Groundworks begin on folk museum's £3m refurbishment
Glencoe Folk MuseumA museum in the Highlands which is undergoing a £3m refurbishment has reached a major milestone as groundworks have begun.
Glencoe Folk Museum, which is housed inside two heather-thatched cottages in Lochaber, was set up more than 50 years ago by local women who stood in front of bulldozers to save them from demolition.
It is home to 6,000 artefacts and its collection includes Jacobite relics and memorabilia from the two World Wars.
The major revamp includes an extension which will have a climate-controlled exhibition gallery, as well as a gift shop and the museum's first toilets.
The new-look museum is set to open next spring.
David Rounce, who is project director at the museum, said it was an exciting time for everyone involved with the development.
He added: "It will tell the story of the glen and it's formation, millions of years ago - right up to our latest object in our collection, which is a sign that was painted to cheer motorists up during Covid.
"We really span multi-millennia."
'Unique story'
He said the museum had a "unique story" of its own.
"It was founded by a group of local women in the 1960s, as a response to a Women's Rural Institute competition to tell the story of their area," he added.
"Sadly they didn't win the competition but they built a pretty decent museum."
It had already secured planning permission and listed building consent but the project was affected by rising construction costs, inflation and delays.
Rounce said the public had been very kind and donations were continuing to come in.