New tweed captures beauty of its community
AGROUP of talented women have woven the rugged beauty of their community into a new tweed, launched today to mark National Tweed Day. It is part of a drive to breathe new life into to The Cabrach, a largely depopulated glen in Moray on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park, which is undergoing a renaissance.
The Cabrach Trust is spearheading a series of investments, including the community-driven tweed project and an ambitious bid to open a whisky distillery later this year.
A group of eight women created the tweed with support from Johnstons of Elgin, Buckie-based micro-mill Woven In The Bone, and Macnaughton fabrics at Keith’s Isla Bank Mills.
Sam Dowdall, community and development manager at The Cabrach Trust, said: “Being part of this project and working alongside our community to create this gorgeous tweed has been an honour.
“So willingly supported by a host of local businesses, what the group has created not only mirrors the astonishing beauty of the Cabrach landscape but also creates a very special product which will play an important role as part of the Trust’s regeneration strategy.”
Trustee Virginia Irvine-Fortescue spaces – which are included in admission to the Culloden Visitor Centre – will be Clach An Airm, the story of one clan and how they prepared the day before the battle, and Fight Like A Highlander, where visitors can discover what it was like to fight with a basket-hilted broadsword on the field at Culloden.
Gail Cleaver, operations manager for the NTS’s Culloden Cluster, said: “Culloden is an evocative and atmospheric historic site.
“The commemoration weekend is always a moving experience and we are looking forward to welcoming visitors to explore the stories of Culloden and share them with others – mindful not just of the events and legacies of the battle but of the said: “Being one of this small community that has collaborated on this project has meant sharing an understanding of the colours, weather, light, and vast skies of The Cabrach. The tweed design has impacts of war on the lives of people around the world today.
“Just as at other times of year, we would ask all visitors to the commemoration service and other events to show respect to the site, and in particular to the graves area of the battlefield.
“We would also ask them to stick to the designated routes around the battlefield to help us protect highusage areas.”
For more information about the Culloden 278th anniversary events and to book a place, visit www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/ culloden-33778937903
More information about Culloden and how to visit the site is available at: www.nts.org.uk/visit/places/ culloden been inspired by the landscape that we love and live in, and as stewards of The Cabrach, designed by the community.”
George McNeil, managing director (retail) of Johnstons of Elgin, said: “Johnstons of Elgin was proud to play a small part supporting this project. The work undertaken by the community group was beautiful, drawing rich inspiration from the Cabrach’s famed landscape.
“The positive change happening in the Cabrach is something the whole of Moray should be proud of.”
The Cabrach tweed project was supported by Social Enterprise Academy, with funding provided by the National Heritage Lottery Fund.
The trust’s development of The Cabrach Distillery and Heritage Centre is also well under way.
Production, scheduled to begin later this year, will herald the return of whisky-making in the Cabrach for the first time in 170 years, telling the story of the historic region in the process.
The trust also plans to develop the surrounding site as a community learning, rural skills and heritage hub.