Healthiest Town

10/08/2025

Want to find out more about getting involved in a community growing project? Pitlochry Community Garden, Moulin, is inviting everyone to its open days on Saturday, August 30, and Monday, September 1. Come to visit or help out, 10am to 2pm. Coffee, tea and biscuits provided. The community garden is behind Craig Dubh house at the end of Manse Road, Moulin. This is a free event and there's no need to book, just turn up.

Bioregioning Tayside

09/08/2025

CELEBRATE LOCAL FOOD, DRINK AND MUSIC AT OPEN GATE'S COMMUNITY FEAST
Join us on Saturday, August 30 to celebrate the community effort in hosting the Open Gate Festival and meet the Healthiest Town team. Enjoy a welcome locally-themed mocktail, local food and music from local musicians. BYO drinks. 6pm to 9pm, Beyond Adventure, Riverside, Aberfeldy PH15 2EB​. Adults £25, children £15. Bookings: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/cc/open-gate-festival-2025-4393453

SUBSIDISED TICKETS: Many of the Open Gate events and all of the productive garden tours are free to attend, but we do have to charge for some of the activities to help cover our costs. However, we want Open Gate to be accessible to all and we understand that the cost can be beyond some people's means, and so we do have some further subsidised tickets available - please do get in contact to find out more info@healthiesttown.org.

The Open Gate Festival is part of Healthiest Town’s 'Eat Real Food' pillar, encouraging and enabling people to eat better food, grow food or eat local food where possible, and understand the link between food, our health and the health of our planet. You can find out more about all the events taking place during Open Gate, August 29 to September 7, at www.healthiesttown.org/open-gate

The festival is supported by Bioregioning Tayside Recipes for Action – strengthening and developing community-led food growing in Tayside – in association with Scottish Rural Network and Scottish Rural Development Programme. Healthiest Town also receives support from NHS Tayside Charitable Foundation.

Bioregioning Tayside Adventure

09/08/2025

Healthiest Town and the Birks Cinema is bringing you a live screening from Edinburgh International Book Festival on Monday, August 11, at 11am - Devi Sridhar: Health for All.

What's the key to a longer, healthier life? Is the answer in self-help books and disciplined individual optimisation, or should we be holding governments to account for their policies on everything from pandemic preparedness to water treatment? Edinburgh University's personal chair of global health Devi Sridhar (who became a household name during the pandemic), believes it's the latter, as she makes clear in today's no-nonsense conversation about How Not to Die (Too Soon). Chaired by Isabel Hardman.

Tickets start at £5 and are free for under-18s. Book online: https://birkscinema.co.uk/films-events/films/edin-intl-book-fest-devi-sridhar/

09/08/2025

tInteresting in growing your own and want some hands-on experience?

We have three experts on hand during the festival:

There are two chances to join Johnny Agnew from Taybank Growers Cooperative to learn the tools, techniques and theory to grow abundant and nutritious produce in his 'learn how to grow veg effortlessly (no-dig growing)' workshop. The course will cover the techniques and principles of no-dig growing from seed to harvest. The all-day workshops cost £25. They will take place on Saturday, August 30 at Blackhaugh Farm, Spittalfield (book: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/taybankgrowerscooperative/1585589?) and Saturday, September 6 at the Community Garden in Camserney (book: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/open-gate-festival-2025-4393453)

Next up is a compost making workshop with soil scientist Dr Audrey Litterick​ at Tombreck Farm in Lawers. Tickets cost £10 and can be booked at: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/open-gate-festival-2025-4393453

Finally, on Saturday, September 6, Lynsey Payne, from Appletreeman, is running a workshop on the wonders of fruit trees. It will cover the basics of bud grafting, trying it out and then taking home your own to nurture. You'll also get a behind the scenes look at a productive fruit garden. 10am to 1pm, Blackhaugh Community Farm, Spittalfield. Tickets costs £15 and can be booked here: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/open-gate-festival-2025-4393453

For more information on Open Gate and all the events taking place between August 29 and September 7, head to: https://www.healthiesttown.org/open-gate

SUBSIDISED TICKETS
Many of the Open Gate events and all of the productive garden tours are free to attend, but we do have to charge for some of the activities to help cover our costs. However, we want Open Gate to be accessible to all and we understand that the cost can be beyond some people's means, and so we do have some further subsidised tickets available - please do get in contact to find out more info@healthiesttown.org

The Open Gate Festival 2025 is supported by Bioregioning Tayside’s Recipes for Action – strengthening and developing community-led food growing in Tayside, in association with Scottish Rural Network and Scottish Rural Development Programme.

Tombreck Farm Blackhaugh Community Farm Bioregioning Tayside

A deeper dive into no-dig in the market garden. Based on up-to-date theory and practices, we will look at applying no-dig prin...

08/08/2025

Tuesday, September 2 - join Climate Cafe Aberfeldy to get involved in the discussion about food waste and what we all can do to help prevent it. Free to attend, no need to book. 7.30pm. Handam, 6 Bank Street Aberfeldy PH15 2BA

For more events, head here: https://www.healthiesttown.org/open-gate

08/08/2025

Talk: Bringing the seeds back home - Saturday, August 30

How the seed saving of an Aberfeldy woman illustrates the importance of seed sovereignty - and some of the reasons why Perthshire Seed Library exist. 10.30am - 12 noon. Breadalbane Community Library, Community Campus, Crieff Road, Aberfeldy. Free to attend, but please book here: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/open-gate-festival-2025-4393453

To find out about all the events taking place during festival, head to: https://www.healthiesttown.org/open-gate

The Open Gate Festival 2025 is supported by Bioregioning Tayside’s Recipes for Action – strengthening and developing community-led food growing in Tayside, in association with Scottish Rural Network and Scottish Rural Development Programme.
Bioregioning Tayside

07/08/2025

Errichel farm - see the farm's amazing produce and animals on this free guided tour on Friday, August 29 and again on Tuesday September 2. Both take place between 10am to 12 noon, Errichel, Creiff Rd, Aberfeldy PH15 2EL. The event is free but booking is required, contact Becky enquiries@errichel.co.uk

There are also farm and market garden tours taking place at Little Trochry, Tombreck, Tomnah'a, Pitlochry Community Garden, and The Field (Dunkeld) as part of our Open Gate Festival - for details ofall the events taking place between August 29 and September 7, head to: https://www.healthiesttown.org/open-gate

Errichel House, Cottages, and Farm Tomnah'a Market Garden Tombreck Farm The Field Dunkeld and Birnam Trochry Farm Bioregioning Tayside

07/08/2025

Successful food growing starts with soil health - and that's where compost comes in. Learn all about making good quality compost with Dr Audrey Litterick, a crop and soil scientist, at Tombreck Farm in Lawers. The workshop takes place on Tuesday, September 2, 9.30am to 3pm. This is a practical and hand-on experience, so come dressed to get dirty!

Tickets costs £10, and can be booked here: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/open-gate-festival-2025-4393453

This event is part of Open Gate 2025. For more information about all the events taking place between August 29 and September 7, head to: https://www.healthiesttown.org/open-gate

SUBSIDISED TICKETS
Many of the Open Gate events and all of the productive garden tours are free to attend, but we do have to charge for some of the activities to help cover our costs. However, we want Open Gate to be accessible to all and we understand that the cost can be beyond some people's means, and so we do have some further subsidised tickets available - please do get in contact to find out more info@healthiesttown.org

The Open Gate Festival 2025 is supported by Bioregioning Tayside’s Recipes for Action – strengthening and developing community-led food growing in Tayside, in association with Scottish Rural Network and Scottish Rural Development Programme.

Tombreck Farm Bioregioning Tayside

06/08/2025

Who is planning to opt for pedal power for their commute on Thursday August 7 - national Cycle to Work Day?

You can read Healthiest Town representative Dr Callum Leese's take on why he loves cycling, why he thinks more people should take it up, but also why he thinks Scotland needs to do more to create a safe and enjoyable road system for cyclists. His blog is on our website, where you can also sign up to join our newsletter mailing list - www.healthiesttown.org

And did you know that @ Draft & Flow - Community Cycle Workshop in Aberfeldy can supply bikes through the Cycle to Work scheme, a UK government initiative which lets employees purchase a new bike and accessories tax‑free via their employer, paying monthly through salary deductions. By deducting the cost of the bike from your salary before tax (salary sacrifice), it reduces your taxable income and results in lower tax and National Insurance contributions.

How it works
Employees choose a bike and accessories from participating retailers, and their employer then purchases the equipment.
The cost is repaid through monthly deductions from the employee's gross salary (before tax and National Insurance).
Because the repayments are made before tax, employees pay less Income Tax and National Insurance, effectively saving them money.
While the bike is typically owned by the employer during the repayment period, employees often have the option to purchase it at a fair market value at the end of the agreement.

The scheme encourages cycling for commuting, promotes healthier lifestyles, and can lead to significant cost savings on bikes and accessories.

The scheme is generally available to all employees, and employers can register to participate and covers a wide range of bikes (including e-bikes and adapted bikes), cycling clothing, helmets, locks, lights, and other accessories.

If your workplace offers a Cycle to Work programme, get in touch with Draft & Flow to help you choose a bike and submit the paperwork.

06/08/2025

It's Archaeology Season! ⚒️

We've got a number of events over the next two months where you can explore the archaeology, historic environment and pre-historic landscape of Perth and Kinross.

🚶Saturday 09 August - Loch Tummel Landscape Walk

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/loch-tummel-landscape-from-prehistory-to-present-tickets-1408299925989?aff=oddtdtcreator

⛰ Sunday 10 August - 5,000 Years of Farming at Beinn a’ Ghlò

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/5000-years-of-farming-at-the-foot-of-beinn-a-ghlo-tickets-1408534417359?aff=oddtdtcreator

⛏ Sunday 07 September - The Archaeological Landscape of Loch Tay

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/the-archaeological-landscape-of-loch-tay-tickets-1408550846499?aff=oddtdtcreator

🪨Saturday September 13 - Lost Stones of Stath Tay | Excavation Open Day | Doors Open Days 2025

https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/lost-stones-of-stath-tay-excavation-open-day-doors-open-days-2025-tickets-1408600113859?aff=oddtdtcreator

We are also still seeking volunteers to assist us on Sunday 07 September and across the excavation, which takes place across 9-14 September.

If you're interested, please email our Community Archaeologist, Dr. Tertia Barnett, at tertia.barnett@pkht.org.uk.

See you all there! 😁

06/08/2025

Dandelion salad, water mint tea, cleavers cocktail ... many weeds are edible and nutritious - join Tayside Grower Lou Fern to learn more at a workshop on Saturday August 30, 10.30am to 12.30pm, at Blackhaugh Community Farm, Spittalfield PH1 4JZ. Tickets cost £10 and can be booked here: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/open-gate-festival-2025-4393453

This event is being held as part of Healthiest Town's Open Gate Festival - find out more at https://www.healthiesttown.org/open-gate

SUBSIDISED TICKETS
Many of the Open Gate events and all of the productive garden tours are free to attend, but we do have to charge for some of the activities to help cover our costs. However, we want Open Gate to be accessible to all and we understand that the cost can be beyond some people's means, and so we do have some further subsidised tickets available - please do get in contact to find out more info@healthiesttown.org.

The Open Gate Festival 2025 is supported by Bioregioning Tayside’s Recipes for Action – strengthening and developing community-led food growing in Tayside, in association with Scottish Rural Network and Scottish Rural Development Programme.

Blackhaugh Community Farm Bioregioning Tayside

05/08/2025

DOCUMENTARIES & MOCKUMENTARIES AT OPEN GATE

For the film buffs out there, Open Gate has plenty to offer.

First up is The Golden Spurtle - the Highlands community of Carrbridge comes alive each year for the porridge cooking competition. Director Constantine Costi captures this competition with warmth, respect and lashings of humour​. Friday, August 29, 7pm​, Birks Cinema, Dunkeld St, Aberfeldy PH15 2DA. Bookings: https://birkscinema.co.uk/films-events/films/the-golden-spurtle/

Monday September 1 we have Swede Caroline - funny British mockumentary following up-and-coming giant vegetable grower Caroline as she readies herself for the national championship. 7.30pm​, Birks Cinema, Dunkeld St, Aberfeldy PH15 2DA. Bookings: https://birkscinema.co.uk/films-events/films/swede-caroline/

On Wednesday September 3, catch Shelf Life, a quirky and contemplative docufilm, which takes us on a global odyssey into the world of cheese, drawing parallels between the aging process of this beloved food and the human experience of growing old. You'll be introduced to a colorful cast of characters who share their unique perspectives on decay, dissolution and the art of crafting the perfect cheese. Tickets costs £6 and the films starts at 8pm. Book online: https://birkscinema.co.uk/films-events/films/shelf-life/

And moving over to Crieff for our fourth offering, Strathearn Arts is hosting a screening and talk: Six Inches of Soil - the inspiring story of young British farmers transforming the way they produce food - to heal the soil, improve our health, and provide for local communities. Friday, September 5, doors open 7pm, film 7.30pm. Strathearn Arts, 6 Comrie Street, Crieff PH7 4AX. Bookings: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/strathearnarts/1729337?

The Open Gate Festival 2025 is supported by Bioregioning Tayside Recipes for Action – strengthening and developing community-led food growing in Tayside – in association with Scottish Rural Network and Scottish Rural Development Programme. Healthiest Town also receives support from NHS Tayside Charitable Foundation.

The Birks Cinema Aberfeldy Strathearn Arts Tayside