Castlehill Heritage Centre set for another busy summer season
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
THE volunteers who run Castlehill Heritage Centre are gearing up for another busy summer season of exhibitions, workshops and community activities.
The centre was established to preserve the character, history and traditions of the village of Castletown and the parish of Olrig.
Overlooking Dunnet Bay and adjacent to the cutting yard and quarry of the former Castlehill flagstone workings, the centre is manned entirely by local volunteers and is fully accessible. Open on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from 2-4pm, the centre is one of the very few museum/tourist facilities in Caithness with year-round opening hours, Castletown Heritage Society’s chairman Neil Buchan points out. Other times can be arranged for groups or special interest visitors.
The centre’s exhibitions and displays are changed regularly throughout the year. The current exhibition is Pastimes from Past Times and explores how local people spent their leisure time in times gone by, from sport and music to handicrafts and everything in between. This has proved very popular, jogging childhood memories of many visitors.
Time this exhibition will soon be replaced by an exhibition of the works and activities of the famous local firm McIvor and Allan, wood-chip carvers who operated their business in Castletown from around 1890 to 1955. Examples of their work will be on display, including tables and tea trays, along with lots of background information.
Over the summer months the exhibition will, as usual, be on the flagstone industry - this exhibition is always extremely popular with visitors to the area as it links directly to the Flagstone Trail.
In parallel with the main exhibitions the centre has been running a smaller one entitled Formidable Females. This was established early last year to celebrate 100 years of women's suffrage, and features the lives of some prominent local women and their influence on the society of the time. It will remain on display for some months yet.
One of the most popular “permanent” exhibits is the World War II Rolls-Royce Merlin engine that was recovered by two Halkirk men in 1990 from an RAF Hurricane that crashed into a Caithness bog while on a training exercise in 1940. The story behind the pilot (who survived the crash) and his later escape from Stalag Luft 3 is amazing! (The engine will be relocated to the Halkirk heritage centre later in the year, once that is fully up and running.)
Each year a number of hands-on workshops are run at the centre, the aim being to sustain knowledge and experience in vernacular skills. This year they will cover pottery, millinery, smithing and crochet.
Full details of all workshops appear on the Castlehill Heritage Centre website.
On every Sunday in August, cream teas will be served in the heritage garden.
In addition to the exhibitions and workshops, there is a regular Monday evening art class run by local artist Helen Moore, plus events held by the North Highland Woodturners Association, Caithness Astronomy Group and the Scottish Ornithologists Club.
In the autumn the centre will host two weddings – it is proving to be an interesting alternative venue for small weddings and photo-shoots.
On every Sunday in August, cream teas will be served in the heritage garden. This has become something of an institution, and is popular with visitors and locals alike.
During the winter months there will again be a series of evening talks.
In terms of changes and improvements since last year, the biggest item was in September, when the centre achieved a four-star award under the VisitScotland Visitor Attraction Scheme. The award reflected the hard work done by the society and its supporters to continuously improve both the visitor experience and the general facilities at Castlehill since being awarded three stars in 2013. The grading report made particular mention of the hospitality, friendliness, service and efficiency of the volunteers manning the centre, grading these aspects as five-star – exceptional. Similarly graded exceptional were the cleanliness of the centre and the grounds. The heritage garden merited a special mention as looking superb and creating an excellent feature to greet visitors on arrival.
The centre has always been fully accessible, an aspect much appreciated by visitors and users. Recently there have been improvements to the facilities for visitors with mobility difficulties, including enhancements to the disabled toilet and the purchase of a wheelchair.
The main exhibition areas were also redecorated in January this year.
