Cromarty Courthouse lines up new season with plans to open Black Isle visitor attraction on Easter Sunday
The Cromarty Courthouse will reopen for the season on Easter Sunday and stay open every day until the beginning of October, it was announced this week.
It will open from noon until 4pm.
It will be a chance to listen to the new trial recordings and other soundscapes produced last year, written, rehearsed and recorded during lockdown with local performers bringing past events and some of the unique Cromarty Fishertoun dialect words to life.
Cromarty Camera Club will mount a show with the title “Every Picture Tells a Story”.
An improved website gives access to people who might not be able to visit the Courthouse itself with a wealth of material not available in the museum.
For those interested in Cromarty’s unique Fishertoun dialect, a dictionary of almost 500 words and phrases is on the website, complete with the English equivalents and the chance to hear and see how the words are pronounced.
Also promised is the arrival of new stories from Cromarty’s past, tales of pipe tunes, riots and the town though maps.
A learning zone on the website, makes use of resources about how justice was handed out to locals. Within the website Learning Zone, there are some classroom ready activities based on real legal cases with guidance for teachers on how these activities map onto the Scottish curriculum.
The soundscapes and trial scripts are also rich sources for education. To help local teachers explore how to get the best from these materials – which may be used by any school in Scotland with or without a visit to the Courthouse, Vee Walker, the Black Isle writer who researched and compiled this resource, and a Courthouse team is planning a free Twilight session for teachers during the week beginning May 9.
Anyone who would like to attend, can email courthousecromarty@gmail.com.
A spokeswoman said: “Outside the wildflower garden and community orchard are maturing nicely. It’s become a popular place for people to come and sit and enjoy the peaceful space.
“There will be another seating area for this year to cater for visitors and locals alike. The museum shop stocks a variety of locally produced pieces and has a good range of books for sale.
“There are some lovely Cromarty-themed items and gifts suitable for all ages.”
