You may not be able to travel just now, but as soon as it becomes safe to do so again, your first holiday will feel extra special. That’s why over the next month our weekly blogs will shine a light on the best things to do and places to visit in the area. We contacted and interviewed local businesses that we thought our guests might be interested in, so that you can start planning your next adventure today! For this first interview blog we spoke to Ellen, Engagement & Marketing Manager at The Scottish Crannog Centre.
How would you describe The Scottish Crannog Centre in one sentence?
The Scottish Crannog Centre is an open-air museum, complete with a life-size reconstruction of a crannog roundhouse, where visitors can come and experience an interactive journey into the lives of crannog dwellers 2,500 years ago.
What can people expect from a day trip to the Crannog Centre?
Visitors can expect to travel back in time to Prehistoric Scotland, where they will be guided by our Iron Age Interpreters and find out all about how crannogs were built, who lived in them and what they did on a day-to-day basis. They can see a collection of unique artefacts, get a tour of the crannog roundhouse, plus be involved with demonstrations of ancient technologies, such as woodturning and weaving.
What do visitors love most about the Crannog Centre?
Most visitors love the crannog itself! The building is so special and it’s not something you come across every day, so to be able to sit inside the crannog and take in the atmosphere really makes you feel as if you’re experiencing it like the people who lived in 500BC would have.
Can you tell us a bit about the events you host every year? We loved attending the Celts are Coming! festival.
Our events are a great chance for visitors to experience even more demonstrations and activities as we have a great “Crannog Community” of craftspeople and volunteers who come and display their fantastic skills throughout the year. We’ve had leatherworkers, woodworkers, historical food experts, weapons experts, all sorts on site, helping bring our events to life! It’s great to have everyone involved as the whole place turns into a village and the atmosphere is so authentic!
What do you like most about working at the Crannog Centre?
Probably getting to meet the variety of different people who visit. We have visitors from all across the globe, with a huge range of skills and knowledge, so you really do learn something new ever day. It’s also a chance to learn some new skills that would never have crossed your mind before, such as spinning wool or learning how to make fire by friction – and you never know when these skills might come in handy…
Do you have any recommendations for families to learn more about the Iron Age during lockdown?
We have a resources page on our website (https://crannog.co.uk/links) which will lead you to a variety of different websites so you can start learning about the Iron Age, or any sort of historical period. YouTube is also a great tool for finding fun, educational videos for the whole family to view.
Is there anything else you would like to say to our readers?
The Scottish Crannog Centre is an independent charity which is funded mainly through admission fees, shop sales and donations and keeps our organisation running. Because of the COVID-19 situation, we’ve unfortunately had to shut our doors until further notice. If anyone would like to donate to help keep the Crannog Centre functioning, our page is https://crannog.co.uk/about-us/donate. We’d also love it if you could follow us on social media so you don’t miss out on any updates or fun videos and activities.
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ScottishCrannogCentre/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/ScottishCrannog
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/scottishcrannogcentre/
