Posts for March, 2025

Open air community market lots of different stall for people to browse

Can you find all the eggs? Head to Highland Wildlife Park this April to egg-splore their family friendly Easter trail.

Complete the trail and win a prize!

Book tickets to Highland Wildlife Park today! Trail sheets are £2 per person.

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

Join us this Mother’s Day for a tour about our animals and the roles mum’s play! With the opportunity to get crafty with enrichment and get insider knowledge on our animal collection.

11am meeting point at our polar bear statue in the main car park. Tickets include entry to the park for the rest of the day.

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

Saturday, March 29th, SkyHide, Tomintoul
Partial solar eclipse, 10:00am-12:30pm
Cairngorms Astronomy Group – Public Solar Eclipse Observing Event

Join us at the Tomintoul SkyHide for a public solar eclipse observing event! Drop by and safely view a partial solar eclipse with the Cairngorms Astronomy Group (CAG).

🔭 Date & Time: Saturday, March 29th, 10:00am
📍 Location: Tomintoul SkyHide at the Field of Hope
🕶 Safe solar viewing equipment provided

This spring foraging course is an invitation to learn about the edible and medicinal spring plants found in the grounds of Blair Castle & Gardens. Spring is a special time for foraging and this walk will give us time to celebrate the best of this season, as the plants wake from the winter providing the first flowers, leaves and nutritious seeds of the growing season.

The course consists of a 2.5 hour foraging walk, in which you will learn lifelong identification techniques, inspiring recipe ideas, and a wealth of ethnobotanical tales.
During the walk we will move through a variety of habitats – woodland, meadow, hedgerow and garden – taking time to connect with each surrounding environment, noticing their changing flora and subtle variations in character.

We will finish up with a wild tea and homemade cake and biscuits in Hercules Garden, with time to revise the plants learnt and how best to store them for future use.
All participants will also receive a personalised PDF containing information about all the plants met.
 
This course will give you:
How to safely identify over 15 edible and medicinal spring plants and trees
Methods and techniques for how best to work with them as food and medicine
A time of mindful walking among beautiful grounds
Exciting recipes to regularly include wild plants in your meals
What to bring:
Shoes that are comfortable and waterproof
Wet weather gear in case of rain
A basket or container

Meeting point:
Meet on the green in front of the castle, next to the ‘The Cannon’ coffee cart.
Date: 10th May 2025 or 11th May 2025
Time: 10.30-13.30
Cost: £45, kids go free.
 
FAQs:
Are children allowed?
Yes, but one child must be accompanied by at least one adult. (16+).
Are there toilets?
Yes, toilets can be found in the Banvie Hall next to the restaurant.
Are dogs allowed?
The pace of foraging walks is quite slow, so if you think your dog will be bored by lots of standing still – then this might not be the walk for them!
 
About foraging expert, Tamara Colchester
Over the past eight years, Tamara has studied wild plants, she explored how people can live off the land in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in the UK. She has gained incredible knowledge of plants, their food and medicinal benefits, and how our dietary needs change with the seasons.

Join us at Blair Castle & Gardens this Easter for some family fun. We have an Easter Egg Hunt at the castle throughout the school holidays and some extra special activities on Easter Sunday.

After all that Easter eggcitement why not head to the Tullibardine Restaurant for some Easter themed treats!

Easter Egg Hunt | 5th April – 22nd April

Inside the Castle
Join in with our Easter Egg Hunt inside the castle throughout the Easter holidays. Collect your prize from the shop upon completion!

Available for free with a Castle ticket.

Easter Sunday Fun Activity Day | Sunday 20th April | 11am – 3pm
Banvie Hall (The glass entrance doors at the far end of the Castle)
Meet the Easter Bunny at the Banvie Hall at 11am to guide you through our fun children’s activities this Easter Sunday. The events below will flow from one into the next and there are prizes for both competitions and the Egg Hunt.

– Easter egg decorating competition

– Easter egg rolling competition

– Easter Egg Hunt in Hercules walled garden

– Deer Feeding

Admission included with a Gardens and Grounds ticket.

Grab a bargain – Pop Up Charity Shop in aid of Boat of Garten Community Hall!

Date: Saturday 3 + Sunday 4 May
Time: 10:00-14:00, daily

Running alongside a Community Cafe!

WE NEED YOUR STUFF
Please donate to our Pop Up Shop…
We are hoping that you will have a clear out and let us find your unwanted items a new home. Please give us your bric a brac and household bits and pieces, quality clothing, outdoor equipment, etc. (Unlike the auction, we are unable to accept furniture or very large items)

Items can be delivered to the Hall during the week prior to the opening (from Monday 28th April). So, if you’re having a clear out just now, remember to keep it aside for us and donate it nearer the time!

Boat of Garten’s Family Fun Day is back!
Put the date in your diary today!

The day will be packed with family fun and games, a Makers Market and BBQ & Cafe with awesome cuisine plus lots more to be announced.

📅 Saturday 21 June 2025
⏰ 12:00-15:00
📍 Boat of Garten Community Hall

Contact Boat Hall:
📧 info@boathall.org.uk
☎️ 01479 831123

Are Car Boot Sales your ‘thing’? If so, book in for our first sale of the year – it’s in August this year!

📅 Sunday 24 August 2025
⏰ 12:00
📍 Boat of Garten Community Hall (playing field)

Our Car Boot Sales will happen in August (outdoor), October (indoor).

If you are interested in holding a stall, please get in touch.
Contact Boat Hall:
📧 info@boathall.org.uk
☎️ 01479 831123

£10 per car to be paid in advance

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