21/09/2026
Doors Open Day Done Right!
It was certainly a blowy weekend down at the Kirk, but a bit of Caithness weather wasn’t going to stop our fantastic volunteers from welcoming visitors from near and far – from Scarmclate all the way to the States!
We welcomed families and visitors of all ages, including people discovering the Kirk for the first time. Some who stopped by for a chat in the morning returned for the afternoon talk, while one local visitor came back later in the day after enjoying their first visit. Another attended a talk and returned to the Kirk the following day. Visitors to the town who spent time with us in the morning and came along to the afternoon talk told us afterwards that they’d had a “wonderful day” – which was lovely to hear.
Another memorable encounter was with Mr McTaggart from America, who was travelling around Europe. He thoroughly enjoyed his visit to the Kirk and his chats with Maureen. His grandfather had lived in Thurso and had spoken about Top Joes, so on Saturday evening Mr McTaggart headed there for a pint in his grandfather’s memory. A lovely connection with Caithness across the generations.
There was plenty happening at the Kirk itself too. Alison was busy telling visitors about its history, Maureen oversaw some enthusiastic children’s colouring – both choosing that well-known Caithness dragon! 🐉 – while Roger talked to a group about Minister Munro’s stone, complete with an explanation of its Memento Mori.
And then there was the weather…! As the wind got up, the bunting became considerably noisier and more airborne, and even the lid of the sweetie tub made a bid for freedom!
Thankfully, our volunteers were kept warm and refreshed thanks to a very kind donation of coffee from local hot-drink purveyors Tall Tales. A huge thank you to them – it certainly kept everyone going through the varying weather conditions.
Most of all, it was wonderful to see people discovering the Kirk, enjoying the talks and, in several cases, coming back for more.
A huge thank you to everyone who visited, attended a talk, shared a story or simply stopped for a chat – and, of course, to all our volunteers who made the weekend possible. The talks over the weekend were a real highlight and were very well received - Thank You Stephen!
And remember, you don’t have to wait for Doors Open Days Caithness and Sutherland Day to visit us. We’re at the Kirk almost every Sunday – the door (gate!) is always open!
