Posts for August, 2024

Ranger Ramble: Explore the Dava Moor

This gentle Ranger Ramble at Dava Moor offers a serene stroll through a typical Highland moorland, with bogs, a lochan and even a few trees!

Bring your binoculars if you have them, but we’ll be concentrating on the botany and beasties, with some history thrown in too…hopefully we’ll get some gorgeous wildlfowers and weather permitting, a butterfly or two!

As we’re focusing on slow observation rather than brisk walking, this wee event is suitable for all – including good dogs.

Any queries please phone: 07818 588 222

Meeting place by the ‘Jesus Saves’ rock on the Nairn to Grantown road. Ignore the map!

Join Mànran and their support band on Monday 30th December for a pre New Years Eve celebration

We’re excited to be launching our much-loved nature photography workshops at Highland Wildlife Park this year, with renowned professional photographer Laurie Campbell.

The workshops consist of tutorials as well as a tour of Highland Wildlife Park taking in a number of different settings and animals – big and small, stripes and all. Laurie will be with you for the entire day, giving personal attention to each participant as well as sharing many tricks of the trade.

Laurie was a keeper at Edinburgh Zoo before embarking on a highly successful thirty-year career as a nature photographer and has now returned as the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) nature photographer in residence. He has over thirty-five years’ experience in leading photographic workshops, has illustrated and authored several books – including the bestselling ‘RSPB Guide to Bird & Nature Photography’ – and has won twenty-three awards in the prestigious BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition. In 2014 he was awarded the RSPB’s Lifetime Achievement Award. A selection of his work can be viewed at lauriecampbell.com

Please read the full Nature Photography Workshop Terms and Conditions here before booking a place.

For further information please contact events@rzss.org.uk

Ever considered that your future might be here in the Cairngorms? Do you love the idea of working outdoors, dream of an office with a view, want to contribute to the community and crafts that draw nearly 2 million visitors to this part of the world every year, or simply value the perfect work life balance where adventure awaits? If so, you can find out about all the opportunities that are here for you by joining us on Thursday 12th September at Macdonald Aviemore Resort.

This informal event is open to everyone living and working in and around the Cairngorms. Whether you’re just leaving school and exploring your next steps, are actively looking for work, are in further or higher education and want to find out more about the opportunities and possibilities post-study, or are further down your career pathway and are looking to upskill or reskill – this event is for you!

Come along and find out about jobs that you might never have considered or even knew existed. With inspirational speakers, practical demonstrations, deep dive workshops, live job vacancies and more, you’ll hear from industry experts about all the possible careers on your doorstep, how to access them and current opportunities which may lead you to a fulfilling career.

We recognise that rural careers in a place like the Cairngorms are much broader than careers just within traditional industries . That’s why we’re excited to be joined by representatives from a wide range of industries including Environment and Conservation, Digital Technology, Engineering, Manufacturing, Food & Drink, Hospitality, Energy and Renewables, Forestry and Land management. A full list of exhibitors and workshop timetable will be released in early September.

Sign up today to secure your free space!

You’ll find us in the Osprey Arena at Macdonald Aviemore Resort – follow the signs for the Conference Centre. The venue is located in the centre of Aviemore with good public transport links, free onsite parking and ammenities nearby for refreshments.

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.

Please note the exact location of the event will be provided upon booking.

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

We don’t want finance to be a barrier to people attending and so have made some tickets available for free or by donation – please take advantage of this if you need to.

Donations go towards our ongoing community engagement work, supporting more people to connect with this landscape. We’re able to offer these ticket options thanks to funding from the Endangered Landscapes and Seascapes Programme.

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.

Discover the stories of the hidden 18th Century seminary of Scalan and the lives of those who lived and worked there when it was farmed during the 19th and 20th Centuries.

Soak up the atmospheric character of the landscape. Wander around the seminary building which provides information on how the Catholic faith was kept alive in this small glen as well as peeling wallpaper fragments from when it later became a home for those working the site as a farm.

See inside the two mill buildings, including areas that are usually locked, and get a glimpse of what everyday life was like for those who lived and worked here during the 19th and 20th Centuries from their own hands. The wooden walls are daubed with handwritten, dated snippets of everyday life.

The left behind objects tell their own tale of those who lived and worked here. The restored waterwheel will also be turning bringing back the sounds of the past. Videos will be playing which provide information on the whole history of the site and the surrounding Braes of Glenlivet.

There will be volunteers onsite to answer questions and bring the history of the site alive with their own stories, memories and knowledge. Drop in anytime between 1 and 4 pm.

Parking is at the Carrachs Car Park with a 0.5mile (approx) walk along a farm track to the site. The short walk in takes in the stunning scenery of the Braes of Glenlivet. There is one parking space for restricted mobility only onsite, but please note this is accessed via a rough farm track and the site is not fully wheelchair accessible.

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. There is also a picnic area and benches.
For further information please contact scalanseminaryandmills@gmail.com and look out on Facebook.

The Big Bike Film Night is on a mission- bringing the best cycling short films from around the world together for you.

Showcasing 2.5 hours of moving bike films that has everything a cycle-centric audience could want – action, drama, humour, and plenty of inspiration; the evening is unashamedly and utterly, utterly, utterly designed and devised for the two-wheel devotee!

The 2024 treasure chest of films includes:
• a visually commanding film following one rider’s colourful adventure scouring the most beautiful spots from Guatemala to Peru via Bolivia bringing together a masterpiece of breathtaking images and memories
• a documentary about a community of cyclists from Alexandra, New Zealand who all share a similar love and passion for their place, people and sport
• discovering how a bicycle can be much more than a bicycle, bringing change to people’s lives
• a determined father and his daughter prepare for their greatest adventure together: an ambitious ride that will push them to physical and emotional limits on a gruelling bike ride around Central Otago’s Lake Dunstan Trail
• we meet a passionate and quirky Australian “bicycle whisperer”
• we join 10 young people as they learn to ride a long way… embarking on a 900km bikepacking trip from Wellington to Wānaka in New Zealand
• a fast-paced, fun, and feminist bike race film set in Toronto, Canada that finally gives a groundbreaking, nearly forgotten athletic hero her rightful place in history
• a moving movie set in Scotland, showcasing how the simple joy of riding bikes can make a big impact
• and rounding out the night, “Everesting” is a feather few cyclists have in their caps, but what happens if your cap is full? So full in fact, you think “lets go big, why not do two?”
ALL in the mix!

These short films are a great reminder of why we love to ride our bike; with stories that captivate us, stories that make us think, and most importantly of all – inspiring us to get out and ride. All celebrate the fun, adventure, and joy that cycling enables.

Win a complete outfit built for the bike life!
Purchase a ticket to a Scottish screening and, thanks to our Supporter Nzo, you could win a Prize Package valued at over £360. T’s and C’s apply.

So…listen to the voice inside you; it’s telling you to go. Grab your mates, grab your tickets, GO ON… grab your bike and come along for the ride!!

ATTENDEE’S COMMENTS:
“If you only have one night a year out make it this!!”
“Wow! If it comes to your town do NOT miss it. Something for everyone.”
“The Big Bike Film Night is always a wonderful, eclectic, wacky mix of films and I love it!”
“This was my first Big Bike Film Night, I’m hooked!”

Book your tickets now

We have a stellar line up for 2024 featuring sessions from renowned novelists, historians, artists, food writers and actors.

Discover more about each event via the links below and book your ticket. Please note tickets are nonrefundable.

Saturday, 21st September
10:00 Tom Parker Bowles in conversation with Matthew Fort

11:30 Kate Mosse on 30 Years of the Women’s Prize for Fiction

12:45 Jessie Burton in conversation with Vicki Perrin, CEO of The Queen’s Reading Room

14:00 Frances Morris and Fiona Bradley: The Life and Work of Artist Phyllida Barlow

15:30 In conversation with Jon Sopel – Renowned British Journalist – SOLD OUT

17:00 Ken Follett in conversation with Vicki Perrin, CEO of The Queen’s Reading Room

18:30 LYR

Sunday, 22nd September
10:00 Alan Cumming in conversation with Fiona Kennedy – SOLD OUT

11:30 Simon Armitage in conversation with Nick Barley

13:15 Jinny Blom

14:30 Discover Award-Winning Jinny Blom’s Garden at the Fife Arms – SOLD OUT

Food & Drink

Refresh between talks, with some tasty food in the village. If you’re in the mood for tea and scones or sandwiches, Gordon’s Tearoom, The Bothy or Hazelnut Patisserie are the perfect venues. For a heartier meal, book a table at The Flying Stag, and indulge in pub classics like fish and chips whilst enjoying live music and poetry in the evening, or visit Farquharson’s Bar and Kitchen located in the village. And when the day is done, head over to the Invercauld Mews Pub to enjoy a drink and chat about the days highlights with fellow bibliophiles.

Learn all about the tastes and smells of different whisky’s with Gordon the Whisky Tutor.

Reservations are required. Reserve now by calling us.

Highland League: Strathspey Thistle FC v Lossiemouth FC, Seafield Park, kick-off 3pm. Food bar, £50 half-time raffle, team-sheets. Parking at ground and at Burnfield Avenue car park (200m).