This season, due to the relaxation of the government imposed Covid-19 lock-down and social distancing restrictions, we were able to revert to our usual planned programme of six indoor meetings held in the Breadalbane Community Campus in Aberfeldy on the third Friday of the months from September to March, excluding December, with the exception of the September, January and February talks which were presented online on Zoom. In September, the Campus building was still not open to the general public, as the health safety of the school students and teachers was the paramount aim.
In addition, and taking into consideration the likelihood of adverse winter weather during the months of January and February making travel difficult for the speakers and audience alike, and from comments that many are unwilling to venture out on cold, wet, snowy winter evenings, we have decided to continue to present the January and February talks online by Zoom. This also allows us to continue to have contact with the wider audience of all those who joined our 2020-21 winter season of Zoom talks when, due to Covid restrictions, we were not able to hold live in-person talks in the Breadalbane Community Centre.
Generally our programme of talks for the 2021-22 season included those that had been postponed from the Covid-affected 2020-21 season.
Winter Season of Indoor Meetings
Friday 17th September 2021: ‘Salmon and Salmon Fishing in the River Tay’ by Dr. David Summers
On Friday, 17th September 2021, Dr. David Summers, the Fisheries Director of the Tay District Salmon Fisheries Board presented his talk which encompassed the life cycle of the salmon, the drastic reduction in salmon numbers and current scientific research studies.
He provided an overview of the status of the River Tay’s salmon population and fisheries, with an emphasis on how things compare with the past and what the future might hold.
This talk was presented on Zoom and you can view the recording of the talk here: ‘Salmon and Salmon Fishing in the River Tay’ talk video
Friday 15th October 2021: ‘Battles of the Three Muirs’ by Rob Hands
Rob Hands, a retired geography teacher and joint founder of Tippermuir Books Ltd., which publishes local and military history books, presented this talk, in which he explored the outstanding local battles of Dupplin Moor (1332), Tippermuir (1644) and Sheriffmuir (1715).
He used maps and photographs to project a feel for the landscapes that determined the battle outcomes. This talk was not recorded.
Friday, 19th November 2021: ‘The Attraction of Mountains’ presented by Dr. Liz Auty
Dr. Liz Auty, John Muir Trust’s East Schiehallion Property Manager, discussed the Reverend Nevil Maskelyne’s 1774 expedition to Schiehallion, the people, the experiment to ‘weigh’ the world and the mountain, along with her work for the John Muir Trust.
This talk was recorded and you can view the talk here: ‘The Attraction of Mountains’. This will take you to the post which includes the video.
Friday, 21st January 2022: ‘The early Medieval Sculpture of Highland Perthshire’ presented by John Borland
In this talk, John gave an overview of the early medieval sculpture of Highland Perthshire, following its distribution from west to east along the glens and straths, highlighting what is rare and unusual. He examined the distribution of the sculpture to see what that tells us about its cultural origins and thus assess just how “Pictish” this part of Perthshire was.
You can watch the recording of John’s talk here: ‘The early Medieval Sculpture of Highland Perthshire‘. This will take you to the post which includes the video.
Friday, 18th February 2022: ‘Ancient Magnificence: Arbroath Abbey and Beyond’ presented by Dr. Nicki Scott
Dr. Nicki Scott, Senior Cultural Resources Advisor with Historic Environment Scotland, presented her talk and described how although the survival of so many Pictish carvings highlights the long tradition of Christian worship across Angus, the tradition of monumental display continued in the medieval period, most famously at Arbroath Abbey.
But while this royal foundation rightly draws much attention, sites such as Restenneth Priory and Maison Dieu show that it wasn’t just the elites whose lives were connected to the Church. Nicki provided some insight into the lives of these foundations and the people associated with them.
You can watch the recording of Nicki’s talk here: ‘Ancient Magnificence: Arbroath Abbey and Beyond’. This will take you to the post which includes the video.
Friday, 18th March 2022: ‘James MacLaren and the Arts and Crafts Movement’, a talk by Annette Carruthers
Annette Carruthers, an Honorary Senior Lecturer at the School of Art History at the University of St. Andrews, presented her talk to the Breadalbane Heritage Society and described how, despite the tragic shortness of his life, James Marjoribanks MacLaren (1853-1890) achieved much in his architectural career and is recognised as a pioneer of the Arts & Crafts Movement.
Annette discussed how his work as an architect and designer impacted on his contemporaries in the context of this movement in Scotland and in Britain more widely.
You can watch the recording of Annette’s talk here: ‘James MacLaren and the Arts and Crafts Movement’. This will take you to the post which includes the video.
Summer 2022 Season of Excursions
Fortunately, due to the relaxation of the Covid restrictions, we were able to run our full programme of summer excursions, commencing with a visit to the Antonine Wall on the 23rd of May, led by Jim Walker. This full day visit which had been proposed to follow the talk that Jim had presented to the Society in November 2019 on the Antonine Wall had been postponed from 2020
Our tour started with an introduction to the wall at museum in Callendar House in Falkirk, and proceeded westwards to visit Watling Lodge, Rough Castle and Castlecary Fort.
For further details of the trip, refer to the posted blog. This will take you to the post which includes the video.
On the morning of the 8th of June, and undeterred by the sightly damp weather which had followed several days of bright sunshine, sixteen members of the Society set out to explore the lower eastern slopes of Schiehallion. This was led by Dr. Liz Auty who had presented a talk on Schiehallion in November.
For further details of the this visit, refer to the posted blog. This will take you to the post which includes the video.
On Wednesday 22nd June, a group of ten members joined Rob Hands for a full day visit to two local battlefield sites just to the west of Perth; the battle of Duplin Moor (1332) and the nearby battle of Tippermuir (1644). This tour was led by Rob Hands and followed on from his talk to the Society in October.
We finished the excursion with a visit to Tibbermore Church where some 300 Covenanters were slain following the battle of Tippermuir.
For further details of the this visit, refer to the posted blog. This will take you to the post which includes the video.
Twenty members of the Society gathered in Fortingall Kirk on the morning of the 6th of July to hear John Borland talk about the remarkably rich selection of fragments of carved stones displayed within the church and also outside. This allowed us to look at some of the sculptured stones which John had talked about in his talk to the Society in January.
For further details of the this visit, refer to the posted blog. This will take you to the post which includes the video.
The final summer excursion was a 4-day trip to the Angus area to visit a number of archaeological and historical sites, predominantly owned by Historic Environment Scotland, from Monday the 22nd to Thursday the 25th of August.
On the Monday, we visited the Meigle Sculptured Stone Museum, the Eassie Sculptured Stone and the four sculptured stones at Aberlemno before travelling to the George Hotel in Montrose, our base for the following days.
Tuesday took us to Arbroath Abbey and the Arbroath Signal Tower Museum in the morning, and to the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Montrose Basin Visitor Centre in the afternoon.
Further Pictish sculptured stones were inspected at the St. Vigeans Sculptured Stones Museum on Wednesday morning with a visit to the neighbouring St. Vigeans Parish Church before driving to Forfar to see more Pictish stones in the Meffan Museum and Art Gallery.
On the final morning, we visited the National Trust for Scotland’s House of Dun and gardens just to the west of Montrose which included an informative and interesting guided tour of the interior of the house. In the afternoon, many of the fifteen members of the group managed to visit other sites on their way back to the Aberfeldy area which included the White and Brown Caterthun iron age hill forts to the north of Brechin and Restenneth Priory just to the east of Forfar.
If you would like further information on all the sites we visited, you will find a more comprehensive narrative with many more photographs on this page in our website:
https://breadalbane-heritage.org.uk/bhs-visit-to-angus-in-august-2022/
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Breadalbane Heritage Society 
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