Full information about how to apply for or renew your Membership is included on the form which you can view and save using this link:

Although the Society has been well supported since it was founded in 1962, in the last decade we saw declining membership, participation and involvement. It became clear that a new approach was required to reverse this trend. We needed to reach new and different audiences, to broaden our appeal and to innovate.

We introduced a programme of summer activities with short ‘explainer’ visits to local places and further afield full-day locations of interest often related to topics presented in our winter talks. We have supported the Loch Tay Young Archaeologists in their activities as well as having a close relationship with The Scottish Crannog Centre.

We campaigned successfully to protect scheduled ancient monuments (Old Lawers Village), we revived earlier work by the Society in restoration (Killiechassie Burial Ground), embarked on a plan for longer historical visits away from the locality (Iona) and investigated new interest groups (Family History Research) so that we could diversify our point of contact with those residing in or visiting this wonderful part of Highland Perthshire.

We took a new approach to planning our speakers’ programme so that we could look further ahead and create more options. We improved our marketing significantly, introduced an electronic mailing list and moved our meeting venue into Breadalbane Community Campus in Aberfeldy, investing in new PC equipment to improve AV presentation quality.

As a result of these activities we have seen a big revival in both attendance at meetings and membership. In the 2017-18 season attendance at meetings totalled 239 individuals, and in 2018-19 this number increased to 339 with a record attendance of 117 at a talk on “Scotland’s Beavers”. Pre-Covid, our average attendance at each indoor talk was around 55 people; post-Covid, our average dropped a little to the mid- to high-40s, probably because people were still reluctant to mix in larger groups, but attendance is now slowly building up again. Our meetings are held in the large main hall of the Community Campus building which has a seated capacity for around 200 people with plenty of space to separate from others if required.

In the early part of 2020, the COVID pandemic forced us to cancel our planned lecture on Schiehallion by Dr. Liz Auty (who returned to present her talk to us in November 2021) and also our first Annual Members Meeting (AMM) since BHS became a SCIO. Nevertheless the total attendance for the 2019/20 season stood at a very healthy 291.

We have also been delighted by the increasing participation in our online programme of virtual lectures which had to replace our physical plans in the first part of the new Financial Year 2020-21, with the attendance at the February talk on “The Roman Army in Perthshire” reached over 110 individuals. We continue to present our January and February talks by Zoom, predominantly to overcome difficulties with winter weather affecting attendance and travel problems for speakers, but also to keep in contact with our wider Zoom audience.

Membership increased from 63 individuals in 2016/17 to a very healthy total of 125 individuals in May 2021 but currently with a slight drop post-Covid to 110.

Membership 2023 – 24

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and the consequent inability to hold indoor public meetings in the Breadalbane Campus, for the 2020-21 winter season of talks, the Trustees and committee agreed that  2019-20 membership would be extended through to the end of August 2021 at no additional charge.

However, with the proposal to reinstate the winter season of indoor public meetings in 2021, an annual membership fee was applied from September 2021. Membership rates remained unchanged at £12 for Individual and £20 for Joint Membership (two adults living at the same address) and, at the AMM held in March 2023, it was agreed that these rates would remain unchanged for the 2023-24 season of winter talks and the associated 2024 summer events. 

Membership fees provide the Society with valuable income and members are entitled to attend meetings, whether ‘live’ or ‘virtual’, and most local events free of charge.

Full information about how to apply for or renew your Membership is included on the form which you can download, save and use with this link: 2023-24 Membership Form