DunCarron Motte and Bailey Fort

 This is a project a friend of mine back in Scotland has been working on.
Take a look, soon I hope to have information on this project in my Information Centre at the Celtic Story shop in Seaside.



Duncarron – A fortified village of Scotland
The Clanranald Trust is currently building a full-scale replica of an early Medieval Motte & Bailey Fort. This will be typical of the Scottish Clan Chief’s residence throughout the earlier part of the last millennium.
Duncarron is situated in Carron Valley Forest to the East of the Carron Valley Reservoir. Access to the site is via the B818 Denny to Fintry Road. The B818 can also be reached via the Tak-ma-doon road from Kilsyth to Carron Bridge.
Click here - DunCarron Location, for a map view of the project location.
The village settlements were based around a ‘Bailey’ (the Clan Chief’s home and Clan meeting hall), which was usually built on or beside a ‘Motte’ (a natural man made mound). The level of fortification surrounding the Bailey and any other associated buildings depended upon various aspects including, the wealth & size of the Clan, the fort’s location and the strength of other local Clans or aggressor forces.
An authentic medieval working community atmosphere will be created, where groups, parties and individuals can participate in and view a range of activities, typical of the period.
This development will be used as the physical base for the Trust, working with local education authorities, community & theatre groups, national tourism industry, etc. Through participation with these groups, the Trust will create a unique opportunity for promoting Scottish heritage & culture through interaction, providing educational benefits to school children, students and the general public. Promoted as a popular tourist destination, the raised profile of the area will also benefit the local tourism sector economy.
Generating enthusiasm towards historical culture will be achieved through the provision of a complete interactive learning environment, incorporating national curriculum requirements, with hands-on experience, craftwork, self-sufficiency agricultural methods, ongoing building maintenance and the general living skills typical of the people of these times.
This will be a living-working village where people will produce arts and crafts by traditional methods from their workshops. Every effort will be made to utilise clothing materials similar to the times, and Staff and Volunteers will be in period dress.
To add further to the atmosphere, the Fort will offer banquets for weddings and special occasions, events and other activities. It is also expected that the authentic appearance of the Fort will create demand for its use as a location for film productions and period dramas, etc.