Where
Achadh an Droighinn, or Auchindrain (“the field of the thorn tree”), is six miles south of Inveraray, Argyll.
What
The 21-acre site is home to the most complete and unaltered surviving example of a Highlands baile, or farm township. It is typical of a rural settlement in the Highlands and Islands from the end of the iron age to the late-18th century.
Collection
“There are 14 standing buildings, together with ruined structures and occupation sites,” says development manager Bob Clark. “Set in their historic landscape, they constitute one of Scotland’s Recognised Collections of national importance.” There is also a collection of furniture and household objects typical of township life.
Opened
The Auchindrain Trust was created by the Duke of Argyll in 1964 and the site opened as a museum in 1968.
Help at hand
Two full-timers – Clark and one maintenance assistant – are funded by the Museums Galleries Scotland Recognition Fund, as is the trust’s conservation surveyor. Curatorial work is carried out by a part-time collections manager and full-time museum assistant, both of whom are volunteers.
The trust shares two part-time education officers with Argyll’s Kilmartin House and Campbeltown Museum. Two part-timers handle the shop and catering. There are a dozen regular volunteers and about 80 Friends. There are also five trustees, each with a designated role in support of the management and the site’s development as a museum.
Budget
“Income comes from admissions, shop and tearoom profits, and occasional windfalls such as a day’s location filming.” Argyll & Bute Council provides an annual grant of £14,000 and there are various project grants.
Visitors
5,380 people this year.
Highlights
Clark’s favourites include the Munro longhouse, last occupied in the 1930s, in which people and cattle lived under one roof. “Its box beds, exposed beams and small windows are a glimpse into an old world,” he says.
He also singles out an irregularly shaped stone used to sharpen scythes and hooks. “It speaks to me of generations of hard work, but also of pride in having brought in another harvest that would enable the family to survive the winter.”
Sticky moment
“There is one every week and they all concern funding and resources,” says Clark. “The worst was when, five days before a booked-out ceilidh evening, the council’s safety officers advised that unless we addressed a series of major concerns about the condition of our infrastructure, the event should be cancelled. The event went ahead and was hugely successful [thanks to the help of staff, Friends and neighbours].”
Survival tip
“Clarity of long-term vision and short-term objectives,” says Clark. “Ensure that everyone understands these and is willing at every opportunity to recite them to music while tap-dancing.”
Future plans
“We’re working with volunteers from the West of Scotland Dry Stone Walling Association to rebuild a barn that blew down in 1968,” says Clark. The museum has received £105,000 to refurbish its visitor centre and partly convert it into a tearoom.