Scottish Crannog Centre to rise from the ashes with three new crannogs

Three crannogs, a museum and an Iron Age village are among the redevelopment plans unveiled by the Scottish Crannog Centre Trust following the devastating fire at the Loch Tay venue earlier this month.

Planning was already under way for an ambitious capital project on the north side of the loch when the venue’s centrepiece attraction, a reconstructed Iron Age roundhouse, was destroyed in a blaze on 11 June.

Since the fire, the trust has doubled down on the redevelopment, which will also include a woodman’s yard, artists’ hub, performance spaces, café and gift shop.

The popular attraction has seen an outpouring of support from the local community in recent weeks, with a crowdfunding page set up by Loch Tay Highland Lodges raising in excess of £50,000 to help with costs associated with the fire.

The trust launched a new JustGiving appeal this week towards the redevelopment. Its fundraising page says: “We will continue delivering the magic, and we believe that the best way to do so is to fast-track our development plans to move.”

The new museum aims to be the most sustainable in Scotland and “will allow us to grow the way we work, and to be a place of learning and leading”, says the trust.  

The centre’s director Mike Benson said: “At one end of the Tay is the V&A Dundee – at the other end of Scotland’s most powerful river will be Scotland’s most sustainable museum, with the same ambition and potential of the V&A but we believe with more heft and sense of place and belonging, maximising all the possibilities of social and economic benefit to play our part in a fairer Scotland.”

In a statement, Museums Galleries Scotland said: “The Scottish Crannog Centre plays a key role in the local community and region and sets an excellent example for the sector nationally.”

The site has already reopened and is running regular tours and events. It hosted a sold-out midsummer festival last week featuring music, poetry and aerial acrobatics.