“The Seaboard Villages of Hilton, Balintore and Shandwick are celebrating netting grants of £43,000 to record their rich fishing and cultural heritage. The project will allow a vast wealth of material to be collected, archived and displayed for future generations as well as creating a special website so that the seaboard’s remarkable story can be made available world wide.

Based at the Seaboard Memorial Hall the project involves recruiting a Research Assistant to help with gathering information, creating a website and assisting in the day to day running of the project. Workshops will be held in the villages to record for posterity the social history of topics such as fishing, day to day living, leisure and recreation, faith and local families. The project will be enhanced by giving people the opportunity to learn creel making, rope work, traditional cookery, story telling and folklore all culminating in a big celebratory Fisherfolk Festival. The project has been made possible thanks to an award of £31,700 from the Heritage Lottery fund and £11,600 from Talent Scotland. It was the  local history book Down to the Sea written by Jessie MacDonald which provided inspiration for the project.

Maureen Ross, of the Seaboard Memorial Hall, said the community was indebted to those in the past who contributed to the book. She said: “Likewise in years to come those who will contribute and be part of this project will be recognised for their contribution. Knowing and appreciating our heritage and history is very fulfilling and to be able to share this with future generations is a privilege.”

Colin MacLean, head of HLF Scotland, said “This is a wonderful opportunity for the community to delve into their local heritage and we are delighted to be able to offer this grant so that they can embark on a real journey of discovery. Heritage means different things to different people, and HLF’s funding offers a wealth of opportunities for groups to explore and celebrate what is important to them in their area.”

Article by Jackie MacKenzie – Highland News Group (Thursday August 22nd, 2013)

We would like to thank Heritage Lottery Fund and Scotgrad for making the Down to the Sea research project possible as well as members of the community for all of their help and support.