WAULKING DAY

Visitors to the Auchindrain township museum near Inveraray are in for a real treat this Saturday (27 May) with a special “waulking” day. A waulking day involved the women of a township getting together to finish newly woven cloth by soaking it in dilute ammonia, thumping it and tightening up the weave to improve the durability of the cloth.



A historic site, south of Inveraray in Argyll, Auchindrain is the last remaining township in Scotland that has been left untouched, giving visitors a glimpse into the past. Deliberately, there are no labels or interpretation boards within the township itself. Instead, visitors are provided with a guide-tablet that enables you to explore in your own way with information relevant to your location as you go round.

‘Performed’ by the Inverclyde Waulking Group (Sgioda Luaidh Inbhirchluaidh) whilst singing a range of traditional and humorous Gaelic songs, the process will see the group working on a length of raw tweed from Moray-based weavers Woven in the Bone.

Bob Clark, Director of Auchindrain, commented: “A waulking day in the spectacular setting of the Auchindrain open air museum within Scotland’s last remaining township is a truly memorable experience and a fantastic recreation of days gone by. It’s not to be missed and is the third of eight such ‘waulking’ days planned for 2023.”



For more information please visit www.waulk.org and www.auchindrain.org.uk. A Youtube video from a past waulking day at Auchindrain can be viewed here.

Images courtesy of Auchindrain