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Our Latest News

Thanks for checking out the latest news from the Bannockburn House Trust. Here you will find the latest blogs from the gardening, history and operations teams and any news updates for the project.  We encourage our volunteers to write blogs for the website and would be delighted to hear from you if you volunteer and would like to write a blog for us. Email [email protected].

Garden Blog

Bloomin’ Marvellous!

by | April 29, 2022 | Gardens, Volunteer Blog | 0 Comments

Spring Blossom never ceases to amaze me. The fact that huge, sturdy, solid trees can create something so delicate, fragile and perfect as their blossom is one of the wonders of the natural world. Cherry Blossom or ‘Sakura’ is the national flower of Japan. There,...

The Apiary In Spring

by | March 29, 2022 | Gardens, Volunteer Blog | 0 Comments

The unseasonably warm weather this weekend meant we were able to do an early spring check on the colonies at the apiary.  In three of the four hives the queens are laying well with an excellent early spring build up. Hopefully this will translate into a large...

Spring is here

by | March 26, 2022 | Gardens, Volunteer Blog | 0 Comments

March is proving to be a sunny month this year and what a difference some sunshine can make. We are getting stuck into the lengthy job of preparing the soil beds in the newly laid out ‘Enclosed Garden’. The winter mud is gradually drying out and, thankfully, the soil...

February – Fair – Maids

by | February 25, 2022 | Gardens, Volunteer Blog | 0 Comments

This has been one of the best snowdrop years I can remember in recent times. The winter was relatively mild and because the new shoots did not have to push up through frozen, snowy ground, they grew quickly producing generous stems and an abundance of dazzling...

The Gateway of the Year

by | January 27, 2022 | Gardens, Volunteer Blog | 0 Comments

And so we find ourselves at the start of another year, in a mild January, in a benign winter. I visited Bannockburn House on New Year’s Day to check on the gardens and polytunnels after the strong winds of the previous few nights. To my surprise, a clump of brave...

The Apiary in Winter

by | January 26, 2022 | Gardens, Volunteer Blog | 0 Comments

In winter, honey bees in a colony cluster together for warmth.  Clustering starts when the ambient temperature drops below 14°C – loosely at first but as the temperature drops the cluster becomes more cohesive and compact.  The bees in the centre vibrate...
snow

WINTER WONDERLAND

by | December 17, 2021 | Gardens, Uncategorized, Volunteer Blog | 0 Comments

A rest for the gardener Now, at last, the gardener can rest a while in the dark days of winter as the year’s end approaches and the New Year lies on the horizon. Gardens that months ago were brimming with a heavy crop of fruit and vegetables long since harvested, now...
berries

Christmas is Coming

by | November 30, 2021 | Gardens, Volunteer Blog | 0 Comments

  Path progress At last we have begun the arduous task of installing the permanent paths into our ‘Enclosed Garden’. The blousy, overgrown holly hedges have been ‘pollarded’. To do this, we have cut them down to approximately one metre in height and hope that in...
tree

Spring Forward, Fall Back

by | October 29, 2021 | Gardens, Volunteer Blog | 0 Comments

October will soon be over and the leaves on our deciduous trees are changing colour. This is such a brief but special time. As the days shorten the trees don’t have enough sunlight to make food so they begin to shut down for the Winter. They break down the green...
ivy pollen

THE BRUTALITY AND RUTHLESSNESS OF NATURE

by | October 21, 2021 | Gardens, Volunteer Blog | 0 Comments

Here's the latest apiary blog from our head beekeeper Ilona Shilliday:   It’s now October and preparations for winter have been underway both inside and outside the hives.  Unfortunately one of our smaller colonies died of starvation. Despite reducing the...

History Blog

Every Picture Tells A Story

by | March 4, 2022 | History, Volunteer Blog | 0 Comments

Throughout the country our museums and galleries are full of paintings showing different aspects of life through the centuries. But how often do we look really closely at these paintings and wonder about the lives of those captured by the artist.   A volunteer at...
cinnamon

A dram fit for a Prince

by | January 23, 2022 | History, Volunteer Blog | 0 Comments

HRH Charles Edward Stuart arrived at Bannockburn House on the 6th January 1746. He remained at Bannockburn House for the rest of the month, chosen for its strategic location for the Siege of Stirling Castle and considered a place of safety as the Prince had a natural...
Stirling C 1600

The Ancient Port Key of Stirling Returns to Bannockburn House

by | January 4, 2022 | Events, History | 0 Comments

On Friday the 7th of January Bannockburn House will see a brief return of the Ancient Key of Stirling which had lain hidden within the House for many a year.    The Jacobite army approached Stirling on Friday the 3rd January 1746 surrounding the town the...

SNIPPETS FROM HISTORY

by | September 13, 2021 | History, Volunteer Blog | 0 Comments

Our History Tours are back up and running and our volunteers' research into the rich history of Bannockburn House continues apace, as volunteer Helen explains: History volunteer Hugh McCusker discovered that Bannockburn House's first resident, Sir Hugh Paterson I, had...

YOUNGSTERS DIG DEEP INTO HOUSE’S HISTORY

by | August 20, 2021 | Events, History, Latest News | 0 Comments

​A team of budding young archaeologists set about cleaning their latest finds at Bannockburn House on Saturday (14 August), under the watchful eye of local expert Colin Davenport. The hoard, discovered in a Victorian midden (or dump) in the grounds of the seventeenth...

MAKING BOREDOM HISTORY

by | June 3, 2021 | History, Uncategorized, Volunteer Blog | 0 Comments

It's been a year like no other, but Bannockburn House History group have busted boredom in lockdown with their regular Monday online meets.  History volunteer Helen Rudland said: "When lockdown happened in March 2020 we switched to Zoom meetings.  This...
Mary Winter

CELEBRATING WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH

by | March 26, 2021 | History, Volunteer Blog | 0 Comments

To mark Women's History month, history volunteer Anne Monaghan shares the stories of three women who worked at Bannockburn House in the first part of the 20th century:   MARY WINTER   Mary was a table maid at Bannockburn House in 1911 and 'lived in'. Born in...
Diorama

JACOBITE JANUARY

by | January 22, 2021 | History, Latest News | 0 Comments

Nearly 2,000 people tuned into our Big Jacobite Afternoon Lecture on Facebook on Sunday. The free virtual event, held on the 17th of January to coincide with the 275th anniversary of the Battle of Falkirk Muir, featured six local experts including Stirling Council...

HOGMANAY TRADITIONS

by | December 22, 2020 | History, Latest News, Uncategorized, Volunteer Blog | 0 Comments

History group volunteer Anne Monaghan discusses Hogmanay traditions as we wave goodbye to 2020 and look forward to 2021:   Who remembers when Hogmanay involved “First Footing” and all the preparations done before that First Foot could be welcomed in? Nowadays...
bannockburn house

MARKING 60 YEARS SINCE THE MITCHELL AUCTION

by | October 27, 2020 | History, Volunteer Blog | 0 Comments

Volunteer Hugh McCusker reflects on 60 years since a major three day auction at Bannockburn House: This month saw the 60th anniversary of a major three day sale at Bannockburn House. The accumulated contents left in trust to Miss Annie Mitchell by her father, and...

Events Blog

Visit from MP and MSP to Bannockburn House

by | March 4, 2022 | Events, Volunteer Blog | 0 Comments

On Friday 4th March Bannockburn House had the pleasure of hosting MP Alyn Smith, MSP Evelyn Tweed and Cllr Alasdair MacPherson to discuss our plans.   We briefly discussed our recent achievements from our huge volunteer led gardening, construction and wall work...

Wedding Awards Recognition

by | March 3, 2022 | Events, Volunteer Blog | 0 Comments

Bannockburn House was recently named as a finalist for Most Romantic Wedding Venue at this year’s Scottish Wedding Awards. Three members of the team attended The Marriot Hotel in Glasgow to represent the Trust on the 23 February in their finery for the prestigious...

Looking Sharp

by | January 25, 2022 | Events, Volunteer Blog | 0 Comments

Our three young men Martin, Matt and Matthew have had the opportunity of a lifetime after being photographed in a high society styled photoshoot by top photographers David Ho and Sandie Knudsen of Headshots Scotland at our historic house.   Developing New Skills...
Stirling C 1600

The Ancient Port Key of Stirling Returns to Bannockburn House

by | January 4, 2022 | Events, History | 0 Comments

On Friday the 7th of January Bannockburn House will see a brief return of the Ancient Key of Stirling which had lain hidden within the House for many a year.    The Jacobite army approached Stirling on Friday the 3rd January 1746 surrounding the town the...

SEEING THINGS FROM A DIFFERENT VANTAGE POINT

by | September 1, 2021 | Events, Gardens, Latest News | 0 Comments

The grounds of Bannockburn House were transformed into an open-air art gallery and studio recently, with hands-on creative fun for families. The free event, organised by Vantage Points (Bannockburn and the Eastern Stirling Creative network) and Scene Stirling, gave...

YOUNGSTERS DIG DEEP INTO HOUSE’S HISTORY

by | August 20, 2021 | Events, History, Latest News | 0 Comments

​A team of budding young archaeologists set about cleaning their latest finds at Bannockburn House on Saturday (14 August), under the watchful eye of local expert Colin Davenport. The hoard, discovered in a Victorian midden (or dump) in the grounds of the seventeenth...

FIRST WEDDING AT BANNOCKBURN HOUSE IN NEARLY 80 YEARS

by | August 18, 2021 | Events, Latest News | 0 Comments

Community owned Bannockburn House hosted its first wedding in nearly 80 years on Friday (13 August).   Cumbernauld couple Robert Vance and Erin Conner tied the knot in the mansion’s grand Laigh Hall, which boasts a stunning ornate ceiling rose by the same...

CREATIVE FUN FOR FAMILIES AT BANNOCKBURN HOUSE

by | August 11, 2021 | Events, Latest News | 0 Comments

Join Vantage Points for some family friendly fun at Bannockburn House on Sunday 22 August, 12-5pm. The event will offer an opportunity to view the first public exhibition of artwork by Bannockburn and Eastern Stirling’s creative network. The showcase will include...
Bannocks

GET BANNOCK MAKING TO MARK BATTLE’S ANNIVERSARY

by | June 14, 2021 | Events, Gardens, Latest News, Volunteer Blog | 0 Comments

Bannockburn House will host the last in a series of three cook-along sessions on Wednesday 23 June, when the team will be whipping up some Bannocks to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn. Head Gardener Kate White and Project Support Manager Sheila Taylor...
Kate and Sara ready for the cookalong

WE’RE DISHING UP MORE COOK-ALONG FUN

by | May 10, 2021 | Events, Latest News | 0 Comments

Our popular cook-along sessions are back for 2021! After a successful pilot during Forth Valley Food Festival last October, we have secured funding from Scotland Loves Local to run three more online sessions this year; with free ingredient packs for locals joining in...
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