News - 2013
Bailies December 2013 Work Party The weather was good, sunny with a sprinkle of snow to make it feel wintery, we split into 2 groups, one group started marking out a new path in Danny Gordon's Widdie, this will be continued in the new year, the other group marked an area for the ne...
Bailies of Bennachie Pot Luck Night There was plenty of festive fun at the Bailies of Bennachie Pot Luck evening at St Mary’s centre, High Street, Inverurie on Monday.
The ideal Bailies Stocking Filler Support the Bailies further research into the natural and social history of Bennachie and its surroundings by purchasing a copy of the ludicrously cheap 'Society and Ecology in the History of North-east of Scotland'.
New Walking Guide to Bennachie The Royal Geographical Society have recently produced a new walking guide to Bennachie, Dick Bateman spent time walking on Benncahie and interviewing members of the Bailies, FCS, Aberdeenshire Council Ranger and Bennachie Centre Warden, this new guid...
Scotlands Community Heritage Conference A few weeks ago Jackie Cumberbirch (Senior Bailie) went along to Scotlands Community Heritage Conference as representative for the Bennachie Landscapes Project, Jackie gave a presentation to explain where Bennachie was and what the Bennachie Landsca...
Archaeological Pottery Research Workshop Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 At the Bennachie centre, Chapel of Garioch the Bailies of Bennachie room was full to capacity on Sunday.The event was a potsherd (pottery pieces) analysis workshop and attracted archa...
Forestry Work near Donview Carpark Starting Wed 20th November there will be forestry work being carried out near the Donview Carpark on Bennachie, this will not affect the paths all the time but sometime during this work the clockwise path will be closed, you will still be able to wal...
Bailies of Bennachie Calendar It's not long to Christmas so don't forget to order your Bailies of Bennachie calendar, they make great presents for friends and family, Click Here for an order form..
Bennachie Centre Winter Update 2013 The Bennachie Centre is only open weekends during November, December and January it is closed, this means there is no access to the Toilets, what are your views about this? please Click Here to leave your comments.
'In the Fields' Art Science Exhibition Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 ~ in the fields Art Science Exhibition 8 - 17 November Opening Talk 7pm Thursday 7 November This exhibition results from a collaboration between ~ in the fields and Dr. Edwa...
Bailies of Bennachie Presentation Dinner Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 The Bailies of Bennachie bid a fond but sad farewell to well-known couple Mike and Barbara Neely at a presentation dinner in Inverurie last week. Former treasurer of the Bailies Mike ...
November 2013 Workparty We met at a frosty Rowantree Car Park and made our way up onto the plateau paths to do some path repairs, we had some volunteers from Highland Frontier Group join us so we split into 3 groups, 1 group put in 3 new waterbars on the Craigshannoch Path...
Bailies Events for 2014 We are starting to look at Events for 2014, if you have any ideas for events you would like to see organized please let us know, or if you would like to get involved contact bailiesofbennachie@mail.com
Bennachie Celebration Event Approx 80 people attended the event held at Monymusk village hall, there were various events that people could choose to do including 2 walks (in the rain) making clay sculptures or studying soil samples, after we had dried out we had tea and c...
Soil Testing Colony Site Sunday October 20, 2013 Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Bennachie was fairly buzzing with activity on Sunday as archaeologists and amateur enthusiasts gathered for a day of soil test pitting around the old colonists site at Shepherds lodge...
Photography Class on Bennachie Members of the Deeside Camera Club came along to Bennachie and ran a Photography Workshop for the Active Older Person, they focused on how to achieve composition, balance and interest in your photo's, after some theory inside we all went for a walk ...
Spiders on Bennachie The Grampian Spider Group held an Event at the Bennachie Centre to help people learn more about the Spiders on Bennachie, a group of interested people of all ages spent time learning about the spiders and then walked around outside looking fo...
October Workparty It was a lovely sunny warm morning as the Bailies volunteers got together for their monthly workparty, this month it was time to trim the willow sculptures at the Back o'Bennachie, this is done every autumn, it is amazing how quickly the willow grow...
Pottery Cleaning and Recording Saturday 28th September The Bailies of Bennachie room at Bennachie centre, Chapel of Garioch was a buzzing hive of activity at the weekend. Archaeologists, archaeology students and 'digging up the past' enthusiasts were hard at work, cle...
Dog Poo Bins now in Carpark For a long time Dog Poo Waste Bags have been left laying all over Bennachie, the FCS have now put in a Dog Poo Bin in the Bennachie Centre Carpark, if you walk your Dog on Bennachie please use this Bin, it would be nice to walk the paths on Bennachi...
Bennachie Landscapes Update Everyone involved with the Bennachie Landscapes Project have been very busy during the summer, with various 'Digs' going on and workshops cleaning and catalogueing the finds, which have ranged from tiny pieces of glass to a rather impressive ceramic ...
Guided Audio Tour of Bennachie On Thursday members of the Royal Geographical Society were up on the Hill to conduct interviews as part of the creation of a guided audio tour of Bennachie that will be available online on their website once it is completed. We will then put a link...
Info Boards Mended The Bailies would like to thank Harry and Ian for spending some time repairing the Information Boards at Hosies well and on Mither Tap.
Bailies AGM 2013 Bailies of Bennachie held their annual general meeting with guest at Chapel of Garioch memorial hall near Inverurie on Thursday September 19, 2013. Guest speaker mountain safety advisor with the mountaineering council of Scotland Heather Morning f...
September Work Party The September work party spent the day (Sat 7th) on the Rowan tree footpath to Mither Tap checking and repairing the path, clearing water bars and filling washed out holes in the pavements and steps to the summit. Information boards were also chec...
Shovel-Pitting at Shepherds Lodge (Colony House) 25th August An enthusiastic archaeology-minded group of people gathered at the derelict Shepherd's Lodge site, part of the old colony on Bennachie on Sunday. Led by archaeology research assistant Leaf Gould they were taking part in a series of shovel test ...
Bailies of Bennachie AGM Thursday September 19th 7.30pm at Chapel of Garioch Village Hall Members and Non Members Welcome Free Event Find out what the Bailies have been doing over the last year and then:- Join Heather Morning (Mountain Safety Advisor with the Mountaineer...
Pottery Cleaning and Recording A good crowd of visitors attended an unusual event organised by Aberdeen university's archaeology department and the Bailies of Bennachie 's Bennachie landscape project at the weekend.The Bailies of Bennachie room at the centre was turned...
Nice Day for a Picnic Brisk breezes kept the rain away giving a sunny afternoon for the Bailies of Bennachie annual picnic at Back o' Bennachie, Oyne near Inverurie on Sunday. The picnic/rally was part of the Bailies 40th anniversary celebrations. A founder of the...
Bailies of Bennachie Picnic Nice weather today so i am confirming that the Bailies Annual Picnic on Bennachie WILL be held today at Back o'Bennachie, starting at 2pm, There will be music, a Green woodworking demo from Banff and Buchan College (Pam Tateson) free strawberries/r...
Your Bennachie Your Views Forestry Commission Scotland are producing a plan to guide the future development of recreation facilities and the visitor experience on the National Forest Estate at Bennachie and to help ensure that the visitor experience is enjoyable, appropriate ...
Don't Forget!! it's the Bailies Annual Picnic on Sunday Sunday 18th August 2013 BAILIES OF BENNACHIE PICNICBack o'Bennachie 2.00pm All are most welcome ( members and non members) to attend the Bailies fun annual picnic Just bring your own picnic, chair and a bowl plus spoon (for the free fruit and cream...
Bailies of Bennachie Newsletter 2013 If you would like to find out what the Bailies have been up to over the last year then please look at our 2013 Newsletter, if you would like to find out more then please contact us for further details.
August Work Party 2013 Todays workparty was to clean out waterbars and culverts on the path from the Bennachie Centre to Mither Tap, 2 of our group started at Heather Brig to make sure that path was ok, the rest of us walked up from the Centre, it was a lovely sunny day s...
New Bennachie Landscapes Book and Bailies 2014 Calendar The 2014 Bailies of Bennachie Calendar has been printed and is now on sale at many local shops or via the Bailies Website Publications page, we hope you like the choice of photo's in this years calendar, many thanks to all those photographers who all...
Join Natural Bennachie and Choose Your Side in the Jock-on-Jock Battle Taking inspiration from the folklore tale of The Rival Giants, Natural Bennachie welcomes you on a walking event between Tap O'Noth in Rhynie and Mither Tap on Bennachie. Based on the fabled story of Jock O'Bennachie and Jock O'Noth...
Update on pollen analysis of peat core from Moss Grieve In June a group from SSW, The Bailies and Aberdeen University spent a day on Bennachie extracting peat cores with Dr Ed Schofield, if you would like to read the preliminary report on the peat cores click here
A quick note on the Bennachie Colony dig: From July 1st to 14th, the Bailies of Bennachie, Aberdeen university staff, students and other members of the public helped us to excavate two crofts on the lower slopes of Bennachie: Shepherds Lodge and McDonald House. Both structures have turned up...
Look Out for Orchids on Bennachie TwaybladeHeath Spotted Orchid Lesser TwaybladeWhen you are walking on the top of Bennachie please look out for this lovely orchid and let us know if you find any. This is a photo of one found recently on Bennachie. Lesser Twayblade (Neottia cordat...
End of Big Dig The 2 week dig on Bennachie is now over...we have learnt a lot over the last 2 weeks about how to undertake a dig and more about the two families (Littlejohn and Macdonald) and how they constructed their homes (Hillside and Shepherd's Lodge). We ...
July Work Party 2013 We met at Donview Carpark on saturday morning, the sun was shining and was to stay out all day, we walked up the (clockwise) path up Millstone Hill, the heather had got very overgrown, almost meeting in the middle of the path, not very nice to walk ...
Bennachie Landscapes Big Dig HillsideShepherds LodgeThe Benachie Landscapes Big Dig has been going for a week and have been so lucky having such good weather, there are volunteers helping from the Bailies, Aberdeen University and the local Community, they are working on 2 sites,...
Results of 2012 Questionaire In 2012 the Bailies of Bennachie included a questionaire with their yearly newletter, if you would like to see the results collated from the replys received please click here
Bennachie Landscapes Project wants you to help with big dig! Following on from the on-going work undertaken on Bennachie as part of the Bennachie Landscapes Project, there will be a full-scale excavation of two houses of the Colony during the first two weeks of July. To date, there have been several weekends o...
MSP Congratulates Donside Hill Group The MSP and Bennachie Published on 14/05/2013 10:29 Deeside Piper A North- east MSP has tabled a motion to the Scottish parliament congratulating a Donside group on forty years of custodianship. Tory MSP Nanette Milne tabled the motion in the...
June Work Party June work party, clearing the water bars from Rowantree to top of Mither Tap, started as a lovely sunny day, when we got to the top the heavens opened!!! one benefit was that on the walk down we could check the water bars were working ok. It was...
Can you Help? The Bailies are looking for a Secure 8x6 (minimum size) Metal Shed/Container to use to store our tools when we are not using them, have you got one you are not using and no longer want that you could donate/sell to us? if yes please contact Jackie 077...
The Bailies are now on Facebook The Bailies of Bennachie have now started a Facebook page, we hope that this will be successfull in keeping you all informed of News, Events, Walks etc, it would be great if you also let us know what you are doing on Bennachie, and any wildlife or p...
Bailies 40th Birthday Celebrations The Bailies of Bennachie continued their 40th anniversary celebrations on Saturday 11th May with a series of free walks, all tailored to suit all ages, levels of fitness and interests archaeological, historical, geographical, wildlife or flora.Hill h...
Doric Evening a Success To mark the beginning of their 40th birthday celebrations the Bailies of Bennachie held an evening of Doric entertainment at King George V memorial hall at Chapel of Garioch near Inverurie on Friday 10th MayThe Bailies inaugural meeting in 1973 to...
May Work Party There were a few different jobs on the list for today, some volunteers cleaned the cobbles in the Bennachie Centre Courtyard, others went up to the colony house at Burnside to clear away Broom bushes, the Landscapes Project was also working at Burns...
NESARS new website NESARS website is now live, check it out at www.nesars.orgDo you have any interesting archaeological news to share or photographs? If you do, NESARS would be very pleased to let others know.All news items and photographs will be posted onto the NESAR...
Saving Scotlands Red Squirrels SSRS has leapt into the 21st century and we're now on Facebook! Click Here and it will take you to the page. You can 'Like' us and then follow our updates on all the various goings-on.
Visit to Special Collections Centre (SCC) On 26th March 2013 a group of volunteers from the Bennachie Landscapes Project went to the Special Collections Centre at Aberdeen University Library, they were finding out about the Archives held there about Bennachie and the surrounding area and how...
Bailies of Bennachie Birthday Bap! As the Bailies 40th birthday weekend approaches local baker JG Ross will be selling Bennachie Baps from Tuesday 7th May - Sat 11th May in every shop locally Insch, Old meldrum, Inverurie Highclere/Market Place & North Street, Kemnay & Alford to cele...
Bailies of Bennachie New Guide Book James and John Photo by G McGregorPress Release A colourful and newly revised version of the Guide to Bennachie was published by the Bailies of Bennachie at the beginning of Spring. Judging by sales in these few weeks it has been a very...
April Work Party 2013 We met at the Bennachie Centre and spent the day cleaning up along the Colony Trail footpaths, i.e. cutting back heather, gorse, etc., and clearing some of the brush around Shepherds Lodge that the Forestry had left behind. The day started off sunn...
Aoife Gould on Radio Scotland Just a wee note to let you know that Aoife took part in a Radio interview for Radio Scotland this afternoon about the Bennachie Landscapes Project. It is going to be broadcast as a segment in their morning bulletin at 7.50 am on the morning of M...
Lord Forbes Bailies of Bennachie Guardian from 1996-2013 Press Release by The Herald Lord Forbes by GORDON CASELY Parliamentarian, clan chief and premier baron of Scotland; Born: February 19, 1918; Died: March 5, 2013. Lord Forbes, who has died aged 95, was premier baron of Scotland and possi...
Archaeologists Dig for Their Lives Press Release The Bailies of Bennachie and the University of Aberdeen are joining forces again to begin a new season of exploration into the lives of the 'Colonists'. The Bennachie Colonists were a group of small tenant farmers made homel...
A Little Snow Humour! Below is a Path Report from one of our Hardy Hill wardens!!! Bailies of Bennachie Hill Watcher's Report No: Below Zero Date area surveyed: 19/03/13 Surveyed by: Mr A Yeti General description of paths walked: Rowan Tree Glacier, Acro...
Pottery Workshop 2013 On Sunday 17 March 2013 volunteers got together at the Bennachie Centre to catalogue the pottery found during the Colony digs in 2012, It was a good session and they got quite a bit of cataloguing done. They have started to sort out some of the shar...
Become a Mammal Detective Photo Copyright FCS Press Release On Saturday 30 March from 11.00 am - 3.00pm at the Bennachie Centre,near Chapel of Garioch all ages are encouraged to visit the centre andlearn how to put mammals on the map! Throughout the day there will befree ...
Interested in Mammals? If you have an interest in Wildlife why not come along to our Mammal day at the Bennachie Centre on Saturday 30th March, we are holding various talks on: The NE Biological Records Centre,The NE Mammal Atlas, The Local Biodiversity Action Plan, and ...
March Work Party A group of 11 Volunteers met at Rowantree Carpark, todays work party was to clear the overgrown vegetation from the Quarry near to the carpark, this quarry is an SSSI, In this quarry is found Macaulayite a red, earthy, monoclinic mineral. It was d...
Bennachie Centre The Bennachie Centre is open at weekends during March - 10.00am - 4.00pm For further information contact the Bennachie Centre on 01467 681470 or e-mail bennachie.warden@aberdeenshire.gov.uk
Work Parties start again in March If you like the Outdoors why not come along and help on our Work Parties, held on the 1st saturday of the month March - December, help us to look after Bennache, repairing paths, clearing ditches, pruning the willow, tree planting and lots more. Satu...
Grant Applications Successful The Bailies of Bennachie are very pleased to announced that both Aberdeen University and Scottish Sculpture Workshop were both successful in two recent grant applications. At present there is is an ongoing collaboration between various members ...
Bikes and Off Road Vehicles on Bennachie We have been getting a few comments on our Forum page about the use of bikes and off road vehicles using the tracks on Bennachie.Guidance on responsible off road biking has been under development through the Developing Mountain Biking in Scotland (D...
Also see our archived news items: 2024 2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010