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26 Nov 2024

Trust experts to host talks at Highland Cinema

Written by Blue Kirkhope
A view from high on a hillside looking down over the horseshoe-shaped Village Bay in St Kilda. The sea is blue and calm. A crescent of old stone houses can just be seen, a little way back from the shore.
Two of this year’s talks focus on St Kilda
We’re partnering with the Highland Cinema in Fort William to host a series of talks this winter aimed at raising awareness and garnering support for our efforts to protect and promote the unique places we care for.

From St Kilda to Ben Lawers, Canna to Bannockburn and more, the event series aims to engage local communities and those passionate about protecting and preserving Scotland’s natural and cultural heritage. Hearing from the Trust’s experts and Alasdair MacEachen, president of the St Kilda Club, the talks will explore the cultural and military history of St Kilda, dive into the impressive heritage restoration efforts at Canna House, cover the Battle of Bannockburn, the legacy of geologist Hugh Miller and take attendees on a journey through lesser-known Highlands and Islands sites through image and sound.

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“We’re very excited to present a new series of interesting and informative talks in partnership with the Highland Cinema. The talks will cover a variety of different areas of our work to care for Scotland’s special places now and for future generations to enjoy.”
Ali MacLeod
Head of Fundraising, National Trust for Scotland

Ali MacLeod, the Trust’s Head of Fundraising said: ’These events help to raise awareness and support of our vital work to protect our natural and cultural heritage. It’s with thanks to Angus MacDonald, owner of the Highland Cinema and long-standing supporter and member of the National Trust for Scotland Patrons’ Club, that we can deliver this series of talks and share the work we do to preserve Scotland’s history and nature. We’re incredibly grateful for Angus’s support and the generous donations of our members, supporters and donors, which is crucial in helping us to continue to care for, protect and share Scotland’s nature, beauty and heritage for everyone to enjoy.

Hamish McIntyre, Marketing & Programming Manager of the Highland Cinema in Fort William, said: ‘Highland Cinema is delighted to continue its relationship with National Trust for Scotland, bringing a new series of fascinating and informative talks from its experts to the local community.’

The Highland Cinema talks will take place on Sunday afternoons from 2.30pm on various dates throughout the winter until spring 2025, from now and running until 9 March 2025.

Tickets can be booked on the Highland Cinema website. 50% of the ticket sale revenue helps to support the Trust’s work to care for and share Scotland’s nature, beauty and heritage for everyone, as outlined in our 10-year strategy, launched in 2022.

Winter talks 2024/25

The challenges and incredible finds of a heritage restoration project at Canna House, Sunday 1 December

Join Clea Warner, the Trust’s Regional Director for the Highlands and Islands, to hear about the Canna House restoration project, which has seen tens of thousands of items painstakingly recorded, packed, stored and conserved. From a Steinway piano to collections of moths and butterflies and an important international archive of Gaelic culture – all collected by John Lorne Campbell and Margaret Faye Shaw during their lifetime.

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St Kilda, a U-boat, and the island’s past military associations, Sunday 26 January

From World War I through the Cold War to today, the remote and enigmatic islands of St Kilda have long been host to and associated with various British military operations. Join Susan Bain, the Trust’s Property Manager for St Kilda, for a presentation and talk on this secretive facet of the island – and find out why a German U-boat visited in 1918.

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Robert the Bruce and the Battle of Bannockburn: 1314 and today, Sunday 9 February

Join Callum Watson, the Trust’s Battlemaster at Bannockburn, for a unique fact and fiction presentation and talk on Robert the Bruce, the Battle of Bannockburn and the latest findings on this landmark moment in Scottish history.

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The story of Hugh Miller, Scottish geologist, writer and folklorist, Sunday 23 February

Join James Ryan, the Trust’s Visitor Services Assistant at Hugh Miller’s Birthplace, for a special presentation and talk on Scottish geologist, writer and folklorist Hugh Miller (1802–56), who has been acclaimed as the supreme poet of geology and called the ’David Attenborough of his day’.

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A canter around some of the less well-known Highlands & Islands properties in image and song, Sunday 9 March

Join Will Boyd Wallis, the Trust’s West Highlands Operations Manager, for a special presentation and talk that will take you on an exciting and informative canter around many of the less well-known Trust properties through images and songs from Torridon to Iona, Staffa to St Kilda and Ben Lawers to Pabbay.

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