The Cateran Ecomuseum is set across 1,000 square kilometres of the beautiful landscapes of eastern Perthshire and western Angus.
The concept of ecomuseums is relatively new to Scotland – the Cateran Ecomuseum is only the country’s second such venture – and encompasses the idea of a museum linked to a territory rather than a traditional building or place, with community at its heart – a museum without walls.
The Cateran Ecomuseum has a rich natural and cultural heritage to explore, including several thousand known archaeological sites, and countless stories from all periods, set within some of the most spectacular landscapes in Scotland – it straddles one of Scotland’s great geological features, the Highland Boundary Fault, which divides the northern hills and glens from the fertile straths of the south.
Since launching as a social enterprise in 2019, those behind the Cateran Ecomuseum have created a series of heritage-based itineraries with 14 cycling, two driving and nine walking routes encompassing 134 local points of interest, and have delivered a programme of live events and activities that aims to interpret the heritage of the area in new and unusual ways.
The Ecomuseum’s innovative ‘Museum of Rapid Transition’ programme is the first of its kind in the world and aims to mobilise heritage to address climate action and biodiversity restoration. Part of this involved increasing the number of regenerative tourism experiences offered as well as a ground-breaking community programme engaging new heritage resources designed to generate a quicker path to more sustainable ways of living.
Clare Cooper is one of the Ecomuseum’s founding directors and was first introduced to the concept at a conference about slow tourism in Italy in 2017. That year, she and Bob Ellis, another of the founding directors, and one of the creators of the Cateran Trail, and others in the area, had been involved in organising the Cateran’s Common Wealth project which had a strong outdoor heritage focus. The idea of creating a ‘museum without walls’ felt like a perfect next step.
Clare says: “It is clear to us and to an increasing number of others that a more sustainable approach to tourism and travel is our only way to secure the heritage of this area that we hold so dear.”
The Ecomuseum currently has six directors who bring a range of skills to the initiative. As well as Clare and Bob, there are Bill Taylor who has 40 years’ experience in the heritage and tourism sectors, Janet Hunter whose background is in adventure tourism, Kevin Grieg who has an immense knowledge of the social history of the area and Graham Reid who is also part of the local Our Heritage Blairgowrie and Rattray group.
In spring 2022, a new hub for the Cateran Ecomuseum opened in Alyth Museum thanks to support from Museums Galleries Scotland and Culture Perth and Kinross. Upstairs visitors can find out about the Ecomuseum – its people, places and landscapes – while downstairs you can enjoy some of the stories from the Ecomuseum. And after your visit, you can step outside and explore the Cateran Ecomuseum area for yourself.
Alyth Museum and the Cateran Ecomuseum hub are open from 1pm to 5pm, Thursdays and Fridays, and 10am to noon and then again from 1pm to 5pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Entry is by donation.
For further information, including the itineraries, see www.cateranecomuseum.co.uk
