Nuclear bunker turned into Gairloch museum should inspire Scots to think big on neglected assets – Brian Ferguson

It’s 10 years since my last visit to the north-west Highlands – a part of Scotland that back then had the feeling of a great undiscovered wilderness.
The nuclear bunker, which was built in Gairloch in the early 1950s, was a notorious eyesore in the village before the project to transform it into a new museum.The nuclear bunker, which was built in Gairloch in the early 1950s, was a notorious eyesore in the village before the project to transform it into a new museum.
The nuclear bunker, which was built in Gairloch in the early 1950s, was a notorious eyesore in the village before the project to transform it into a new museum.

Several memories stand out from an epic road trip just before Easter – the ever-changing weather, the windswept but magnificent beaches and the quietness of the roads.

That, of course, has long since changed in the wake of the almost overnight success of North Coast 500 – the campaign to promote the north-west Highlands which has inspired numerous other tourism initiatives but also divided opinion as to how much it has benefited the communities that saw a sudden and sustained influx of visitors.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

One of the harshest verdicts on the five-year-old campaign is that it has turned remote corners of the Highlands into a Grand Prix circuit.

The original lens from Gairloch's Rubh Re lighthouse is one of the main attractions in the new-look museum. Picture: Marc Atkins/Art FundThe original lens from Gairloch's Rubh Re lighthouse is one of the main attractions in the new-look museum. Picture: Marc Atkins/Art Fund
The original lens from Gairloch's Rubh Re lighthouse is one of the main attractions in the new-look museum. Picture: Marc Atkins/Art Fund

It has felt for a while that some in the tourist industry have had an uncomfortable relationship with the North Coast 500 and that its promotion was at odds with increasing efforts to attract “eco-tourists” and encourage “slow travel”.

Against this backdrop, it was something of a tonic to hear about the national recognition for a project which will encourage visitors to slow down and spend more time in one remote corner of the north-west Highlands.

Eight years of work to transform Gairloch’s notorious eyesore into a new home for its long-running heritage attraction was recognised this week when it was crowned UK Museum of the Year.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Although the title was shared with four other locations, with the aim of spreading the benefits of an expanded £200,000 prize pot from the Art Fund charity, it was Gairloch Museum which grabbed the headlines due to the attraction’s origins as a nuclear bunker built during the early years of the Cold War.

Venturing inside now, you can explore the area’s Gaelic heritage, the background to historic treasures like the first Pictish stone found on mainland Scotland and a rare Iron Age hoard found locally, and why the area attracts so many midges every year.

Bringing the project to fruition was clearly no easy feat – the Art Fund’s own judges described it as “a tale of people-power, determination, and local pride”.

But having well and truly put Gairloch on the map for all the right reasons, perhaps it should be inspiring many more visions of restoration and revival.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

For a country which places history and heritage at the heart of its tourism campaigns, why can so many empty buildings and neglected landmarks can be found in villages, towns and cities across Scotland?

Edinburgh has tied itself up in knots for years over what to do with one of its best-known landmarks, the former Royal High School on Calton Hill, while a former gasometer on its waterfront sits neglected and unloved.

Long-running efforts to transform St Peter’s Seminary into a new cultural centre fell apart two years ago when the arts company leading the project ran out of funding, while various bids to breathe new life into Kinloch Castle, the abandoned Victorian mansion on the Isle of Rum have come to nothing so far.

But Gairloch’s museum will hopefully also inspire people to think big over more modest improvements – over what to do with their red telephone box, abandoned bus, forgotten allotments, empty sports pavilion or abandoned warehouse.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.