Tarbat Discovery Centre — Attraction in Scotland

Take a detour from the A9 and visit this small, volunteer run museum - you won't be disappointed.

While the centre is dominated by Pictish information, there's a wealth of information on both this and other history of the area.

There's information on the nearby Stephenson designed lighthouse, including copies of the blueprints - the main light is now a centrepiece at Greenwich in London, but the detail is here.

There are original Pictish carved stones, showing the dichotomy in Pictish culture between Christianity and the pagan roots of Scottish culture. Depictions of biblical scenes intertwine with carvings of bears, lions, boars and cattle.

There's also information about the forced evacuation of the peninsula during the second world war in preparation for the Normandy landings.

New for 2019 is a new exhibit, showing a beautiful silver boar, newly cast from a mould made from a Pictish carving and detailing the process.

Speaking with one of the curators (Catherine), it was clear that she, and the trustees have invested considerable effort to make this an invaluable local history resource.

If you're only going to stop once at something historic on the way alongside the A9, I strongly recommend this one.

Open from early April - Sep, but check the website as hours and dates change...

Tarbat Discovery Centre is housed inside the former Tarbat Old Parish Church, which was dedicated to Saint Colman. The church played a role in The Battle of Tarbat battle during the Clann Wars, between Clann Ross and Clann MacKay. Clann Ross defeated most during the battle where survivors sought shelter in the church, where they locked the surviving MacKay’s in the church and burnt it down, which led to the Battle of Battle of Auldicharish. Today the old church is used as a heritage centre, exploring Portmahomack’s Pictish history.

The discovery centre is extremely informative, houses a beautiful collection of Pictish Stones, and has extremely helpful and informative staff who are happy to speak to you and discuss history. Absolutely fantastic place, would absolutely recommend you come visit here. There are things to visit outside around the grounds and a beautiful old wee...

Really fascinating museum covering an incredibly long time span about the rich history and archaeology of this area. Lots of interesting information and artefacts. We really liked the outdoor information posts that had to be charged up by pumping them with our feet so we could hear them. The only thing I would say, is that the centre does itself a disservice with the brown information signs for it in the local area, which are rather misleading. We spotted them and followed them because they had dolphins on them, so we were expecting some sort of wildlife/dolphin watching centre. Slightly disappointed that it wasn't, but a nice surprise for my...