Blairgowrie & Rattray Hub Magazine Winter 2023

Photo taken by Markus Stitz
We had a busy summer in the Cateran
Ecomuseum with our current programme of
free guided walks and cycles now at an end.
Thanks to National Lottery players and our successful application to the National Lottery
Heritage Fund, we have been able to offer 24 free guided walks and cycles since March this year
which have been attended by around 100 people, building on our work with local communities
and visitors to the area.
The inaugural Lezyne Cateran Dirt Dash 5050 - a collaboration between the Ecomuseum and Dirt
Dash Ltd - saw 52 participants cycle 55 miles (87km) self-supported around the Cateran Trail.
Participants ranged in age from 12 to 72 years old and 35 per cent were women.
The ‘bikepackers’ set out from Alyth Bowling Club before heading to Kirkmichael, the Lunch Hut
and Glenshee where they camped for the night. They then cycled from Glenshee to Glenisla
before returning to Alyth the following day.
And we’re delighted to announce that following the success of the event, it will return to the area
over the weekend of May 4th and 5th next year. Save the date!
We also celebrated the social history and cultural significance of Meigle’s intriguing past with
more than 100 people attending three events over the course of a weekend.
These included a talk from Dr Mark Hall, archaeologist and collections officer for Perth
Museum & Art Gallery, who discussed the Pictish sculptures from Meigle, following their story
through time and exploring their ongoing cultural significance and their importance to our
understanding of the Picts, and Monumental Meigle, a ‘promenade play’ that tells the stories
of, and makes modern-day interpretations of, several landmarks and points of interest in the
historic east Perthshire village. An audio recording of the play will be available online soon, so
watch this space!
All of the events that we have held over the past few months have aimed to increase the number
of active travel for leisure and regenerative tourism experiences offered by the Ecomuseum,
positioning it as one of Scotland’s premier car-free holiday destinations.
The events were also part of the wider Museum of Rapid Transition programme, which has been
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52 BRDT MAGAZINE - WINTER 2023