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One of DDCA’s strategic aims is to advance the education of the local population in Dufftown and District by promoting and/or providing training or skills of all kinds. In March, we carried out a short online survey to identify what kind of skills training people want to see in Dufftown. The results should not be interpreted as fully representative of Dufftown and District as a whole since relatively few responses (17) were received. However, the results give a useful insight into which areas of training are most desired. Among those who responded to the survey, over half were interested in taking part in Arts and Crafts training. Just under 50% indicated that they wanted to improve their outdoor skills. The third most popular training is related to cooking. Lastly, around two in five people said they wanted to improve their skills in music, IT, and helping with homework. 

With the DDCA Skills and Learning Survey in mind, we have approached various adult learning providers in Moray to bring community skills training to Dufftown. I’m delighted  to share with you some upcoming training that you can sign up to today:

Outdoor skills

Wild Things – an award winning environmental education charity – is running a free 8-week ‘Introduction to Bushcraft’ course in Dufftown, starting May 6th. It is designed to support physical health and wellbeing as well as skills development. You will learn skills like animal and plant identification, safe fire lighting, tool use and shelter building. You will even gain an accredited qualification from the course. Sign up by e-mail.

IT Training

tsiMoray is providing free digital training in Dufftown on April 27th at the Royal British Legion. The event runs between 09.30 and 12.30. The session aims to help you do the everyday stuff you want to do on your computer, tablet or phone. From Face time to Zoom, from shopping online to paying bills, or even creating an email account, you’ll be helped to unlock the most from your device. There will be plenty of time for questions. Sign up online or call 01343 541713.

Wellbeing events

DDCA has received funding to run a series of wellbeing workshops in Dufftown throughout the rest of the year. We are still in the planning stages of what the programme will look like. Watch this space for future updates, and get in touch if you have any specific events you would like to run or attend. 

In this week’s blog post I’m calling fellow Dufftown gardeners for advice on how to be successful with vegetables and flowers in my garden. 

One of the most exciting things about moving to Dufftown was that I got my own proper garden for the first time. It was quite overgrown when we moved in so last summer was dedicated to re-claiming it back to a usable state. This summer, we are keen to grow our own vegetables and plant more native species that also attract wildlife.  

In March, we turned some of the grass in the garden into a vegetable patch. Our loyal garden blackbird had a great time finding lots of worms to eat. Now I’m trying to figure out which vegetable plants do well in Dufftown weather. 

I started sowing seeds inside about two weeks ago. So far, it seems to go well. We planted a lot of sunflower seeds (probably too many for the size of our garden) that have all taken well. I also planted Snapdragon flowers, but I’m not sure if I put too many seeds in each pot. They have come up and are a few millimetres tall so far. We also planted lettuce inside, but after some Googling, I have come to understand that they prefer colder temperatures so I will transplant them outside in the vegetable patch this weekend and keep my fingers crossed they don’t mind the disruption. 

As a slightly different project, I got grow-at-home mushroom kits for Christmas since one of my favourite hobbies is to forage chanterelles in late summer. I successfully harvested lots of Oyster mushrooms from the kits in February. It felt pretty surreal to see them grow from nothing to monster-sizes on my windowsill. Below are photos of last year’s chanterelle luck and my Oyster mushrooms. 

 

As you can probably tell, there is a lot of trial-and-error involved in my gardening attempts at the moment. If you have any advice to share on which plants do well in our Dufftown climate, and how to attract wildlife into the garden, please let me know!

 

My New Years resolution for 2020 was to swim outdoors once per month. Back then, I was still living in Aberdeen so most of my swims were in the North Sea or the rivers Don and Dee. For the first seven months, I didn’t have a wetsuit so I braved it in just a swimsuit. With spring sea temperatures at around 4 degrees Celsius, those swims were not longer than 10 minutes! However, coinciding with the Covid pandemic and lockdowns, those 10 minutes really helped with my mental wellbeing. It was a great way to get out of the house and meet up with fellow swimmers in a Covid-safe way. During the past two and a half years, I have kept going for outdoor swims (and purchased a warm wetsuit). Below is a photo of me and my friends at Aberdeen beach.

Since I moved to Dufftown in July 2021, I have been on the lookout for good swim spots in the area. At first, my first thought was the River Spey that you can access from Craigellachie but as it is the fastest river in the UK, it is not safe for swimming. For days when I have time to drive a bit further, I have swam with the Broch Selkies in Burghead, and I know that some folk in Dufftown go along to the swims in Cullen organised by the Wild Dookers. For days when there are good waves, I go to Sandend to surf. Below is a photo of last year’s Christmas dook, which was VERY cold. 

People have told me that a good local swim spot in Dufftown is the Dufftown Doubles down by the turn-off toward Huntly where the river Dullan meets the river Fiddich. I have been down to check it out but am unsure where the best spot is to get into the water. If you have swam there before, please give me a shout and let me know! Also, I’d love to hear if you have any stories about the Dufftown Doubles. Perhaps you even have old photos of this local swim spot you would like to share?

Last weekend treated us to glorious sunshine. I decided to make the most out of it and go for my first cycle of the year! I left my road bike at home and picked up an electric mountain bike from the Dufftown Bike Shed instead. It’s amazing how powerful these things are! As I had never really been on a mountain bike before I was slightly nervous when we decided to cycle to Aberlour via the public footpath over the hill. 

As you leave Dufftown there is quite a climb but with the electric mountain bikes it is not very hard at all! Below is a photo of me pointing back to Dufftown sitting in the Friday evening sun. 

Once you are up on the hill it is easy to navigate. Simply follow along the single track. I have done a lot of road cycling before, with cycle holidays to the Outer Hebrides and Isle of Arran so it took me a little while to get used to the terrain. Below is a photo of me in the midst of the gorse. 

After 2.5 miles you reach a wider track and the route starts descending. It felt great to be back on a bike and zoom down the hill through the woods. Once we got out on the other side we had views of Ben Rinnes so we stopped to have a sandwich. 

From here, we followed a paved road all the way down to Aberlour to then continue along the Speyside way next to the River Spey to Craigellachie. As it was a Friday, we made a pit stop at the Highlander Inn for a beer on their patio. When the sun started to set we continued along the Isla way back home to Dufftown. 

I have mapped out the full loop below. It is just under 13 miles and I would leave a good few hours for the cycle so that you have time to stop by a pub or cafe on the way back…

Route map for Aberlour Loop by Viktoria Eriksson on plotaroute.com

 

This week we had tsiMoray here in Dufftown. The public was invited to come together in a conversation about community priorities for moving towards a Just and Green Moray. The focus of the session was to explore what community-led development we should prioritise to ensure a just and sustainable renewal for Moray. As Scotland shifts to becoming a net-zero nation, the question arises of what local assets we can build on and where we should target community investment to ensure a fair transition for all. 

The workshop was in the Royal British Legion Hall and it was great to meet some new people over a sandwich and soup before we started. The session was interactive with various images and statements lying on the floor, all relating to a sustainable future. A sustainable system requires a holistic approach taking into account the cultural, social, economic and ecological dimensions of our society. We proceeded to individually map out where the strengths and weaknesses of these dimensions are in Moray. 

Many in the group thought that Moray is strong in ‘committing to responsible production, consumption and trade’. ‘Moving towards 100% renewable energy and transport’ was also seen as a strength in the area. In contrast, it was voiced that there is room for improvement in ‘building alliances across all divides’ in Moray. There are lots of innovative and creative initiatives in our community that have the potential of creating an even bigger impact under a common vision and strategy for the community. I appreciate the warm welcome I have received from groups and individuals in the area and am immensely impressed by the time and energy you volunteer to our community. So let’s keep the conversation going and get people from all walks of life involved.

Couldn’t make it to the ‘Community Priorities’ event this week but want to get involved? Have an idea for community development? Get in touch today and make a positive difference!

In this week’s blog post I tell you about my recent weekend walk at Loch Park and Drummuir Estate. 

A couple of weekends ago, the sun was out and spring was in the air so I drove out to Drummuir Church to go exploring the area. The walk starts with an all-abilities path with a wee burn on the one side and the Keith-Dufftown railway line on the other. The birds were chirping away and the snowdrops were in full bloom. 

Once I had passed the Salmon hatchery, I reached Loch Park day centre. What a great facility with the boat jetty and loch right on their doorstep! A few years back, I spent a year in Calgary, Canada where I had close access to the Rocky Mountains. Now and again places in Scotland take me back to the Rockies, and looking onto Ben Rinnes through the trees over Loch Park definitely was one of those moments. 

After walking all along the loch, I took the path that veered up in the woods. I eventually reached the top walking back on myself with views over the valley. All of a sudden I reached a cabin, where two folk came out to say hi. They had come up from Fife to stay the night and were happy to see me after a good 24h without seeing another soul. 

What I like about the Loch Park route is that you can make it somewhat circular by walking through Westertown on your way back. This takes you past Drummuir Estate, where sheep and ponies are grazing. I said hello to the ponies and they seemed happy to see me! 

 

All together, the walk took me around two hours with plenty of stops, snacking, and hanging out with the ponies. Next time I plan on renting an eBike from our bike shed so that I can cycle over to Loch Park from Dufftown and leave the car at home. If you have any recommendations for good walks and bicycle paths in the area, send me a message!

Want to know more about the DDCA’s ongoing work in the Dufftown Clocktower? Read this week’s blog post!

Some towns are closely associated with specific buildings, landmarks, or history. When someone mentions Stirling I always picture the Wallace Monument. Perhaps Dunnottar castle comes to mind when you think of Stonehaven. For Dufftown, the Clocktower is one of these iconic buildings. After years of neglect and a clock that was no longer ticking, the DDCA set out to get the clock going again and purchased the building from Moray council in 2020. 

We are currently maintaining the running of the clock. This alone cost the charity £500 in electricity bills in the last year. This month we also carried out some critical roof work on the ground floor extension. We are actively working on finding a way to repair this unique building to bring it back to a usable state. Unfortunately, our application to Historic Environment Scotland for funds to repair the fabric of the building got rejected last year.

Our next step is to write up a more thorough feasibility study and business plan, which will help us access the necessary funding to bring the Clocktower back to use for the community. The first phase of the project will be to repair the ground floor into a multi-purpose space where I as the community development leader can be more accessible to the community.  

Below are some photos I took this past week of the Clocktower and its views. 

It is a beautiful building that just needs some TLC. Please support our ongoing efforts to maintain and improve the Clocktower by joining our fundraising Clocktower Club for only £12 per year. If you are a local joinery business, please get in touch if you would like to donate some of your time to help us with smaller repairs. 

This week’s blog post is about the Dufftown music scene and me playing in front of an audience for the first time in a very long time. 

While I have been singing and playing instruments since childhood, over the last few years I lost the habit. But since I moved to Dufftown I found my love for playing music again thanks to my neighbour Jim. Not long after I moved here, he invited me to his online Stramashes where I got to meet his friends playing a variety of different instruments. This week I was invited to play with him and his friends at Aigan court! 

On stage we had Donald on the accordion, Eddie on the songs (Jim Reeves seemed to be a favourite amongst the crowd), Jim on the pipes and myself on the guitar. A dozen residents at Aigan court were in the audience singing along. Although I have played at larger concerts and events before, I was so nervous playing in front of an audience for the first time in years I had to keep my eyes closed to not forget my lyrics! I was lucky that the Aigan audience was so welcoming and encouraging. 

After an hour or so of music, we were all treated to tea and biscuits. It was lovely meeting the folk at Aigan court that came along for the afternoon. Next week, Jim and his friends are off to both Keith and Aberlour for more concerts. I will do my best to join them.

Music is an important part of the Dufftown cultural fabric with events such as stramashes, ceilidhs, and the pipe band. While the pandemic has made it difficult to meet up during the last two years, I’m impressed to see how people have adapted and kept playing together online. Fingers crossed that we can slowly start coming back to live events again this year. Because let’s be honest, music is much better in real life than on a screen.

In this week’s blog post, I share my first visit to the Cabrach Trust for a nature walk and to have a look at their many exciting projects.

On Tuesday, I travelled wide and far over rivers and hills all the way to… the Cabrach! The Health Walk group, usually exploring  the paths in Dufftown, ventured out of town this week thanks to Sam at the Cabrach Trust organising a bus for us. While there had been hail storms the day before, we hit the jackpot with glorious sunshine. 

Along the all-ability path around the Inverharroch farm, Stephen, one of the Dorenell rangers, told us about the rivers and common wildlife in the area. I was lucky to see a vole dash across the path and down towards the river at one point. Stephen also set out a camera trap in the hopes of getting some photos of wildlife. I’ve got my fingers crossed for an otter! 

At the far end of the farm, Sam showed us the wildflower meadow and wildlife ponds they have created. Now we are all waiting patiently for the seeds to shoot up. Afterwards, we warmed up inside the Acorn community centre with coffee and homemade scones. Not a bad way to spend a Tuesday morning!  

Walking along the river where lots of new trees have been planted by the bank, I was thinking of how we choose to use our land. It is well established how greenspace is vital not just for the planet’s biodiversity but also for our own mental and physical wellbeing. We are lucky to have such beautiful nature in Moray, so let’s work together to make the most of it.

Many thanks to The Cabrach Trust and the Dorenell Ranger service for organising the trip. Make sure to keep up-to-date with exciting workshops happening at the Trust in the near future.

 

This week’s blog post is about my visit to the Wee Ferm and the value of unexpected friendships.

With the unpredictable weather this week I decided to stay put in the Dufftown and District area. I looked at our website’s local business directory and decided to visit the Wee Ferm!

Kirsteen, Leon and their two kids run the Wee Ferm at Spring Croft between Dufftown and Craigellachie. It’s a croft of just under 3 acres and they moved here 5 years ago. With neither Kirsteen nor Leon having grown up on a farm themselves, they told me that these past years have involved lots of learning from books, the internet and the helpful vets in Aberlour. What started as a hobby in the hope of becoming more self-sufficient has now turned into a petting farm and woodcarving lifestyle. They are open for group visits on an online booking-basis and do larger events like Santa’s Grotto and Halloween scavenger hunts. 

While they have lots of lovely animals like rabbits, pigs, and ponies, my favourites were the goats. As soon as we walked into the field they came running towards us for cuddles! Below is a photo of Oscar and Oswald saying hello. 

I grew up with chickens, dogs, fish and even the odd turtle. My visit to the Wee Ferm brought back childhood memories of the joy that animals bring. Kirsteen sent me a photo of Filo the pony giving Oscar the goat a kiss, and it made me think about how we too often put up barriers and divisions between different groups in our communities. In the next week, I challenge you to reach out and speak to someone you normally wouldn’t speak to. It could be someone much younger or older than yourself, or someone from a different place or background than yourself. Try it and maybe you’ll find an unexpected friend just like Filo and Oscar have. 

As all the animals were eagerly waiting for their dinner, I left Kirsteen and her family to it. 

PS: If you run a business and would like to add it to our website listings, fill out this form!