Tarbat Discovery Centre

Tarbat Discovery Centre The Tarbat Discovery Centre is a Pictish & Local Heritage Museum

Housed in the refurbished Tarbat Old Parish Church,Tarbat Discovery Centre is a museum, learning and activity centre dedicated to displaying and preserving the heritage of the Tarbat peninsula. It is the site of the only fully excavated Pictish monastic settlement in Scotland to date, now a National Monument. The Centre displays many of the artefacts uncovered during the extensive archaeological i

nvestigations of the site along with local exhibitions, parish records, photographic archives and more.

🧑‍🎨 Last week we were delighted to welcome members of the East Sutherland Art Society for a tour of the museum and Por...
23/06/2026

🧑‍🎨 Last week we were delighted to welcome members of the East Sutherland Art Society for a tour of the museum and Portmahomack.

Willie, our fountain of knowledge on local history, gave them an in depth guide before the group spent time sketching and gaining inspiration for their artwork.

🖼️ We look forward to seeing their finished pieces, which we will have on display throughout September this year.

Have a look at all these fun new toys in our gift shop, perfect to keep the kids entertained this summer!🧸 We have plent...
21/06/2026

Have a look at all these fun new toys in our gift shop, perfect to keep the kids entertained this summer!

🧸 We have plenty for them to choose, from sturdy Viking swords to gorgeous cuddly dragons and Highland cows.

🛍️ Our shop is free to enter, pop in and have a browse.

🔍 Welcome to this week’s Friday Find! We have a bit of a mystery for you today.Our cataloguing group have been busy reor...
19/06/2026

🔍 Welcome to this week’s Friday Find! We have a bit of a mystery for you today.

Our cataloguing group have been busy reorganising our photo albums. They came across these two photos which we have no information about.

💡 The first looks to be a man in formal clothes, with what may be an official insignia related to lighthouses on his cap. Perhaps he was a local lighthouse keeper?

🚜 The second shows a man driving a Fordson tractor ploughing a field, with a young boy sitting on top of the plow in the background.

Can you identify the people in the photos? Do you know where they were taken? We would be grateful for any information at all.

📣 There are still tickets left for our talk by Dr David Petts next Wednesday.Come along to learn what David’s new resear...
18/06/2026

📣 There are still tickets left for our talk by Dr David Petts next Wednesday.

Come along to learn what David’s new research can tell us about life and death at the monastery, one of the most important ecclesiastical sites in medieval Northumbria. Recent fieldwork together with new analysis of historical evidence reveals a story quite different to the traditional one.

🎟️ Tickets available here: https://buytickets.at/tarbatdiscoverycentre/2246141

📅 Wednesday 24th June 2026
⏰ 7:30pm
📍 Tarbat Discovery Centre

18/06/2026

WHAT LIES BENEATH? PICTISH MONSTERS & THE LIVING FRAME Online lecture by Professor Heather Pulliam

What counts as a monster?
In Pictish art, creatures crawl through borders, climb across sacred spaces, and appear where medieval art usually reserved room for saints and the divine.

This year’s Annual Academic Lecture explores the strange and fascinating world of Pictish monsters - from sculpture to manuscripts including the Book of Kells and the Book of Deer. Join Professor Heather Pulliam for an evening exploring art, symbolism, and the unsettling creatures hidden within early medieval design.

📍 Online - Zoom
📅 25 June 7.30pm

To book: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/groamhousemuseum1/2255683

🎟️ We now have tickets for the Randan Music Festival Crypt Concert available at Tarbat Discovery Centre!Come and hear th...
16/06/2026

🎟️ We now have tickets for the Randan Music Festival Crypt Concert available at Tarbat Discovery Centre!

Come and hear the Coaltown Daisies perform in our Crypt with some amazing acoustics, accompanied by poetry and lovely refreshments.

Tickets and more information are also available here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/tarbatcommunityhallgroup/2123087

📅 Friday 3rd July 2026
⏰ 7pm
📍 Tarbat Discovery Centre

12/06/2026

Inside the crypt at Tarbat Discovery Centre in Portmahomack on the Tarbat Peninsula, Easter Ross 👌

This was a proper hidden gem of a place!

Cannot wait to share my experience here on this Sunday's episode with you all 😎

If you haven't already subscribed for free to my channel, just drop YT in the comments and I'll send you the link

🚨We are closed today due to maintenance work.🚨Apologies for any inconvenience. We will be back open as usual from tomorr...
11/06/2026

🚨We are closed today due to maintenance work.🚨

Apologies for any inconvenience. We will be back open as usual from tomorrow (Friday 12th June).

📣 Our next event is a talk by Dr David Petts, Associate Professor of Archaeology at Durham University, titled ‘New light...
10/06/2026

📣 Our next event is a talk by Dr David Petts, Associate Professor of Archaeology at Durham University, titled ‘New light on early medieval Lindisfarne’.

In this talk David will reveal the results of his recent fieldwork at Lindisfarne. Together with new analysis of historical evidence, the emerging story appears quite different to the traditional one.

💡Come along to learn what David’s new research can tell us about life and death at the monastery, one of the most important ecclesiastical sites in medieval Northumbria.

🎟️ Tickets available here: https://buytickets.at/tarbatdiscoverycentre/2246141

📅 Wednesday 24th June 2026
⏰ 7:30pm
📍 Tarbat Discovery Centre

Address

Tarbat Discovery Centre, Tarbatness Road, Tain, Ross-shire
Portmahomack
IV201YA

Telephone

01862 871351

Website

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