Posts for September, 2025

BattleZone: Apocalypse – The Ultimate Halloween Experience!

Rise and shine for a spine-chilling, Halloween-themed battle in the heart of the Cairngorms! This 2-hour adrenaline-fueled adventure takes place in the atmospheric autumn evening, where you’ll face off in a thrilling digital zombie shoot-off. Armed with infra-red technology and full-size model weapons, battle through spooky scenarios, eerie mini-games, and intense missions.
Perfect for families, friends, and thrill-seekers ages 8+, BattleZone: Apocalypse offers unlimited lives, endless ammo, and unforgettable fun. Are you ready to conquer the apocalypse and end your day with a bang?

Highlights;
Unique Halloween-themed BattleZone experience
Infra-red zombie shoot-off
Multiple game scenarios to keep you on your toes
Suitable for all ages (8+), families, and friends
Halloween candy included!

Pull on your Santa hat and join us for a jolly 2km trail run through the magical Abernethy Forest! Wear something red, bring your festive spirit, and enjoy a fun morning out for all the family.

📍 Registration from 10am at Nethy Bridge Games Field
💷 Entry £5 per person / £15 per family (all profits go to Abernethy Primary School Parent Council)

Primary-aged children must run with an adult.

After the run, warm up with home baking and hot drinks, available to purchase (cash or card accepted).

Bring in the New Year with a magical evening in Nethy Bridge. Starting at 6pm on Lynstock Crescent, Nethy Bridge enjoy hot chocolate and mulled drinks before the procession begins. At 7pm, led by the stirring sound of a young local piper, we’ll light up the village with a sparkling river of torches.

Torches will be available to purchase from 6pm for £5 each. The procession leaves Lynstock Crescent at 7pm.

This family-friendly event is a wonderful way to celebrate Hogmanay together. All proceeds go towards supporting Abernethy Primary School.

Join Dr Hugh Webster and Dan Puplett on this fascinating day to learn about what life might be like living alongside a reintroduced lynx population in Scotland.

Across mainland Europe, the Eurasian lynx is staging a comeback. Freed from the pressures of unsustainable hunting and benefiting from a softening of public attitudes, this enigmatic feline has been successfully reintroduced into several countries and is now growing in numbers and expanding its range.

This special Learning Day will explore what a reintroduction in Scotland might look like, what challenges we might face and how we might manage coexistence.

We will also explore what it would be like to walk in the lynx’s footsteps once again, as we sharpen our senses to forgotten cues and learn how to identify and track pine martens, wildcats, badgers and foxes, comparing their behaviours and signs to those of a lynx. We will learn to think both like a lynx and like the lynx’s prey, experiencing the landscape through their eyes, ears and noses, as we seek to re-imagine how our woodlands would feel in the presence of this apex predator.

What is Anagach Woods parkrun?
A free, fun, and friendly weekly 5k community event. Walk, jog, run, volunteer or spectate – it’s up to you!

When is it?
Every Saturday at 9:30am.

Where is it?
The event takes place at Anagach Woods, Forest Road, Grantown-on-Spey, PH26 3JL. See Course page for more details.

What does it cost to join in?
Nothing – it’s free! but please register before you first come along. Only ever register with parkrun once and don’t forget to bring a scannable copy of your barcode (request a reminder). If you forget it, you won’t get a time.

How fast do I have to be?
We all take part for our own enjoyment. Please come along and join in whatever your pace!

Anagach Woods parkrun needs you!
It is entirely organised by volunteers – email anagachwoods@parkrun.com to help.

Safeguarding
parkrun is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk. For our full safeguarding processes and policies, including how to report a concern, please see our Safeguarding Hub.

We’re friendly!
Every week we grab a post parkrun coffee at Fiona’s Wholefoods, YMCA Building, High Street, Grantown – please come and join us!

Local orienteering event in the woods at Nethy Bridge organised by Badenoch and Strathspey Orienteering Club.

Courses suitable for newcomers, families, and experienced orienteers. Great mix of forest and intricate path networks. Getting started support available for newcomers.

Please enter online or email before 23.30 on the 8th of September to be sure to get your preferred course.

There will be some entry on the day based on map availability.

As climate changes accelerates and weather extremes become more frequent, the need to create diverse, resilient landscapes grows ever more important. Trees play a critical role in the landscape, providing essential shade, shelter and forage, as well as slowing the flow of water off the hills, maintaining soil health and enabling food production.

This immersive learning day provides a unique opportunity to find out everything you want to know about tree planting, tree protection and woodland management at the multi-award-winning Lynbreck Croft, owned by Lynn Cassells and Sandra Baer. With 28 years of combined practical experience, Lynn and Sandra are creating a landscape at Lynbreck where trees and food production go hand in hand.

With practical hands-on learning opportunities and Lynn’s expert guidance, this course will help you to observe and understand the varied ways that trees are nurtured, managed and utilised on a working croft, emphasising their central place within a landscape that benefits nature, climate and people.

The Learning Day will cover:
– tree planting best practise
– small and large scale planting schemes, from wood pasture to continuous woodland blocks
– planning and planting an orchard
– creating shelterbelts
– tree protection and deer/rabbit management
– existing woodland and decaying wood management
– grazing of herbivores and pigs in woodlands
– creating and establishing hedgerows
– planting and harvesting tree hay for livestock
– firewood processing and making charcoal for domestic use

Across mainland Europe, the Eurasian lynx is staging a comeback. Freed from the pressures of unsustainable hunting and benefiting from a softening of public attitudes, this enigmatic feline has been successfully reintroduced into several countries and is now growing in numbers and expanding its range.

This special Learning Day will explore what a reintroduction in Scotland might look like, what challenges we might face and how we might manage coexistence.

We will also explore what it would be like to walk in the lynx’s footsteps once again, as we sharpen our senses to forgotten cues and learn how to identify and track pine martens, wildcats, badgers and foxes, comparing their behaviours and signs to those of a lynx. We will learn to think both like a lynx and like the lynx’s prey, experiencing the landscape through their eyes, ears and noses, as we seek to re-imagine how our woodlands would feel in the presence of this apex predator.

The Learning Day will cover:
– An introduction to lynx ecology and behaviour
– What a Scottish reintroduction might look like
– How a lynx reintroduction could benefit Scotland
– Remaining barriers to a lynx reintroduction and how they might be overcome
– Thinking like a lynx – tracking skills and the art of silent stalking
– Living with lynx – a fresh look at life (and death) through the eyes of a roe deer

Join us for a walk around Moray’s earliest surviving tower house, reputedly built for Scotland’s vilest man, Alexander Stewart—the infamous Wolf of Badenoch. Drumin Castle, an impressive medieval fortification, stands on a commanding bluff overlooking the confluence of the River Livet and the River Avon.

Upon reaching the castle, you’ll learn about its architecture, history, and the notorious Wolf, whose evil deeds continue to cast a long shadow over Moray’s history.

Drumin Castle has now reopened after masonry repairs, with access to the first floor now possible via a narrow stone staircase. Sensible footwear is recommended.

Step back in time and uncover the mystery of the Picts with the Glenlivet & Inveravon Heritage and Dark Sky Ranger. This engaging talk and tour will introduce you to the Pictish people, their unique art, and the symbol stones that continue to inspire centuries after they were carved.

Set within the ancient and atmospheric site of Inveravon Church—an important place of worship and pilgrimage for generations—we’ll closely examine the intricate carvings on the four remarkable Pictish stones discovered here. You’ll learn how these enigmatic symbols fit into a wider cultural story and how the Picts helped lay the foundations of modern Scotland.