Message from the Centre Manager – March 2026

The days are finally growing lighter, and with that we are springing into action ready to welcome visitors through our doors once again. Our volunteers have been busy clearing and preparing the Centre, which is now spick and span thanks to their hard work. Yet February remained a busy month for us at the museum. We began with a talk by Philip Paris on his latest novel, A Fire in Their Hearts, which deals with the troubled history of the 17th century Scottish Covenanters. Though this is a dark and at times harrowing period, Philip gave an engaging talk which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. 

Behind the scenes, our cataloguing group have been busy preparing a new exhibition to open in April, titled ‘Richard Blosse: The Man Behind the Lens’. Richard was a photographer, fisherman and artist who was well-known around Portmahomack until he sadly passed away in 2016. We have many of his photographs in our collection, and Richard also spent a lot of time archiving old photographs and conducting research on local history at the Discovery Centre. Our cataloguing group therefore thought it would be fitting to hold an exhibition of Richard’s photographs, giving a snapshot into life around the area through his unique lens and recognising his creative talents. Keep an eye out for more details on this soon.

Outwith our usual activities we ended the month with a fantastic Climate and Nature Planning workshop provided by Museums Galleries Scotland. This was a great day attended by our volunteers, trustees and myself. We had the chance to really delve into what makes us resilient, how we can incorporate links between our heritage and local environment, and ways we can strengthen efforts to combat climate change through collaboration with the wider community. It is safe to say by the end of the day we were all brimming with ideas!

So, we are entering the start of our open season feeling very inspired and motivated. Of course our usual monthly program of lectures continues, with Anne Coombs giving a talk on the history of the fishing industry and herring gutters on Wednesday 18th March. As spring continues to unfold we will have other events on the go, which you can keep up to date with on our Facebook, Instagram and website.