SEPTEMBER 2015 - UPDATE

3 SAINTS WAY & TAY L.P.

At the Gala day on 20th June, one of the stalls outside the Williamson Hall was for the so-called 3 Saints Way. The idea is to add to the list of long-distance walkways in Scotland, in this case with the added dimension that it will be a route that mediaeval pilgrims may well have taken. The original idea was Roseanna Cunningham’s, and it is hoped that eventually there will be a ‘Pilgrim Way’ between St. Andrews and Iona, the 3 Saints Way being the stretch between St. Andrews and Killin. Given the enormous amount of history in Abernethy, including that pertaining to early Christianity, the village naturally enough features in the proposed route. Two of the most recent meetings to move this concept forward have been in our Museum.

 Landowner and wildlife difficulties between Abernethy and Newburgh and Abernethy and Bridge of Earn have been encountered by the Tay Landscape Partnership team in their attempt to complete the Core Path network south of Perth to link up with the (well-established) Fife network, and the same issues confront the 3 Saints Way group in trying to establish a pilgrim way, as the obvious route either side of Abernethy is the same for both. Here’s hoping for a resolution acceptable to all parties.

The most recent TayLP activities in the village occurred in June and July. On 29th June, some Abernethy Primary pupils took part in an archaeological dig outside the Williamson Hall, when the enthusiasm was great to see. Well done to the pupils involved. Then some local gardens were excavated (1 metre square usually) on July 4th  and 5th — the Wee Big Dig. All digs were professionally supervised.

On the 5th also, the Museum ran a community involvement day, with ‘Roman centurions’ (quite a hit), children’s activities, bread and biscuit tasting, etc.. The day was a great success, judging by numbers and comments. There will almost certainly be similar events in the future, especially since the TayLP team want to do more Abernethy garden digs in 2016 and 2017.

Lastly, again TayLP, by Crier publication date there will have been ‘Unearth the Mystery of Prehistory’ in Perth on August 22, with pop-up crannog, story-telling, an Iron-Age Minecraft World, food stalls and examples of early metal- and woodworking, all to spread the word about the ancient inhabitants of the Tay estuary.

Angus Macintyre.