Dunbeath Heritage Museum

25/05/2026

21/05/2026

June and July, we have two fantastic talks at the museum. Free to attend but donations welcome, either on the day or by using the QR codes on the poster.

14/05/2026

Looking for a fantastic place to see the History of the Highlands, especially Caithness? The Dunbeath Heritage Museum has an array of artefacts from Bronze Age, Pictish, Roman, Medieval and through to the twentieth century. We have a permanent display about Neil M Gunn, famous Scottish author who was born in our village and was schooled in the school, which is now our lovely museum. £4 entry for adults, under 16s, Locals, and carers FREE. We will also be featuring talks and activities throughout the season.
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09/05/2026

Let's see how many followers know what this item is. It was kindly loaned, alongside a fantastic array of items by Donald Sutherland for the Dunbeath Heritage Museum to display.
Give it your best shot and let us know what you think this item is called and what it was used for. It is made of wood. (keep it clean please!)

30/04/2026

We had a lovely visit from the Dunbeath School Nursery class today. They had fun finding the animals on the Museum Hunt, then spent some time colouring. What a fine job they did too!

28/04/2026

Busy day at the museum today, people visiting from all around Britain including; Northampton, Nottinghamshire, Wales, Dorset as well as America plus many more! Lovely to see the museum busy, it brings it alive and the visitors thought it was one of the best museums they had visited!
Come along to see our displays, ranging from prehistory to the 20th century with Bronze age axes and sword, to Roman coins, through to the Rune stone from Portomin and 7th Century Ballachly stone, and into the 20th century with our Neil M Gunn displays and so much more! Something for everyone.

26/04/2026

26/04/2026

100 years ago, in 1926, Neil M Gunn published his first book, The Grey Coast.
Dunbeath, the place of his birth and early life has so much to offer including a fantastic harbour, beach, historic buildings and much more. A short distance from the harbour is the Dunbeath Heritage Museum (once the school he attended in his early years). We have a permanent display of his works and life with a selection of his books.

Entrance is currently, £3 for adults, children under 16 FREE. Our admission charge will be increasing from 1st May to £4.

Neil M. Gunn was born 8th November 1891 in the village of Dunbeath. His father was a skipper and his mother a domestic servant. Gunn was the seventh of nine children and attended Dunbeath school from 1896 to 1904. He then left Dunbeath and went to school privately in Dalry, Kirkcudbrightshire, living with his sister. In 1911 aged 15 he joined the Civil Service, working in London for a few years before being transferred to Edinburgh. He then trained in Customs and Excise before being appointed Excise Officer in Inverness in 1923 working all through the highlands. In 1921 Gunn met his wife Jessie Dallas Frew (Daisy) a jeweller’s daughter. Throughout this period Gunn was writing in his spare time and in 1926 his first novel, The Grey Coast was published. Following this was Morning Tide (1931), Sun Circle (1933), Butchers Broom (1934) and Highland River in 1937. It was this year that Gunn decided to leave excise and focus full-time on writing. He wrote a number more books and in 1948 received an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from Edinburgh University. His wife daisy died in 1963 and devastated by this Neil Gunn gave up writing. Neil Gunn himself died in 1973 aged 81 and was buried with his wife in Dingwall Cemetery. His legacy lives on through his works and through The Neil Gunn Fellowship which was formed in 1972 by the Scottish Arts Creative Council in his honour and in the Neil Gunn Society, formed in 1985.