Drystone dyking training day

Castletown Heritage Society operates the Castlehill Heritage Centre as an educational resource for visitors, local students and school children and the local community. Through a programme of interpretive exhibitions and interactive workshops, we seek to stimulate and sustain interest in and understanding of the history, heritage, vernacular skills, biodiversity and physical environment of Castletown and the parish of Olrig. Our aim is to preserve and maintain the unique heritage of our community within both local Caithness and broader Highland contexts.

To see events and activities from other years, click here:

COMPLETED 2018 EVENTS

Crofting and Farming Exhibition

Our very popular exhibition on crofting and farming in Caithness returns, featuring themed displays of artefacts, photographs and stories exploring life on the croft and changes in the lot of the farmer through time.

Castletown and District Hits The Headlines

A display covering a multitude of press cuttings and general news dating back to the early 1900s. Natural occurrences, social and leisure, shocks, winners and losers and more.

Sat 24 February

2.30pm - 3.30pm

Geocaching Event

Castlehill heritage Centre held a Geocaching event on Saturday 24 February.

Image taken by Solitude, CC BY-SA 3.0

Sat 17

Sun 18

and Sat 25 March

10am - 12am

Pottery Workshops

Following the highly successful pottery workshops held last year a further series of three hands-on traditional skills pottery workshops will be held in March.

These highly popular workshops are already fully booked, but to find out more and register interest on the waiting list for future events please click HERE. If sufficient interest is shown we may organise a further workshop for those new to pottery later in the year.

Winter series of Evening Talks

On Tuesday 13th February Muriel Murray presented “Following the Threads of History”. This was a fascinating glimpse into local history from Neolithic to the present through preserved fragments of textile and their ghosts! The news page for a full report.

On Tuesday 20th March F/Lt Don Mason RAF RV(Ret) presented a fascinating talk entitled “Their Past, Your Future”. Don Mason is a WW2 veteran who took part in the war as a pilot. He had a wonderful story to tell and also an exhibition to go with the talk. Now into his nineties he had a treasury of memories to share. See News page for full report on this event.

Following the AGM on Wednesday 25th April, Alan McIvor talked about Old St Peter’s Church in Thurso and the Church of Caithness. We all know the church is there but do we know much of it’s history. The talk was most informative and put the old church into context.

All talks took place in Castlehill Heritage Centre.

Wed 25 April

7.30pm

Castletown Heritage Society AGM

The Annual General Meeting of the Castletown Heritage Society will be held in Castlehill Heritage Centre on Wednesday 25 April at 7.30pm.

All members, friends and associates welcome.

The guest speaker will be Alan McIvor, who will talk about Old St Peter’s Church in Thurso and the Church of Caithness. We all know the church is there but do we know much of it’s history? This informative talk will put the old church into context.

Tea/coffee and biscuits will be served thereafter.

Winter series of Evening Talks

The final talk took place on Tuesday 8 May (rescheduled from January) and was presented by Garance Warburton who will talk about the work of the Caithness archive and some of the archive material linked to Olrig Parish. This was an excellent opportunity to see these kind of documents that are kept in the archive.

All talks took place in Castlehill Heritage Centre.

Sat 7 July

9am - 4pm

Smithing/Metalworking workshop

Learn the craft of metal working using traditional skills. Hands-on, full day workshop.

To find out more please email us.

Sunday

5, 12, 19, 26

August

2pm - 4pm

Cream Teas at Castlehill

Returning by popular demand, on every Sunday in August we will be serving Cream teas at Castlehill.

Delicious home made scones and cakes. Guaranteed to get the taste buds dancing!

A perfect way to complement a Sunday afternoon stroll round the Flagstone trail or a meander round the amazing Heritage Garden.

Sat 1 Sept

10am - 4pm

Land Marks - Brooch Making Workshop

Join artist Joanne B Kaar to make a series of unique brooches inspired by the landscape. Suitable for beginners, this fun workshop will combine traditional string making techniques with contemporary design. £20 for a full day workshop.

During the workshop participants will each make around 10 brooches, ready to wear! Materials are included in the fee, but participants are welcome to bring along any small items such as threads, feathers, twigs, shells (which have holes in them ) and wire etc to incorporate into their unique brooches, making them more personal.

Sat 1 Sept

8pm

Bat Walk at Castlehill

Come and join us for an evening talk and presentation about Scottish Bats, followed by a walk around the neighbouring woodland looking for our local bats. We will have special detectors to allow us to listen out for them as they fly around hunting for insects

Flagstone Exhibition

Our very popular summer exhibition returns, featuring themed displays of artefacts, photographs and stories exploring the fascinating industrial and social history of the Flagstone Industry in Caithness.

Also on display is an additional feature entitled “Formidable Females”. We are working in co-operation with Lyth Arts Centre to celebrate the 100 years since some women had the vote.

Sat 22 Sept

9am - 4pm

Smithing/Metalworking workshop

Learn the craft of metal working using traditional skills. Hands-on, full day workshop. Due to the popularity of our first smithing workshop we organised this second workshop, which took place on Saturday 22 September.

Wednesday 26 December

2pm to 4pm

Boxing Day Mulled Wine & Mince Pies

Join us at Castlehill Heritage Centre for mulled wine, mince-meat pies and a good going chinwag on our traditional festive Boxing Day opening. Always a popular event!

Featuring the Castletown Remembers WWI exhibition.

Exhibition - Castletown Recalls WWI

November 2018 marks one hundred years since the end of the First World War, and to commemorate this momentous occasion Castletown Heritage Society is staging an exhibition at Castlehill Heritage Centre.

The fascinating exhibition explores the impact of the war both on those at home and those serving abroad, and features artefacts and ephemera from the period together with poignant stories and first hand accounts of the challenges, bravery and suffering involved, all with a local focus.