Auchindrain open day fun
PEOPLE gathered from far and wide to turn back the clock at a fascinating open day in Auchindrain township museum.
BEAUTIFUL weather helped draw crowds to an open day at Auchindrain Township.
There was plenty to keep everyone entertained, including a new high-tech visitor guide.
Special home-made stovies were not the only attraction in the museum’s tearoom as Myles Clark from Lochgilphead offered a selection of tunes on the accordion to wel- come visitors. With free admission for the day, visitors could experience a genuine bow tent, as used by the travelling community and farm workers in years gone by. In one of the preserved township cottages, smells and tastes from long ago were revived by Kathy McGuigan as she made pancakes on a girdle above an open fire.
It was warm work on a hot day, but Kathy was ably assisted by her grandaughter Nicole Townsley.
Visitors could also witness the land being turned over by plough.
In a nice echo of the past, the tractor used was the very grey Fergie used by the last tenants of the township, the MacCallums.
With grant aid, the tractor was brought back to the township five years ago after being identified as the one bought by Eddie MacCallum in 1961.
Once ploughed, black oats - a strain of oats commonly grown for winter feed around Argyll until the 1960s will be sown.
Auchindrain operations director Bob Clark said: ‘The sun shone and we were pleased to welcome a mixture of old friends and new to our open day.
‘Many of those who came along tried out our new tablet guides and we were pleased at the positive feedback we received about these.’
He added: ‘For those who missed this event, come and see us some other time this summer.’