Our winter season of six monthly talks, held on the third Friday of each month with the exception of December when we don’t present a talk, began in September and ran through to March. With the exception of the January and February talks which were presented on Zoom only, all of our other talks were held in the Breadalbane Community Campus in Aberfeldy, starting at 7.30 p.m.

Friday, 15^th September 2023: ‘Tayside Raptor Study Group’, presented by Logan Steele, Secretary of the Tayside & Fife Raptor Study Group

Raptors are an integral part of Scotland’s natural heritage and some species, such as the golden eagle, are iconic emblems of our landscape and can be indicative of a healthy environment.

The Scottish Raptor Study Group, founded in 1980, is a network of around 300 raptor (birds of prey) experts who monitor and record the fortunes of raptor species across Scotland; the Tayside & Fife Raptor Study Group is one of their 12 regional branches, and Logan discussed the work and the recent monitoring activityof this group .

This talk was not recorded.

Friday, 20^th October 2023: ‘Glenlyon: Myths, Legends, Amazing People and Places’

This talk was cancelled due to Storm Babet forcing the closure at short notice of the Breadalbane Communituy Campus. It was then rescheduled to be held on the 19th April, 2024, as included below.

Friday, 17^th November 2023: ‘Deciphering the Language of our Local Landscape’, presented by Colin Liddell

During Lockdown, Colin researched and endeavoured to translate all of the Gaelic place names within 175 square miles surrounding Pitlochry. He explained why and how he did this, and illustrated a number of fascinating features of the life carried on in the foothills of Highland Perthshire and beyond which have been revealed through translations.

This talk was recorded and you can view it here: ‘Gaelic Map Names’

Friday, 19^th January 2024: ‘The Black Watch’, presented by Major Ronnie Proctor online on Zoom

Ronnie is the Secretary of the Black Watch Association and his talk covered the existence of the Black Watch Regiment from 1739 to 2006 as one of Great Britain’s most famous Infantry Regiments with its roots deeply planted in Aberfeldy.

This talk was recorded and you can view it here: ‘The Black Watch ‘

Friday, 16^th February 2024: ‘Kilmartin Glen’s Prehistoric Archaeology’, presented by Dr. Sharon Webb online on Zoom

Kilmartin Glen is one of Scotland’s most important Prehistoric landscapes with many important burial and ritual sites, including cairns, rock art sites, standing stones and a stone circle. Many artefacts of international significance have been found here, and this talk gave an outline of the archaeology and some insights into its meaning and importance.

Dr. Sharon Webb came to Kilmartin Museum as Curator in 2003 and has served as Director from 2004. She instigated plans for redeveloping the Museum in 2012 and led the team that raised over £7 million to bring those plans to fruition. The new £7.8 million Museum facility opened in September last year to celebrate this special place, and to care for over 40,000 archaeological artefacts from all over Argyll.

This talk was recorded and you can view it here: ‘Kilmartin Archaeology’

Friday, 15^th March 2024: ‘The Scottish Crannog Centre: Past, Present and Future’, Presented by Mike Benson, Managing Director of the Scottish Crannog Centre

The Scottish Crannog Centre is a museum situated on the banks of Loch Tay, which interprets the lives of crannog dwellers who lived on the loch 2,500 years ago. Mike will review the history of the Centre and, following the catastrophic fire of their original crannog, describe their new development at Dalerb on the north bank of the loch, and their ambitions for the future.

This talk was not recorded.

Friday, 19^th April 2024: ‘Glenlyon: Myths, Legends, Amazing People and Places’, presented by Donald Riddell

This talk was to be held on Friday, 20th October 2023, but had to be cancelled at short notice due to Storm Babet forcing the closure of the Breadalbane Communituy Campus. It was then rescheduled to be held on Friday,19th April, 2024.

Having lived and worked in and around Glenlyon for over 50 years, Donald has a deep passion for its nature and history. Around every turn is a story, myth or legend in this the longest glen in Scotland.

Donald pesented an illustrated virtual safari to explore its secrets.

This talk was recorded and you can view it here: ‘Glenlyon: Myths, Legends, Amazing People and Places’

2024 Programme of Summer Excursions

In association with the programme of winter talks, we also ran a short season of half and full-day excursions from late May to mid-July, ideally to locations referred to in some of the winter talks.

22^nd May, 2024: The Black Watch Museum, Perth