9 May 09
Highlands and Islands Museums Forum Museum Directory Launched
The
Highlands and Islands Museums Forum (HIMF) worked in partnership with the
Highland Council to organise 'The Past Presents' on May 4th at the
Highland Folk Museum Newtonmore especially for Show Scotland 2009 weekend.
The event, which was free and open to all, officially launched HIMF's new
directory. The booklet contains information from over 25 museums and
archives in the Highland region. It has been produced to promote museum
collections, exhibitions and activities during this The Year of
Homecoming. The project has been supported by The Highland Council and
Museums and Galleries Scotland. For Caithness Wick Heritage Museum and
North Highland Archive based at Wick Library are included in the new
guide.
December 08
The History Of Caithness Comes Alive At Thurso Town Hall
On
Monday 1st December 2008 Caithness Horizons reopened the magnificently
restored Thurso Town Hall and Carnegie Library to the public. The new
museum and community facility has not only captured the past and brought
it to life through displays and interpretation, it also provides a real
flavour of Caithness today to tempt visitors to find out more about this
diverse county. Following the opening by Margaret, Viscountess Thurso of
Ulbster, visitors had their first chance to look around the facility,
which explores the archaeology and history of the area, the geology and
ecology, the wildlife, flowers and fauna, our need for fuel and energy and
a sustainable future. The building is also home to tourist information,
temporary exhibitions and displays, educational projects, audio-visual
presentation facilities and a caf�.
Caithness Horizons Photos
![](../../photos/fpb/2008/december/caithness_horizons_opens/h4_s.jpg) ![](../../photos/fpb/2008/december/caithness_horizons_opens/h2_s.jpg)
The new facility is open 7 days a week - Monday to Saturday 10.00am -
8.00pm Sunday 11.00am - 4.00pm
Caithness Horizons Web
Site
8 February 08
Multi-Million Pound National Nuclear Archive To Be
Based At Wick
![](../../photos/fpb/2008/february/archive/archive_7_s.jpg) ![](../../photos/fpb/2008/february/archive/archive_4_s.jpg)
The Nuclear Decommissioning Agency has announced that it will invest �8
million in plans to create the UK�s National Nuclear Archive (NNA) at
Wick, Caithness, Scotland. The NNA will potentially hold between 20 and 30 million digital records
primarily concerning the history, development and decommissioning of the
UK�s civil nuclear industry since the 1940s. The money will be invested
over three years and will help get the �17 million project off the ground. The NNA is being proposed in
response to the NDA�s statutory obligation to manage public records,
keeping them safe and making them more accessible to the public. Around 20
specialist jobs will be created by the project and the building will also
provide a new home for the Wick-based North Highland Archive, which is
much in need of additional storage space.
26 January 08
Dounreay Heritage To Be Preserved
He might not think so today, but future generations
could regard James Gunn as the most important person ever to work at
Dounreay. For the former chemist and project manager has taken up
a new part-time role as the site's first heritage officer. His role is to preserve aspects of the site that will
give future generations a glimpse of life at Dounreay when the site itself
has long gone. Later this month, James will commission consultants to
draw up the site's first heritage strategy. An important and headline-grabbing part of the strategy
will be about whether to scrap the contaminated DFR sphere as part of the
site clean-up and demolition. But James says there is a lot more to the site's
heritage than just a giant steel ball.
18 November 07
Castlehill Heritage Centre Opens
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The long held aspirations of Castletown
Heritage Society to create a multi-purpose exhibition and vernacular
skills centre were finally realised today when Lord Maclennan of Rogart
performed the official Opening Ceremony at the Castlehill Heritage Centre.
A large audience of invited guests and
visitors turned out to hear Chairwoman Muriel Murray explain how the
Centre had been developed through the hard work and dedication of Society
members, friends and supporters, including a number of local contractors
and suppliers. She also thanked the various organisations who lent
financial support, either directly (Highland 2007 Community Fund and
Lottery Fund Awards for All) or in kind (UKAEA Dounreay, Invisible Heating
Supplies and Caithness Stone Industries) through the generous donation of
materials.
In his speech, Lord Maclennan paid tribute to
the vision and dedication of the Society, who's drive and enthusiasm had
been recognised as a leading inspiration for the North Highland
Initiative.
A key feature of the opening ceremony was the
launch of Castletown and the Sea - an exhibition exploring the fascinating
relationship between Castletown and the Parish of Olrig and the sea - the
Viking landings, the export of Flagstone from Castlehill Harbour to as far
afield as Argentina, India and Australia, local heroes of the high seas,
fishing, the many ships that foundered in the area, wartime events and
more.
In declaring the centre open Lord Maclennan
reflected that the content of the exhibition demonstrated the adaptabilty
and resourcefulness of the local population throughout history to the
present day.
The exhibition and Heritage Centre will be
open from 1pm to 3pm every Saturday and Sunday over the winter and other
times by arrangement.
Castletown Heritage Web Site
4 September 07
Work Starts on
�4 Redevelopment of Thurso Town Hall
Works gets underway today (Tuesday 4 September 2007) on the �4 million
redevelopment of Thurso Town Hall to create a first class visitor centre,
museum and community resource. A 52-week contract has been awarded to
O'Brien Construction Ltd by Caithness Horizons, a company limited by
guarantee with charitable status, which was formed to take forward the
exciting project. The buildings will remain in the ownership of The
Highland Council, who are one of the main funders of the project. Chairman
of Caithness Horizons, Paul Cariss, said: "A lot of hard work has gone
into getting this project to this advanced stage and we are indebted to
all the funders for their support. The centre promises to deliver an
outstanding facility, which will benefit the local community and visitors
to the area." Caithness councillors are delighted at the support given by
the Council to the project, which amounts to �1.8m.
3 August 07
MAJOR TOWN HALL REFURBISHMENT WORK DUE TO START
Caithness
Horizons is delighted to announce that after securing additional funding
from its partners and HIE Caithness & Sutherland, Highland Council has
awarded the contract for the main construction work to refurbish Thurso
Town Hall to local firm O�Brien Construction Ltd. O�Brien�s expect to
start work in the building early September.
The combined museum, visitor and community
centre is scheduled to open in the autumn of 2008, during the off-peak
tourist season. This will allow the company to concentrate on the range of
community uses proposed for the new facility and to establish the flexible
temporary exhibition areas for the use of local organisations and groups.
Caithness Horizons
Chairman Paul Cariss, welcomed the significant progress being made and
said: �After a long period of preparation I�m pleased that the major
building work will now commence and that a local business has acquired the
work.
�The project promises to deliver an
outstanding facility which will benefit both the local community and
visitors to the area. Caithness has a fascinating history and story to
tell and Caithness Horizons will help to promote the many attractions that
as yet are relatively undiscovered.�
Behind the scenes the company has been
working non-stop to develop crucial business policies such as IT and
communication plans, a pre and post-opening marketing strategy, job
descriptions for staffing positions, and to secure local business
sponsorship. Cataloguing of the museum artefacts continues and Edinburgh
based company Circa Media has been appointed to develop the audio visual
presentation that visitors will receive by way of an introduction on their
arrival.
![](sandy_park_s.jpg) The
Highland Council Convener Sandy Park, and Chief Executive Alistair Dodds
recently visited the Town Hall building and held useful discussions with
Paul Cariss on the project progress and the refurbishment plans.
Councillor Park said: "As owners of this
historic building, we are delighted to have been able to play our part in
bringing this exciting project to fruition. This will establish Thurso as
a visitor destination in its own right and act as a signpost to other
attractions in the area. It is also an important early flagship project in
the regeneration of Caithness and North Sutherland in the wake of the
decommissioning of Dounreay."
The new museum store is due to open in
Princes Street, Thurso this month and the Caithness Horizons Collections
Trust is continuing to attract new members who will be responsible for
preserving the collection for visitors and the community to enjoy for
years to come.
For further details of the project see the
website at:
http://www.caithnesshorizons.co.uk/
24 July 07
Seadrift Centre At Dunnet Officially Opened
Seadrift,
the visitor centre at Dunnet that focuses on the natural heritage of the
north coast of Caithness was officially opened to the public on Monday
23rd July by Councillor Drew Hendry, Highland Council's Chairman of
Planning Environment and Development Committee. Managed by The Highland
Council's Planning and Development Service, "Seadrift" is the new name for
the recently refurbished visitor centre. The centre has seen a complete
makeover with �100,000 funding from The Highland Council, Scottish Natural
Heritage, LEADER+ and HIE Caithness and Sutherland. Located at Dunnet
sands about one mile from the village of Dunnet, Seadrift visitor centre,
is also used as a base for Highland Council's Rangers.
21 June 07
Halkirk Heritage Ready For Another Season
Opens 27th June until 16th August
The
star attraction will be a very rare vintage motorcycle (1917 new imperial)
kindly loaned by John Bremner, Halkirk. The motorcycle is part of the
fantastic collection of John�s late grandfather, John A. Bremner, West
End, Castletown. The Halkirk vintage motor enthusiasts have put together
another vast display of car artefacts for your viewing pleasure. For a
village the size of Halkirk, the quality and quantity of vintage motor
vehicles and memorabilia is truly amazing. It is no wonder that motor
enthusiasts from all over the UK are green with envy when they see what is
tucked away in various local garages. Many new photos and other artefacts
will be on show for the first time this year......
27 March 07
LOCAL FIRMS TO TENDER FOR TOWN HALL WORK
Planned return of Viking treasures to Caithness
Three local firms are expected to tender for the building work
required to refurbish Thurso Town Hall in preparation for the opening of
the Caithness Horizons visitor and community centre in spring 2008.
Caithness Horizons Board, meeting on 7th March, was told that
Highland Council staff issued the invitation to tender for the work last
month. Tenders are due to be returned shortly.
Caithness Horizons
Chairman Paul Cariss welcomed the progress made. �Getting the building
work underway after a long period of preparation will mark an important
step forward for the project,� Paul commented. �I am particularly pleased
to hear that local firms are in the running.�
The Board was
joined by trustees of Caithness Horizons Collections Trust for part of
their meeting. The original trustees, representing the Highland Council,
Thurso Heritage Society and UKAEA Dounreay, have now been joined by John
Flett of Wick Heritage Centre and Muriel Murray of Castletown Heritage
Society, and the Trust has joined the Scottish Museums Council as an
associate member.
Museum adviser for the
project Estelle Quick is hoping to obtain a number of Viking objects on
loan from the National Museums of Scotland for display in Caithness
Horizons. Estelle said: �These objects include important and beautiful
personal possessions from local Viking burials, such as brooches, combs
and pins. It will be wonderful if we are able to bring them back to the
county in the future.�
Caithness Horizons
will also benefit from the addition of a unique local shell collection to
its display material. Mrs Sylvia Meiklejohn of Thurso, has offered her
late husband Robbie�s collection to the new Thurso centre. Estelle
commented: �We are very grateful for Mrs Meiklejohn�s generous offer. The
collection is extensive, in excellent condition, and well documented. It
will complement the Robert Dick collection of local botany, which will be
a key exhibit in Caithness Horizons� collection.�
Meanwhile, Dounreay�s
Visitor Centre has closed a year earlier than planned, after the old RAF
control tower in which it is housed suffered serious weather damage over
the winter. This makes it all the more important for the far north
tourist industry that Caithness Horizons is on schedule to open next
spring, providing a shop window for the many other visitor attractions to
be found in the area.
9
March 07
Dounreay Visitor Centre Will Not Open In 2007
OUT WITH THE OLD AND IN WITH THE NEW
Old age and severe weather have taken their toll on the seasonal visitor
centre at Dounreay. The former World War Two air traffic control tower was
damaged during severe flooding in November.
Further deterioration in its condition over the winter months has led to
its closure being brought forward. Dounreay will now concentrate on
providing a new exhibition about the site decommissioning as part of a
multi-million pound visitor development in Thurso -
Caithness Horizons
17 February 07
Thrumster
Station Project Now Underway
The
former Thrumster railway station was purchased by the Yarrows Heritage
Trust in 2005. The station building is the sole remaining station building
on the former Wick to Lybster Light Railway which closed in 1944. The
Trust have undertaken to renovate the building together with the platform
and adjacent grounds. Phase 1 of the Project which is currently underway
includes recreating the station platform and a short section of rail track
together with tidying and landscaping of the adjacent grounds to form a
public amenity area.
29 January 07
Castletown Heritage Society
Winter 2006 - 2007 Newsletter
The newsletter includes details of photos
sent from Canada, details of Sinclairs from New Zealand with roots in
Caithness, A weekly work night at Castlehill, looking back at events in
2006 and looking forward to Highland 2007 events.
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