News - 2022
Pittodrie Dig 2022 The Bailies BLP Group continued their dig during the summer and their report is now available.
November Work Party The work party on Saturday was at the foraging woodland clearing informal paths and thinning out sitka spruce and others to make space for native self-seeded and planted trees. There was a bit of fun playing hoopla at lunch time!
Inspection of Foraging Wood at Shepherds Lodge Even on a wet day the bailies are out on the hill. Wee Doddie was helping Willie Linklater to inspect the fruit trees.
Appeal For A Work Party Trustee The Bailies of Bennachie are looking for someone to represent the work parties on the board of trustees. The work parties help on the hill; cutting back vegetation, repairing paths and planting trees. The appeal has gone out on social media and to all members.
Scottish Archaeology Month (SAM) September is Scottish Archaeology Month, what have the Bailies found on Bennachie?
Wildlife Group Away Day Our Wildlife Group includes events to learn about the geology around us.
Trails, Tales and Tunes A promenade event taking in music, storytelling and history was enjoyed by fami-lies on Saturday. It was organised by the Bailies of Bennachie to mark the year of stories 2022. Participants walked from the Bennachie Visitors Centre to the Gowk Stane to hear doric stories narrated by Jackie Ross. They then went to the colony ruin Cairn Couttie where music was played by Sarah Beattie and Charlie Abel. The tour fin-ished at Shepherd’s lodge where the Bailies have re-created a 19th Century kailyard. A driving force behind the living history project, Christine Foster, spoke about the colonists and food – asking was it a feast or famine?
August Work Party Saturday saw the Bailies Work Party volunteers busy clearing vegetation from Cairn Coutie, Shepherds Lodge and the Gowk Stone, ready for our Trails, Tales and Tunes event in September.
Bennachie Dig The excavations are taking place on what appears to be a late medieval building located on top of an apparent Neolithic/Bronze Age mound. The most exciting find last year was a possible Neolithic incised stone with concentric circles, photos are of finds found on this years dig.
Book Now for Trails, Tales and Tunes on Bennachie! An event celebrating Bennachie is taking place on Saturday 3rd September as part of the year of stories 2022. ‘Trails, Tales and Tunes’ is a free fun family day organ-ised by the Bailies of Bennachie.Participants will promenade along the Colony trail to encounter stories at the Gowk Stane, listen to musicians and hear tales of feast or famine at the Kailyard. There will be four sessions throughout the day – starting at 11, 11.30, 12 and 2pm.
Bennachie Dig To Unearth Secrets of Neolithic Mound and Medieval Remains The Bennachie Landscapes Group are carrying out an eight week long archaeological dig in an exciting site on the lower slopes of Bennachie.
Wildlife and Bennachie Landscape Group Hold Evening Walk Members of the Bailies of Bennachie wildlife and Landscape Groups held a walk looking at the history of the Colony and the impact of cultivation on the vegetation of the hillside.
70 Jubilee Trees To Be Planted The environmental charity, the Bailies of Bennachie, plan to plant 70 trees on the hillside to mark the Platinum Jubilee. The first tree, a fruit tree, was planted at the weekend and the other 69 will be planted later in the year.
Gift Allows Charity To Resume Work on Bennachie Aberdeenshire based offshore service business, OEG Offshore UK Ltd has donated a container to the Bailies of Bennachie, after their previous one was damaged during storm Arwen. The Bailies work parties usually spend hundreds of hours on the hill doing jobs such as maintaining footpaths, improving drainage, re-building dykes and cutting back vegetation. In the last couple of years this has been halted by the COVID pandemic and the storms last autumn. Fallen trees on the original Bailies container caused irreparable damage making it impossible to use.
New Bailies of Bennachie Chair Announced The new chair of the Bailies of Bennachie, Peter Stock, says he is taking over the charity at an exciting time in 2022.
Send Off for Senior Bailie, Jackie After 12 Years at the Helm Members of the Bailies of Bennachie have paid tribute to Jackie Cumberbirch who is stepping down as chair, or senior Bailie, after being in post since 2009. In a gathering at Monymusk village hall on Saturday 19th March a slideshow of Jackie’s time at the Bailies was shown and she was presented with a gift from the grateful members.
Beautiful Bennachie Photos Wanted for Anniversary Calendar 2023 will mark the 50th anniversary of the Bailies of Bennachie. Their popular calendar for the year will mark the occasion with extra pages and it is hoped even more outstanding pictures of the iconic hill range. They are putting out an appeal to local photographers to submit their best photos of or on Bennachie to be included in the anniver-sary calendar.
Bailies of Bennachie AGM 2022 Our 2022 AGM will be held on 24th February 7.30pm on ZOOM
Exploring Co-Production In Community Heritage Research Exploring co-production in community heritage research: Reflections from the Bennachie Landscapes Project
Work Ongoing To Open Up Bennachie Carpark Forestry and Land Scotland’s (FLS) team in Aberdeenshire aims to re-open the visitor carpark at the Bennachie Visitor Centre later this month – on a temporary basis.
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