Our next winter talk will be held on Friday, 18th October, in the Aberfeldy Breadalbane Community Campus, commencing at 7.30 p.m. This talk will be presented by Colin Liddell who in the past has presented talks on General Wade’s Scottish roads, but this time Colin will concentrate on the bridges constructed by General Wade and his successor, Major William Caulfeild, who supervised the construction of many more roads and bridges than Wade.
On Friday, 20th September, at 7.30 p.m., we start the new 2024-25 Winter Season of BHS Talks with presentations by interior decorators John and Mark Nevin who will will explain the meticulous and tough work they carried out to return the Castle to its former glory. This will be followed by Gordon MacGregor, Heraldry and Genealogy Expert, who will explain how the family’s history has shaped the interior symbolism and artwork and will describe in particular the significance of details within the public rooms.
From our constitution, one of the Charitable Purposes of the Society is to advance education, heritage and culture by promoting and encouraging an interest in the study of the archaeology, history, antiquities, folklore and natural history, particularly concerning the Breadalbane and Upper Tay area of Perthshire. With this in mind and when possible, we try each year to build our programme of talks around these five topics associated with our local area.
Our winter season of six monthly talks runs through to March on the third Friday of the month, apart from December when there is not a talk. With the exception of the January and February talks which are presented online on Zoom, they are held in the main hall of the Breadalbane Community Campus in Aberfeldy at 7.30 p.m.
The February talk by Dr. Sharon Webb on ‘Kilmartin Glen’s Prehistoric Archaeology’ and the April talk by Donald Riddell on ‘Glenlyon: Myths, Legends, Amazing People and Places’ were recorded and can now be viewed below.
Kilmartin Glen is one of Scotland’s most important Prehistoric landscapes with many important burial and ritual sites. Many artefacts of international significance have been found here, and this talk will give 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, with the museum reopening in September 2023.n Watch here: ‘Kilmartin Glen’s Prehistoric Archaeology’
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. Sit down and join Donald on a virtual safari to explore its secrets. Watch here: ‘Glenlyon: Myths, Legends, Amazing People and Places’
You will also be able to find the recordings of these two talks along with all previous recorded talks on the ‘Recorded Winter Talks’ page in this website: https://breadalbane-heritage.org.uk/recorded-winter-talks/
The final talk of our 2023-24 winter season takes place this Friday, 19th April at 7.30pm in the Assembly Hall at the Breadalbane Community Campus, Aberfeldy. Donald Riddell will be presenting an illustrated talk on “The Mysteries, Folklore, and History of Glen Lyon”.
Our 2024-25 winter season of talks will start on Friday, 20th September 2024 with a talk on the restoration work being carried out at Taymouth Castle near Kenmore. Other topics throughout the season will include talks on Wade’s Road (from Crieff to Dalnacardoch), 19th century Ardtrasgairt Social History, and Cluny Gardens.
Recently, there have been two short items on BBC Scotland’s early Saturday morning radio programme ‘Out of Doors’ which relate to the activities of the Breadalbane Heritage Society.
First, following Colin Liddell’s excellent and informative talk ‘Deciphering the Language of our Local Landscape’ to the Society in November last year, he was interviewed by Rachel Stewart on how, with his own project during Covid lockdown, he went about translating and interpreting the Gaelic names to be found on Ordnance Survey maps covering an area of 175 square miles around Pitlochry, which was broadcast on Saturday, 23rd March. You can listen to this episode here:
If you wish to view the recording of his November talk when 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 he revealed through his translations, you can watch it here: ‘Gaelic Map Names’
Soon after that, Rachel interviewed Ian Stewart about the history of, and the involvement of the Breadalbane Heritage Society at, the small, private Killiechassie Burial Ground located beside the minor road between Weem and Strathtay.
This was broadcast on Saturday, 6th April and you can listen to the episode here:
If you wish to learn more about the burial ground, there is extensive information in this website which you can find here: https://breadalbane-heritage.org.uk/killiechassie-burial-ground/
The next BHS meeting takes place next week on Friday 15th March at 7.30pm in the Assembly Hall at the Breadalbane Community Campus, Aberfeldy. Mike Benson will be presenting an illustrated talk on “The Scottish Crannog Centre, Past, Present and Future”.
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.
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.
As well as playing a leading role in the renewal of our facilities, Sharon inher current role of Director and Curator of the Kilmartin Museum is guiding the development of new exhibitions and caring for the Museum’s Collections. She was awarded an MBE for services to Heritage and Archaeology in 2015.
There are four talks remaining from the 2023-24 winter season. The January and February talks are presented only online on Zoom, whilst the March and April talks will be held ‘in-peson’ in the Breadalbane Community Campus building in Aberfeldy.
The first of these talks, ‘The Black Watch’ presented by Major Ronnie Proctor, will be held on Zoom on Friday, 19th January, starting at 7.30 p.m.. To view this talk you must register in advance with Ian at bhsaberfeldy@gmail.com.
An illustrated talk presented by Colin Liddell to the Breadalbane Heritage Society on Friday, 17th November, 2023.
During the Covid lockdown, Colin, a long-standing supporter of, and a speaker to, the Breadalbane Heritage Society, researched and endeavoured to translate all of the Gaelic place names noted on maps 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 his translations.
You can view the video recording of his talk here: ‘Gaelic Map Names’, or by playing the video below. To view the video at the full size of your screen, click the ‘full screen’ button found at the bottom right hand side of the screen:
Breadalbane Heritage Society 
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