Posts for May, 2023

Exhibition of locally produced textiles for sale

Kingussie Festival of Words – a couple of days to think about words, one way or another. A couple of talks. Three workshops. A live poetry event.

Some poems, songs, stories. And a couple of events for the younger ones. Oh, and a poetry competition.
All on this year’s theme – Immigration and Emigration.

More info. in programme leaflet available locally, on facebook soon, and most importantly on our eventbrite (link to the right!) where tickets can be purchased too.

A collaboration between artists Elizabeth Reeder and Amanda Thomson, Cairngorms Connect and people who live or work in or visit the Cairngorms.

A commonplace book is a collection of writings, images and documents gathered by people to show a place at a particular time. They could be considered scrapbooks or like a Scottish Kist – where things that are valued are communicated to and kept for future generations.

We plan to create the first Cairngorms Connect Commonplace Book, including submissions from anyone who wants to write down or photograph or draw something of this place that they’d like to share with others.

Do you want to offer something to the commonplace book but don’t know where to start? Are you interested in writing or photography or drawing or simply sharing something of what you know of this place? You don’t need to be a writer or an artist, just someone who loves the Cairngorms and has something to share with others about this place.

Come along to one or more of the workshops where Elizabeth and Amanda will offer some ideas of where you might start. The workshops will be a great place for them to answer any questions you have about the project too.

Tuesday 6th June, 6-7:30pm, online
Monday 10th July, 6-7:30pm, Loch Garten Nature Centre
Monday 7th August, 6-7:30pm, RSPB Insh Marshes

Workshops are free but places are limited so please register to reserve a space.

No previous creative experience is necessary, and all ages* and abilities very welcome.
*under-18s must be accompanied by an adult.

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.

A collaboration between artists Elizabeth Reeder and Amanda Thomson, Cairngorms Connect and people who live or work in or visit the Cairngorms.

A commonplace book is a collection of writings, images and documents gathered by people to show a place at a particular time. They could be considered scrapbooks or like a Scottish Kist – where things that are valued are communicated to and kept for future generations.

We plan to create the first Cairngorms Connect Commonplace Book, including submissions from anyone who wants to write down or photograph or draw something of this place that they’d like to share with others.

Do you want to offer something to the commonplace book but don’t know where to start? Are you interested in writing or photography or drawing or simply sharing something of what you know of this place? You don’t need to be a writer or an artist, just someone who loves the Cairngorms and has something to share with others about this place.

Come along to one or more of the workshops where Elizabeth and Amanda will offer some ideas of where you might start. The workshops will be a great place for them to answer any questions you have about the project too.

Tuesday 6th June, 6-7:30pm, online
Monday 10th July, 6-7:30pm, Loch Garten Nature Centre
Monday 7th August, 6-7:30pm, RSPB Insh Marshes

Workshops are free but places are limited so please register to reserve a space.

No previous creative experience is necessary, and all ages* and abilities very welcome.
*under-18s must be accompanied by an adult.

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.

A collaboration between artists Elizabeth Reeder and Amanda Thomson, Cairngorms Connect and people who live or work in or visit the Cairngorms.

A commonplace book is a collection of writings, images and documents gathered by people to show a place at a particular time. They could be considered scrapbooks or like a Scottish Kist – where things that are valued are communicated to and kept for future generations.

We plan to create the first Cairngorms Connect Commonplace Book, including submissions from anyone who wants to write down or photograph or draw something of this place that they’d like to share with others.

Do you want to offer something to the commonplace book but don’t know where to start? Are you interested in writing or photography or drawing or simply sharing something of what you know of this place? You don’t need to be a writer or an artist, just someone who loves the Cairngorms and has something to share with others about this place.

Come along to one or more of the workshops where Elizabeth and Amanda will offer some ideas of where you might start. The workshops will be a great place for them to answer any questions you have about the project too.

Tuesday 6th June, 6-7:30pm, online
Monday 10th July, 6-7:30pm, Loch Garten Nature Centre
Monday 7th August, 6-7:30pm, RSPB Insh Marshes

Workshops are free but places are limited so please register to reserve a space.

No previous creative experience is necessary, and all ages* and abilities very welcome.
*under-18s must be accompanied by an adult.

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.

Join us for a walk around Moray’s earliest surviving tower house reputed to have been built for Scotland’s vilest man- Alexander Stewart, the Wolf of Badenoch. Drumin Castle is an impressive medieval fortification standing on a commanding bluff overlooking the confluence of the River Livet and the River Avon. Once we get to the castle, you’ll learn a bit about the architecture, history, and the notorious Wolf, whose evil deeds continue to cast a long shadow in Moray’s history.

“Cathedral and Toun

Wyld wrath did engulf

Lone Lochindorb Castle

The lair of the Wolf”

This castle has recently reopened after masonry repairs. Access to the first floor is once again possible via a narrow, stone staircase. `Sensible footwear is recommended.

Please park at the The Drumin Castle car park. This short circular walk will start from the Drumin Castle sign in the car park. Access is by foot along a pedestrian trail and will return by a set of steps. Please dress appropriately for changeable weather.

Toilets are not available on site.

Children are very welcome to attend.

Well behaved dogs are welcome.

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

“Glenlivet it has castles three, Drumin, Blairfindy and Deskie”. This Heritage Ranger led castle 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 fantastic views over the glen. 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 1586 Blairfindy passed to the Earls of Huntly, another branch of the family, who used it as a hunting seat. A panel above the arched doorway bears the Gordon arms and this date. 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.

Research has shown that the castle was probably burned by troops after the Battle of Culloden in 1746, and it was never repaired or occupied after this time. 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.

Please park at the The Glenlivet Distillery car park. The walk will start from outside the stillhouse under the green signpost marked ‘Blairfindy Castle 1/2 mile’ (see last photo).

Access is by foot along a dedicated track. Please wear appropriate footwear and clothing for changeable weather.

Toilets are available inside The Glenlivet Distillery Visitor Centre.

Children are very welcome to attend.

Well behaved dogs are welcome.

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

Join Glenlivet & Inveravon Heritage Ranger Lydia for an introduction to 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 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.

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

Children are very welcome to attend. Please note that toilet facilities are not available on site.

Well behaved dogs may attend but must be leashed.

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

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.

Duncan Chisholm and Hamish Napier are making a welcome return to their roots, playing at a number of much-loved Community Halls across the Highlands and Islands in June 2023, and TOMS is delighted to welcome them to Boat of Garten, providing a rare opportunity for you to hear two of Scotland’s finest traditional musicians at the Community Hall.

The duo have co-written a large body of new music over the last five years, inspired by Highland landscapes and heritage, and the concert they will perform for TOMS will feature much of the new music they have co-written for Duncan’s celebrated ‘Sandwood’ album, as well as that of the ‘Black Curillin’ album, together with traditional tunes performed on fiddle, piano and flute.