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Great New Visitor Centre in Callander!
- shinytime
- Feb 24, 2015
- 2 min read
St.Kessogs, Callander has been brought to life!
A great new visitor Centre opened in Callander last weekend. It is also the Head office of the Clanranald Trust. A charitable organisation dedicated to the preservation and awareness of Scottish Medieval Heritage.
It is located in the old St. Kessogs church, which has also seen life as The Rob Roy Visitor Centre, and also a location of Visit Scotland, the official tourist board.
Walking through the doors of St. Kessogs is like walking into a film set, paradise for all those interested in the heritage of Scotland, with a hands on medieval armoury exhibition and costume department where you can try on many outfits used in the filming of great movie epics such as Gladiator, Valhalla Rising, Robin Hood, The Eagle and the latest blocbuster TV series about to dominate our screens, 'Outlander.'
Indeed, many of the men and women that give up their time operating the centre were extras in Outlander! Visit the centre and have a chat of their experiences on set!
Charlie in 'Gladiator'
The 'Chief' of Clanranald is somewhat of a celebrity himself. Charlie Allan has appreared in many movies, mainly typecast as a barbarian, perhaps a bit daunting to approach, but it's worth it. He speaks passionately of his love for all things Scottish and of their main project, Duncarron Medieval Village. This is an audacious construction in central Scotland where everything is 'as it should be', built with authenticity. The labour is from volunteers, a work in progress, but much money has still to be raised, so we at 'Personal Tours of Scotland' are proud to lend our support to a great cause, to educate our young on the rich tapestry of Scottish History.
Charlie Allan, who runs the centre with his wife and a dedicated team are only too happy to talk about their involvement in the movie industry. There is the Clanrannald 'combat' division, a team of talented 'extras' highly trained in battle scenes which create revenue in order for the dream to one day finnish Duncarron Medieval Village. Whenever possible, when you're on a tour with us, we will visit the Clanranald centre.
Charlie with one of his fans...Russel Crowe, a generous supporter of the Clanranald Trust.
