at how we make sure your bike is ready and safe to ride, and tackle the thorniest of all trail-side issues — the dreaded puncture! If getting hands on with your bike seems a little daunting, we want to provide a relaxed atmosphere where no question is silly and you can take away the skills to look after your bike properly (so that it can look after you).
Minimum age 10 years old.

A classroom-based course that shows you the whats, whys and wherefores of bike maintenance.
We’ll take you through the anatomy of your bike, common tools, look at how we make sure your bike is ready and safe to ride, and tackle the thorniest of all trail-side issues — the dreaded puncture! If getting hands on with your bike seems a little daunting, we want to provide a relaxed atmosphere where no question is silly and you can take away the skills to look after your bike properly (so that it can look after you).