Travellers' Summer Encampment - Highland Folk Museum

Hear about the history and culture of Scottish Travellers, from members of the Travelling community. Travelling people have been part of Highland life for many centuries. The Highland Folk Museum collection includes numerous objects which were made or used by Travellers, which help to tell some of their stories. We spoke to Highland Traveller John MacDonald about his memories of growing up travelling. John was born on Skye, in Portree, and travelled all over the Highlands with his family. Scottish Traveller Kathy Townsley McGuigan grew up in the 1960s travelling across Argyll and beyond. In this film, Kathy shows us the traditional Traveller craft of paper flower making. Visit www.highlandfolk.com/explore to look around the Travellers' Summer Encampment and discover more about Traveller life through the objects from the Highland Folk Museum collection. Thanks to John and Eddie MacDonald, Kathy Townsley McGuigan, and High Life Highland/Highland Folk Museum Curator Rachel Chisholm. This film was produced in 2021 by Duncan Gorman, with additional footage supplied by Callum Black. Music credit: Gary Innes. Five short films have been produced by the Highland Folk Museum to tell the stories of five of the collections and historic buildings located at the open-air museum, by the people who know them. The project has been funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund, which is run by the Museums Association, funding projects that develop collections to achieve social impact.