Bailies news
Bennachie Homecoming Festival August 2009
Bennachie Homecoming Festival August 2009
This festival was a great fun with over 500 people in total coming to
all the combined events. The Doric night, Haggis in the woods and Castle
tours around Bennachie appear to have caused the most interest!
Alison Sutherland steps down as Senior Bailie at AGM
Alison, after 13 years, has decided to step down from the Bailies
Council. She has been a dedicated council member, Treasurer and recently
Senior Bailie ( first female senior Bailie). Alison is very
approachable, honest and hardworking and without her work the Bennachie
Homecoming Festival would not have happened! Jackie Cumberbirch has
replaced her as Senior Bailie.
Research on the colonists
Over the last few months the Bailies have been funding Jennifer Fagen from the University of Aberdeen to research into the Bennachie Colonists. The Bennachie Colonists were people who lived on the slopes of Bennachie in the 19th century; the ruins of their homes are close to the Bennachie Visitor Centre. So far this work has been going well and a synopsis of her report will be eventually on this web site. In the meantime please contact the Bailies if you have any stories/anecdotes about the colonists.
May and June 2009
The Bailies are working on a new membership leaflet and logo…watch this space!
Summer is here!
The first Cuckoo was heard on Bennachie on 28 April 2009. Please let us know if you see any interesting birds or plants on Bennachie! Remember there are ground nesting birds on the top of Bennachie, so please keep your dogs under control.
Dogs on Bennachie
Dogs and their responsible owners are always welcome on Bennachie! Please remember that there are no dog bins on the hill so if your dog does foul on a trail please” flick with a stick” into the woods for the slugs to eat! If you normally put your dog shit in a plastic bag (note plastic bag can take up to 70 years to rot down!) please take this bag home as there is no one on Bennachie employed to pick up these bags!
End of Summer 2009
Forestry Commission Scotland has now finished most of the trail work on Bennachie. By the end of this summer they will have re waymarked some of the trails, produce a new leaflet and will have erected new orientation and interpretation boards at the 4 car parks on Bennachie.
Bailies Council 2008/9
Office bearers and Council members are as follows:-
Senior Bailie - Alison Sutherland
Deputy Senior Bailie - Jackie Cumberbirch
Treasurer - Gordon Cowie
Clerk - Mike Neely
Minutes Clerk - Brian Cornock
Council Members - Fiona Banks, Harry Leil, Ann Baillie, Sandra Reid, Michael Coutts, Donna Taylor, Colin Miller, Fiona Tough, Pauline Jewett and John Nicol.
Refurbished Bennachie centre
Other organisations involved with the refurbishment were Aberdeenshire Council, The Bennachie Centre Trust and the Forestry Commission.
The Bailies were involved with fundraising and contributed £25,000 towards the refurbishment, which was a major factor in obtaining Heritage Lottery Funding.
The centre was opened on 25th July 2006 when Mr Angus Farquharson, Lord Lieutenant of Aberdeenshire (The Queen's representative) officially unveiled a commemorative plaque.
New audiovisual material has been installed, also improved facilities for educational groups. The displays are family friendly, appealing to and engaging children, as well as giving greater depth of information to adults enhancing the overall visitor experience with hands on activities. A small wildlife hide with an external feeder and a bird box camera encourages visitors to become "A Wildlife Detective" A cut-away kitchen display explains the role that trees play in everyday life and why forestry is so important.
Several local supporters of Bennachie featured in the displays telling of their involvement with the hill and it's heritage.
The important Bailies of Bennachie library of books and other documents associated with the area is retained for local research purposes. There is now a popular tea and coffee making machine at the centre. Further improvements planned for 2008 include enhancing the entrance and, internally, improved lighting, additional displays and refurbishing the Bailies room with new furniture and a visual display unit.