Posts for June, 2023

Hayley Wiswell, conservation officer from the Cairngorms National Park Authority will be facilitating this workshop. She will explain the need for pollinator habitats, how you can create them in your own and a community spaces and get a chance to plant up a planter with wildflowers for your community to enjoy. Nancy Chambers, Manager of the Cairngorms Trust will be on hand to answer any questions about the new Cairngorms Trust Nature Resilience Fund which includes funding for community pollinator and wildflower projects.

“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 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.

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. 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.

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.

Whether you live nearby or are visiting from further afield, our aim is to inspire and help everybody to connect with nature.

This season, we’re piloting a limited series of immersive forest walks (also known as forest bathing) that have been specifically designed to provide a rich experience of Abernethy Forest. Even for those who already love the outdoors, many say that forest bathing differs dramatically from their usual experience of being in nature.

Our guided forest bathing walks are specifically designed to provide opportunities to quietly connect with the details of nature, and relax, restore, and recalibrate.

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.

Looking to reconnect with nature and embrace your creative side?

To celebrate our summer exhibition, The Forest, we’re holding a special one-off workshop, combining the ancient Japanese practice of shinrin yoku (AKA forest bathing) and ceramics.

Running on Friday July 7, 10am-2.30pm, you’ll start the day with a session led by Highland Quietlife in beautiful Anagach Woods in Grantown-on-Spey. Cath will lead you through ways to find a connection with the forest and trees around you.

Then at the Spey Bank Studio, our lead tutor Angus Grant will show you how to make a pinch pot, using natural objects to add texture to your clay.

And best of all – Angus will glaze and fire your ceramics and you’ll get them to keep as a memento of the day.

Setting off at around 7pm on the Saturday night from the Cairngorm Ski Centre Carpark, we will head onto the Cairngorm Plateau. As we do so we will witness the last light of the day and the sun setting at approximately 9pm. As we ascend into darkness, we will use torches and night navigation skills to summit the highest mountain in the Cairngorms, Ben Macdui.

At this time of year in the Cairngorms, the nights are short so it won’t be long until we are able to witness the sun rising again. Before this happens we will make time to appreciate the night skies with opportunities for night photography and, if we’re lucky, to witness the natural phenomenon of noctilucent clouds.

Before we head back down to the car park, we take time to enjoy the setting with hot drinks (brewed by your guide) This is a great opportunity to have a wee blether and take in the dawn from an elevated mountain setting.

Come for a Wildlife Wander with someone from our knowledgeable team to see some of the amazing wildlife that Summer brings to Insh Marshes.

The breeding season for birds is coming to an end, however there is still plenty of other life to be seen on the marshes and in the meadow. Colourful wild flowers include sweetly scented orchids, which attract beautiful butterflies and dragonflies. We will lookout for the scarce Scotch Argus butterfly which feeds on flowers like the sunshine-yellow Rock Rose.

Some areas may be rough underfoot. It is unfortunately not suitable for wheelchairs or buggies, and we recommend sturdy footwear.