Munlochy Summer Festival
Welcome to the Munlochy page for the Black Isle Think Health - Think Nature Summer Festival. Preliminary Programme. Please recheck for a final programme nearer the weekend July 31/August 1. Please scroll to the bottom of the poster for much more information.
The event
The festival is taking place on the last weekend of July and is funded by NHS Scotland. Its objective is to get communities together and out of their houses to be sociable and explore the local area. Events are scheduled right across the Black Isle.
The walks
A major focus of the festival are the “Get to Know Your Village “ walks. There are four planned for Munlochy, each with a very different theme. The walks may not appeal to everyone, so please read carefully what is on offer and put a date in your diary!
At every event it is hoped that long-established residents of the village will want to pass on stories from the past, and the events are as flexible as those present wish. There are no rules.
My name is Julian Paren. I live above Munlochy on the Knockbain Road. I will be the main leader of the walks. I have been trained as a Paths for All Health Walk Leader. The event has public liability insurance. Risk Assessments have been prepared for all the walks.
It will be helpful for planning purposes if those intended coming registered in advance. This is voluntary. Just come if you decide at the last minute.
Saturday July 31 at 10:00 at the Munlochy Village Car Park. Ends 12:00
Walk 1. Munlochy village from its foundation to the current day
The walk begins and ends beside the car park in the centre of the village and does not leave Munlochy. We will follow the walk outlined in the leaflet “A Walk around Munlochy Village” which will be available. The leaflet was created by local volunteers in 2014 as a project of the Knockbain Community Council and ARCH (Archaeology for Communities in the Highlands). Gary Johnston will talk about the Old Mill and the Weather Station at the close of the walk. There will also be available a folder of village maps since 1776 to trace the development of the village.
Please register for the walk: E-mail Walk 1 to julian.paren@gmail.com
Saturday July 31 14:00 at the car park at the Hide/Lookout facing Munlochy Bay. Ends 16:00
Walk 2. Munlochy Bay, the railway, farming, wild-fowling and sea level
We meet at 1400 at the Lookout Hide on Munlochy Bay. It is impossible to safely walk to the hide from Munlochy village, so please see if you can get there in someone's car.
While we walk the railway line there will be breaks when Jamie Grant from Roskill, the farmer that owns the land each side, will talk about Munlochy Bay and the farming year. Julian Paren will talk about the evidence of past sea level around the Bay and future expectations. Hopefully the history of the railway line will also be a topic as will the activities of the Easter Ross Wildfowlers who shoot at Munlochy Bay. There is also some good news about the path that used to exist from Munlochy Village to the railway line. Please bring your own ideas for conversation.
Please register for the walk: E-mail Walk 2 to julian.paren@gmail.com
Sunday August 1 at 10:00 at the Littleburn Wood Car Park up School Brae. Ends 12:00 (or earlier or later)
Walk 3. Immerse yourself in Littleburn Wood and explore well-being practises in a woodland setting.
Littleburn Wood has been linked to healing in the past through the presence of St Duthac’s Well (the Clootie Well). Today we take a quiet walk through the network of paths in Braeval Wood and Littleburn Wood and arrive after a time by the Big Burn. Here members of Roots and Growth who aim to use the Highland Birchwoods site beside Littleburn Wood for a range of purposes will provide some taster sessions in holistic health. Forest bathing, Tai Chi Qigong, and Deep Breathing will be among the techniques available. Please feel free to stay as long as you like, or you can omit these activities by walking directly back to the car park after our amble through the wood. More details about the taster sessions are available here.
Please register for the walk: E-mail Walk 3 to julian.paren@gmail.com
Sunday August 1 at 14:00 at the Drumderfit Hill Car Park beyond the War Memorial. Ends 16:30
Walk 4. Stretch your legs with a hilltop walk over James Temple fort and the ridge of Drumderfit Hill
A walk for walkers. An uphill walk to the viewpoint and then a traverse of Drumderfit Hill. At the top we will note all that can be seen to give a sense of place to Munlochy in the wider Black Isle and Easter Ross landscape.
Please register for the walk: E-mail Walk 4 to julian.paren@gmail.com